taking the good with the bad

It's been a month and a half since I launched this blog.  I meant to post more often.

Things got busy, and roller-coaster rough.

Business for a piano teacher during the summer is always a little slow, but we've got new expenses that make it a little more difficult.

I've used the time to get most of my stuff together for my nutrition practice.  I've started writing nutrition articles, for no one in particular, but with the hope that someone somewhere will learn something from them.  It's getting me to write, anyhow.

My husband is recovering from a brush with a serious illness - thankfully, he's doing very well and it looks like it's all behind us now.

But just when we received this good news, we were hit with a personal loss.  Our little cat, Roenus, so carefree, happy, playful and friendly, passed away suddenly on Monday, September 10.  Adopted from a colony of feral cats sheltered at my in-laws' country home, Roenus had been diagnosed as a kitten with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) at his first check-up.  We always knew that would make him more susceptible to contracting an illness or suffering an injury that could potentially claim his life; but we always thought we'd have more time with him.  He was 2 years and 3 months old.  We only hope that his short life with us was a happy one.

One of my favourite pictures of Roenus - naptime with a teddy.

What I hope to take from these experiences - what I've learned from Roenus' perpetual purring calm - is to do things that make me happy.  No matter how busy or hard things get, finding time for things you enjoy should never be pushed aside for later.

I've collected the materials for several craft projects over the summer, that are currently sitting in my hobby room waiting to take shape.  In the wake of Roenus' passing I bought even more supplies.  I have beads and findings and tools and a project book, ready to start making beadworks.  I have a wooden key wall-hanging to be transformed into a functional piece as a decorative keyholder.  Lastly, I have a pack of 3 shadowboxes to be made into memorial plaques with pictures and collars for Roenus and Kato, the first of our adopted cats, who also passed away too soon (Roenus was adopted, ironically, in the hopes of soothing Reese's grief at losing Kato, but she never fully warmed to the new addition).




Kato - Jan 2006-June 30 2010

Reese - July 2007-

 

Roenus - June 2010-Sept 10 2012

I don't intend to put these projects off much longer.

Through all of this, I've found that yoga and BodyCombat have been great outlets for the stress, frustration, and, most recently, grief.  Becoming stronger physically is also helping me be stronger emotionally; and through yoga, and practicing yoga as part of an event to help people around the world, I've felt more connected not just to myself, but to others around me.  The instructor of the BodyCombat class I attend each week has been putting up inspiring quotes on the wall before class.  This week's quote hit home, and I'll be keeping it in mind:

"Tough times don't last, but tough people do."

~S.