Dairy Free

“Are you done yet?” ~ Blaze, the wonder pup

Hello, there. I’ve taken so much time off from the blog, that as time has gone on it has become more and more difficult to restart things. I also felt maybe I should explain where I’ve been, which slowed me down from posting as well. Some things that happened were just the business of life, some things were other peoples’ stories to tell. And some things…. well, some things are just tough to talk about on what I always think of as my safe, delicious place.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom that kept me busy. I was up to some fun things, too, while away. I had some great job opportunities. I had 2 kids graduate from high school. I wrote a couple cookbooks (a gluten free and a slow cooker one) and a dairy free one will be out in March. My oldest graduated from college and started being a full-time Adult (notice the capital letter). I celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary, which just proves that if you can find that one special someone you can annoy for the rest of your life, you’ll be set. However, in the midst of all the good things, bad things got tangled together as well. Life can be like that sometimes.

My parents have lived with us for the past 16 years and last summer my dad was diagnosed with Espophegal Cancer. In fact, I had gotten the advance copy of my first book on the same day that his cancer was confirmed.  My book, which I had been dreaming about doing for who knows how long, suddenly didn’t seem important in the of scheme of things. Like I said, all the good and bad tangled up with each other. My dad’s cancer was pretty tough to treat and he did end up passing away this past March.

Yesterday I finally shook my head clear of the fog it’s been in, and decided that it was time to get myself in gear. I’m feeling the stirring of creativity again, the desire to share, the energy to put back into it again. Grief is a funny thing. It can really sap your energy on a deep level. I have suffered, what I can only describe as a grief relapse from time to time. While I know it is a perfectly normal thing to go through, when they happen they are hard on my productivity. Trying to push through grief is like moving through mud, where everything takes a little more energy, like something (or several things) has been added to my to-do list every day.  Have breakfast, miss dad, get ready for the day, miss dad, send emails, miss dad, start laundry, miss dad, go to work, miss dad, pick up groceries, miss dad… Grief just takes up so much time, like having a whole other job that wants all of your attention.