Only Brain Damage...

I started this in June of 2019...

Back in January (2019), I went for a follow-up, after more neuro-psychological testing, with my neurologist. To my relief I was told that the test results were better than expected. The damage to my frontal lobe should not progress into FTD because it is just brain damage. Only my short-term memory and moods are affected so deterioration of other skills should not develop.

After a year (2018) of feeling sorry for myself and obsessing over when I should end my life before I was incapable of taking care of myself, hope is returning--although apathy remains a constant struggle.

In February (2019), I got a part-time job at a yogurt shop two towns away from my home for four months. That was quiet an interesting adventure and deserves a post of its own. All-in-all the experience did a lot for my self-esteem.

Music played an important role in my ability to cope. The Mountain by Three Day's Grace and Get Up by Shinedown were a tremendous Godsend. Also, songs from Lauren Daigle's album helped to restore my ability to pray. My sincere thanks to all of them.

The present, 14 Jan 2020

2019 was a great year, but I still had no desire to write or blog. I don't really have it now, but God, family, inspiration, muse, Tarot, astrology, or whatever keeps nagging me to get on with writing so I can be used as a vessel to help someone other than myself.

I did so many fun things last year. I'll call it my year of mental recovery. I obsessed over ancestry and dove into my families' past. This was and is a lot of fun, mostly because there is a ton of material, which I'll log in another post, but three families came over on the Mayflower in 1620 (Fuller, Howland, and Tilley), and most of the others came over the following 30 years during the Great Migration.  On both my parents' paternal mothers' sides of the family settled in VA colonies in and near Jamestown, while paternal grandparents settled in MA and PA and were mostly Church of England Separatists, Quakers, and Mennonites--more on Mennonites later.

I tagged along with my husband on a business trip to New Hampshire so that I could visit the graveyards of some of the first relatives in North America. Through my paternal grandfather's line, I found out that the Smith family settled in Topsfield (off the outskirts of Salem) MA. Two of these grandparents (Smith and Gould) were directly involved in testifying against innocent women (Easty and Wildes) during the witch trials--told you this is fascinating and I promise I'll write more.

For my Christmas present last year, my husband took me to New Orleans for the day and we walked around the French Quarter. He said I could do anything I wanted so I got my my palm read (taken with a grain of salt), and the good news is I'm going to live a long life and travel. The mystic also told me to stop watching television, which in itself was worth the $60 because the political climate of the 45th presidency has been quite exhausting and maddening for me, so off goes CNN and MSNBC.

Well, that's all for now :)