You know that phrase “when the going gets tough, the tough get tougher”? This phrase has literally felt like my life these past few weeks. I am a firm believer that good things and not so good things happen to every person. If you follow me on Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee!), then you have probably seen a bit into what has been going on in my world last week and even before that. Unfortunately, things have not been going so great in my corner of this world. I have had to postpone blog postings and sharing things here on my sweet sweet corner of the internet (which by the way I am SO grateful that you came here on this very great day!), so I can simply focus and process everything that is going on, which has seemed to be happening simultaneously. As someone who is proud of the platform that she has created, I am here today to share a little bit about what has been going on, in hopes that I can relate to someone else.
***Before I get into the meat of this posting, I want to pre-phase by saying a few things. First, that none of us are EVER alone. It can be super duper hard to reach out to someone when things get tough and we feel that *yes* we have to get tougher than usual. But, at the same time, it is extremely important that you reach out to others when times aren’t easy, we ALL need that support system. So, always feel free to reach out to somebody who you trust – no matter who that may be. One of the biggest reasons that I am sharing what I am sharing today is so that none of us feel alone. I am not asking for anything in return, just that I can share with others that they aren’t alone and that life isn’t as glamorous as it may seem behind the screen. Second, I have kept things very private even with some of my friends. This past week has felt like such a blur to me that I have only really shared that I haven’t been feeling 100% with most people and sometimes nothing more. I am very sorry if I haven’t shared much with you, even if you are one of my dear friends or family members or members of my amazing community here on this platform of mine, as everything has truly felt like it happened in the blink of an eye that I am still trying to process it all and share with others. I still love you all and that hasn’t changed one bit, in fact, my love for y’all has only grown even more.***
So, everything all started about 10 days ago. I went into the office for the first time in MONTHS. I was late getting out the door, since I struggled to find my pass to get into my work building, after getting ready as promptly as I could to get out the door. Luckily, my Dad found my pass for me as I was about to leave and most likely have to borrow a temporary pass. I was already frazzled and the heatwave was JUST beginning here in the Washington, DC area. I, then, drive off in my sweet white Volvo that I named Daisy to long and behold be routed to the WRONG PLACE by Google Maps for the first time since probably 2010 in my Mom’s old van with a printed off sheet of directions from some map website that was hip from those days. After getting lost and even more frazzled than before I left the house, I successfully re-routed myself to my office building. However, just as I am to turn into my parking garage right by my office, I got rear-ended by a much larger-than-Daisy vehicle. In that moment, I had hoped that it wasn’t an accident so I drove off (BIG mistake for this always positive thinking lady) and got into my office parking garage to discover that *yes* Daisy had been rear-ended. In disbelief, I opened my trunk where I had stored my work bags which were *thank goodness* OKAY and good as new. BUT, my trunk could not close after I had opened it. I called my Papa as I do for literally every slight inconvenience in my life even though this was obviously more than a slight inconvenience (which, if you’re someone I talk to on the daily, you probably know this ALL too well – LOL!) and then messaged my coworkers who thankfully came out to help me *knock on wood* close my trunk shut so I could lock my car (which still thankfully locked) and go into the office for some free donuts that my company happened to be sponsoring that day.
If you know me, then you know that I am ALWAYS late for social things. HOWEVER, when it comes to work and professional-related things, I hate with a burning passion being late for things. I always get super stressed and frantic when I know I am going to be late for something work-related, especially when it is out of my control. Luckily, all of my coworkers wanted to make sure I was okay and I got to use some private rooms to submit all of my claims to insurance and get everything that I needed under control. I am super grateful for each of my coworkers, as they were such a great support and rock during this time. Many of them checked in on me throughout the day and even the days that followed, which meant more to me than they will ever know. The same goes for the very few friends that I had talked to throughout the day along with my Papa, parents, and next door neighbor Angela who had brought me some wine and advice when I got home. And, in case you were wondering, I got free coffee and donuts and a chance to socialize with many of my coworkers, including company executives.
That exact day, I ended up going home earlier than usual from work, which some of my coworkers happened to do as well. My hopes were to beat traffic, but my luck wasn’t so good. I got stuck in a bit of traffic along the I-495 beltway along Washington, DC. If you live in the Washington, DC area, THEN you know how horrible traffic is here, especially when rush hour and travel season hits! And, well, poor poor poor Daisy the sweet sweet Volvo’s trunk came unlatched and was FLYING up and down across the beltway and all the way back home. I didn’t notice, to my surprise, that Daisy’s trunk was flying all over the sky until I had gotten off of the beltway and onto the parkway to head home. BUT, I was mortified and panicked calling Papa. Luckily, I made it home safely and somehow my first aid kit that I keep in my trunk at ALL times had stayed, too. For reference, my first aid kit is in a clear plastic bin that slides everywhere and at ALL times of the day and drives of mine. I practically cried when I got home. I finished submitting everything to insurance and enjoyed some wine, as previously mentioned from my angel of a next door neighbor Angela.
