Blog, Me, writing, topics, sharing, Update

Hello!! Long Time No See

Here I am after a long time away. Hello!

I have let life take me away from some of the things I love doing. And really, that’s okay. We need to live and let live sometimes rather than stay in our own little cocoon. I know I go there a bit too often. Or, that is, I used to. Now it is more of a choice when I go there, to get away on my own or to do something specific. I have found many things out about myself that I wasn’t sure of before but am most definite about now. These things happen the older you get and the more you pay attention and grow.

When you get between the ages of forty-five to fifty-five (at least for me) you begin to see things happening when a woman. Such as pre-menopause to menopause and all the changes you are going through and dealing with. From there, you figure out how to deal with and work through the changes and ways that help you get through them smoothly. Unfortunately it isn’t a smooth change. There are a lot of ups and downs when going through the changes. There is physical changes, such as bleeding in over abundance to not bleeding at all (TMI, but true); tummy bloating; hairs appearing on chins and faces, or even other places they shouldn’t be; water retention; not sleeping or sleeping a lot, etc… Then the emotions are up and down; anxiety and depression; and so much more.

Now, along with this, I am remarried and living away from my family after moving from Georgia, USA to London, UK. I have noticed little things when talking to others and my husband, that I do (or don’t do) and am pretty sure I can link these things to ADD/ADHD. My youngest son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in third grade at the age of seven. Here are my symptoms for my self-diagnoses: I do not stay focused on tasks, very easily distracted, I am disorganized, take on multiple tasks and do not finish them, fail to meet deadlines, have a hard time paying attention in long meetings or discussions, I miss important details in conversations, easily bored, am forgetful, have a hard time communicating with others in an effective way when trying to get a point across; feel like when someone tells me I need to do something or change something, or even just that “something needs to be done” (even if not just specifically to me) I feel it is that person saying I am a failure; I hide to take myself away from situations (like shutting down and not talking to others and staying home instead of being with family or friends) and feel undervalued because of my nature to take a step back from the spotlight. The stay focused, easily distracted and disorganized are my top three areas for me that are the hardest. I also believe either that or the menopause is the reason my memorizing lyrics has failed. So frustrating!

I have received some great recommendations on things to help and unfortunately a lot of these things don’t help me but can help others. Such as lists and reminders. They are somewhat good but not full proof. The lists I may forget to go back to for a while and the reminders I will put off or accidentally check as if done and then forget about.

So, like I said, frustrating and makes me anxious to “fix” myself. Which, by the way, you can’t “fix” but you can help yourself to make things better. This I am working on and working to understand more each day. It really does affect my writing, singing, and anything else I need to get done daily.

On another note, we are going to Sweden next week for the Midsummer Celebrations. Shopping day today for that and my birthday, which is tomorrow. 🙂 I will put a reminder to post about it! Haha! Hopefully I won’t put it off nor forget. (*covers face*)

I hope you all have a great weekend and see you sooner rather than later! ; D

Belle xoxo

Blog, thoughts

Family & Friends are So Important!

From Pixabay

Friends, Family & Me

I recently did a couple of episodes on Coffee, Wine & Chocolate podcast regarding the importance of friends, and then on family. In the last, I would say, six to seven years I have learned more about myself and those around me. I have accepted my flaws and my negatives because the other parts of me outweigh them and it is just a part of me. Everyone has good and bad sides to them. There is no way to be perfect, so we have to love ourselves for who we are and always work on being better and do better every day.

I have realized in my learning that friends and family are so important. Much more than I ever thought. I am ashamed to say it, but, I was so bad about keeping up with friends and family after I was married and started a family of my own. When going through my separation and divorce, it really hit me. I found out that I didn’t help myself by being available for some and doing things for them that were not appreciated and much worse, were just expected. I did not know about boundaries, how important they are, and that they help relationships be stronger and help with communication, respect and understanding.

So, I am building better relationships now with those I love. I am honest to a fault, at times to the point of probably saying more than I should, but that is who I am. Sometimes I am so honest that I over say or think things which just gets me into trouble by sounding like I don’t know what I am saying. Do you know what I mean? I then get frustrated at myself and my silly emotions take over. Because, once again, that is who I am.

Friends

I have quality friends that I appreciate and try to keep in touch with as much as possible. Some not as often as others, but it is like we just get it. The friends I have made over the years I have mostly lost touch with. We keep up with each other through social media and that is about it. The friends I made in the last five to seven years are very special to me. Mainly because they were with me through my hardest times and my changing in so many ways. They were my support and ones I could go to when I needed a break from my crazy life (as I saw it). I am blessed to have the friends I have.

Family

Then, let’s talk about family. Family is so important to me. While going through my separation and divorce I was with my parents a lot. We went through a lot together during this time. I was finding myself again, trying to understand all I was going through and not making it easy on my parents that were trying to help me through things. There were also my boys. I am sure I have said this before, but, I put up this wall between me and my boys because I was protecting myself and them from more hurt. But I found out later it was just causing more hurt. I did it so that I would not pull them into what their dad and I were going through. I was not going to put him in a bad light with them and I was not going to pretend everything was okay.

I realized too late that it was not the right thing to do. But now we are working on our communication and staying in touch. Not as much as I would like, but they are busy with their own families and lives.

So, my overall point and all I want to share is, to not put family and friends aside. Make sure you stay in touch regularly. Friends can help us daily, just as family. And family members are so important to stay close to. Yes, there are some that you don’t need to stay in touch with for your own sanity, but the rest are so important!

Love you all and stay blessed!

Belle xo