It’s been so long since I wrote anything here I don’t even want to bother trying to catch up anymore. The good news is I live alone now (queue Empty Nest Syndrome!), so I have much more time. I also quit my part-time job as a behavioral therapist to focus more on my freelance work, so I hope to show up more here. You can’t promote your work if you don’t have a blog that you visit occasionally, right? Don’t worry; I hate over-promoting, so I’ll keep it on a need-to-know basis and save the PR drop bombs for Instagram, but I do need to not take my friends here for granted. Sigh… remember when we checked in every day? Those were the days.

What do you want to know? Leave any curiosities or questions in the comments, and I’ll try to answer them in my next post.

My latest news is:

I’m not working as a behavioral therapist anymore. I quit cold turkey. It was hard to do. I had a new client, and my hours were very late. It got to the point where I felt like I was banging my head against the wall. I was tired and so was the client. The new client was violent and unpredictable, and I found myself afraid and dreading sessions.  I wanted to help the family, and I knew I could, but it was tough, and unfortunately, the pay was so low. Why are the industry’s least experienced and lowest-paid employees thrown into the fire with the most dangerous and complicated people? I was very insecure about how well I was doing. The parents knew ABA better than I did, and I felt like I was on stage and being judged for my lack of experience. Of course, I wasn’t. The parents liked me and were pleased to have me.  It breaks my heart that I let them down. But with the help of Matt, my very Virgo planner bf, I did a cost analysis and realized this job was hurting me more than it was helping me. I’m still interested in the field and can see myself returning in some way. I will take early childhood development classes at my local junior college and see where that takes me.

Bug moved out. It wasn’t on bad terms, but we were both stretched to our maximum stress capacity, and she decided her dad could help her more than I could. It was hard for me, I won’t lie. I have missed her.  I always thought she’d be with me until she was in her thirties and beyond. We’ve been a unit since 2006. But she’s also a free bird and stretching her wings. I did the same thing when I turned 18. I know she might be back, and she knows she will always be welcome here.

My niece is the new Bug when it comes to taking photos. She visits now and then so I can get my “little fix.” I do love littles. I also love being the aunt who can send her home and have a glass of wine with a 1000-piece puzzle and an audiobook. I love living alone. It’s bizarre how much I love it. I organize and rearrange my apartment to my heart’s content. I develop complicated routines and then break them. I stay home every day, cook dinner for myself, and never feel guilty about not going out. Is it big-headed to say I love my own company? I never get bored! I have so many things I love doing; I never have enough time in the day to do them all!

I’ll let you know when it gets old, but so far, so good!

If you have any graphic design/illustration work, send it my way! I’m back in the game.

xo