So, flash forward to the weekend (the accident happened on a Wednesday), and I am in Charlotte, North Carolina visiting my best friends. We go to a Big Time Rush concert and have a BLAST! But, unfortunately as we get home, I start feeling nauseous. My stomach is bothering me like CRAZY and I spend more time than I would have liked behind closed doors trying to feel better. Without getting into too much personal information about my day to day life and health issues that I deal with regularly, I have some extra things that I have to deal with health-wise that can make it harder on me when I travel or even just go out for a night. It was a struggle when I went to school, too. Needless to say, the things that I deal with health-wise are very invisible to the common eye. The next morning, I am feeling better but still not 100% – some of this is due to my health things and some of it is not. My friends and I went to the ADORABLE Freedom Park in Charlotte, which was super fun, despite the fact that I was struggling with extreme heat sensitivity (I know I’m not the only one who deals with this!!). I couldn’t wait to get home, yet my friend Bryn and I still had a looooong drive ahead of us back to the Washington, DC area.
Bryn and I get on the road. We are in her adorable little car. I fall asleep just 15 minutes after we hit the road, as I am pooped and feel really icky. And, then, all of a sudden I am woken up screaming as we hit a tire in the middle of the highway. Minutes later, we pull over at a gas station minutes south of the Virginia-North Carolina border. And, the car has some damage to it that would make it more challenging for us both to drive. At the same time, Bryn isn’t feeling super great herself both physically and mentally. We wait 4.5 hours for Bryn’s angel of a father to come help fix up her car and for him to drive up to fix it for us. We didn’t know if we would be able to make it home Sunday night, either. I was super nervous as I had had work the next day. And, not to mention, the heat was making me super nauseous and giving me a really bad headache atop of everything else that I was feeling. Luckily, we were able to get home, despite it being at 3am, which my body cannot usually handle (knock on wood – I somehow made it home alive, despite driving 2+ hours starting at 1 in the morning in a car that I’ve never driven before and not much sleep the night before). I honestly feel extremely lucky that I was able to make it home in one piece that Sunday night and the same goes for Bryn, too.
The next day (Monday), I wake up and I work from home. I complete my tasks for the day and attend all meetings. Yet, all I want to do is fall asleep and nap. I feel nauseous, dehydrated, light headed, and dizzy. It is NOT GREAT. I stay in my pajamas all day long. Somehow, I stayed up long enough to watch this past week’s episode of The Bachelorette (if you know you know!!) and to gossip a bit afterwards via text with many of my friends who also watch. Then, Tuesday comes along. I hop onto my first call of the day and I cannot stop feeling lightheaded and dizzy. It is bad. I lay down in between my meetings and, then, sign off after my next meeting of the day. I spend the remainder of the day sleeping on the couch with the news and The Drew Barrymore Show on. I live with my Papa and he regularly hunts deer. He had some venison (deer meat) which I love to enjoy on occasion and it helped a lot. I was REALLY hoping to go into the office the next day (Wednesday) to see some of my coworkers and for the complimentary Kona Shaved Ice truck outside of my office space. Unfortunately, I was still lightheaded and did not want to leave the house. I felt a lot better all day Wednesday, though, and ended up accomplishing a lot of tasks then as well. I felt good knowing that I only needed to lay down once during the working day. I, then, went to Walmart and dinner out with Papa after the work day.
Thursday and Friday were kind of a blur for me. Somehow on Thursday, I make it through all of my meetings and tasks for the day. Yet, at the same time, I somehow make it out alive to go to a happy hour with my friend Bryn in Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. The heat in the Washington, DC area is currently BRUTAL – I, mean, we are currently in a heat wave – and was really hard for me to simply walk around this gorgeous little neighborhood in the nation’s capital, too. We had a GREAT time at the happy hour, but after 10 minutes outside, I needed to head back home via the air conditioned Metro. Friday, I spent most of the day sleeping, besides a few work meetings in the morning. I signed off early that day, too. I was feeling super lightheaded and it only got worse as I got blood drawn that afternoon at the doctor’s office. I cancelled my Friday night plans with Bryn at the National Gallery of Art’s Jazz in the Garden to do nothing else but rest. Luckily, my doctor was able to do some blood work to see if I had some specified health conditions and everything came back normal for the most part. I have purchased a gallon-sized hot pink water bottle and it has helped me stay hydrated. I am uber grateful for the fact that I was able to go to the doctor’s on Friday AND that nothing is seriously off with me health-wise.
Now, to close off this blog post, I am super appreciative of all of those who have reached out to me as I’ve been sharing just snippets of all that’s been happening. So, thank you thank you thank you! This experience has made me realize that none of us can take anything for granted, including our health. I have watched many of my older relatives live their best lives in both the good and the bad times. I have seen some of my relatives’ health decline and knowing that they enjoyed their life when in good health is inspiring to me. I am also grateful to be able to live where I do with the healthcare system and providers that we have (and a doctor that my Mom has gotten me and my brother and the rest of our family to use that is a concierge and pay extra for us all to have great healthcare access). I know that even in the United States many struggle with basic healthcare rights and needs on a regular basis. That all being said, I am eternally grateful to be in good health and safety through it all.
XOXO – Katie <3