This year has been really hard for me personally and for my family in general. As I've already mentioned on my blog, I lost my job earlier this year. I have been looking for a new job and have had quite a few interviews. Each time I have an interview and don't get a job offer or even a second interview, I lose confidence in myself.
My dad died in July and the months leading up to his death were difficult. My dad was put on home hospice care about a month before he died, but he wasn't doing well before that too. I came to Utah in May to help my mom and sister with taking care of my dad. To say this year has been difficult is an understatement.
Although it's been hard, there have been some good things about it too. All of my siblings were able to come to Utah to surprise my dad for Father's Day. I met my great-niece for the first time. I've been able to enjoy some outdoor scenery (going on hikes, taking scenic drives, seeing pretty sunsets, rainbows, and flowers). I've met up with some friends.
We had a family photo shoot on Father's Day. These were the last family photos (with all of my siblings and my parents) before my dad died.
My great-niece and I. Isn't she adorable?! :) She's my first great niece or nephew and as of right now my only one.
While my dad was on hospice care, it was hard to get myself out to meet with friends or really do anything outside of my parent's house (besides going on walks nearby, running errands, and occasionally taking a scenic drive). About a month after my dad died, I started feeling like I could meet up with friends again.
I contacted my friend, Shari, and asked if she'd like to go on a hike. I met Shari in Virginia but she's working remotely and living in Utah now. We would occasionally go on hikes together when we were both in Virginia so it was fun to go on another one together but in a different location. We went on a lovely hike near my mom's house.
Some pretty flowers on our hike!
I moved around a lot growing up. Although I only lived in Utah for two years before going to University, I made some good friends in those two years. I met up with some old high school friends not too long ago, Kasey, Amanda, Natalie, and Whitney.
It was fun catching up with them, reminiscing about the good ol' days as well as updating them on what's going on in life now!
A pretty sunset I saw on a walk near my mom's house!
At my most recent job, we had an office in Virginia, but we had some remote workers too. Working in the office, I didn't have much interaction with my co-workers who worked remotely.
During the pandemic, we ended up closing down the office in Virginia and we all worked remotely. Because we were all remote, we started having a weekly zoom call to talk about any questions we had about work and then we usually ended up talking about personal things too.
Because of these weekly zoom calls, I got to know the two people who were working remotely before much better. Janice and Irene were the two remote workers and both live in Utah. I became friends with them and I met up with them for lunch recently. It was fun catching up and seeing them again.
I know Diana from Virginia. She was in town for one of her old roommate's wedding and invited me to breakfast one of the days she was here.
Diana is one of my good friends. She's been my friend since the beginning of my time in Virginia (so over 11 years). She is awesome! It was good to see her and eat a delicious breakfast at Kneaders.
Although this year has been really really hard, there have been some good times too. I'm grateful for my family and friends and for their love and support during this difficult year (and always).
