Summer 2022 hit differently for my family and I this year, but then again, this entire year has hit differently so it’s only expected. Jess D Creative closed for 3 weeks back at the end of June to road-trip to Florida and GET AWAY! We desperately needed a change of scenery, some space to try and just be a family together and make some happy memories for a change.
If you’re new here or just haven’t been keeping up allow me to give you a quick recap for some context. At the top of this year, I lost both my parents exactly one month apart from each other. It was not expected, and my sisters and I have spent the top half of the year, laying our parents to rest and navigating all the things you have to deal with when someone dies times two. From paperwork, and lawyers and everything in between. Nothing in this world prepares you for such a loss but all I can do is my best to navigate through the grief and find the best way I can to honor them, be present for my children, and continue to aim for my goals.
I think we collectively were counting down the days to our trip because we could all feel the heaviness of the last 6 months and going on an adventure was just what we all needed.
We spent a total of 3 weeks away and in that time, we stayed with my in-laws, visited one of my sisters, and of course Disney World and Universal were a must on the list for the kids. It was a LONG and draining (at least for us lol) but we had a great time, just existing, with no deadlines or meetings to worry about, no paperwork to or phone calls to stress over, was amazing. Roller coasters were ridden, 10 thousand steps were taken, and overpriced pizza was had! Our kids had a blast with their grandparents, and I got the opportunity to focus on my kids and just be present with them, something I have not been able to do for a while now because with death comes so much responsibility. There is just so much we either take for granted or think we have forever to do, and then we don’t. So, this summer, my focus was to try and find some light through all the darkness. Once we got back home, the kids went right into summer rec mode, and I was able to slowly get back into the swing of things. Our theme for summer at home was NICE AND EASY! And that’s just how we kept it.
Soon the rush will begin in September, the chill of fall and the prep for the holidays will begin. I know this year will be bittersweet and emotional for all of us. But, we will make memories, and hopefully remember to not take any of it for granted.
If I had one word or phrase to describe 2022 for me and my family, it’s that 2022 has without a doubt been a core memory, and just like the movie reference, not all core memories are happy ones, but they are pivotal moments, events in our lives that stay with us, challenge who we are in the moment, and forever change who we will be moving forward. If there is one takeaway from the storm that has been 2022, it’s that we are not promised tomorrow, and regret cuts the deepest. Do not leave that dream for another day, do not wait for all the stars to align, because they won’t, and do not miss a day to tell the ones you love most, how much they mean to you. I am still not certain where my journey will take me, but I do know that failure isn’t an option for me and I will keep chasing my dreams because I have 3 little boys looking up to me here on earth, and two angels watching over me in heaven.