Life Lately Via My iPhone

This blog started as a little diary of sorts that allowed me to look back at various points of my life – personal and professional – to see what I’ve been up to, feeling, enjoying, etc. It’s been a long freaking time since I used this space as that, so I wanted to get back to it, if for nothing else than to remember this period of my life one day.

Just out of curiosity, I looked to see when the last time I wrote a life lately post happened: September 2021. To say that so much life has happened since then would likely be the understatement of the freaking century.

In that time, we have moved from Hawaii to Washington, DC, endured miscarriage #4 and being told we cannot have children, Bill was diagnosed with cancer, we had to move out of our first rental because it was being sold, I left my job at TODAY, temporarily moved out of house #2 because of black mold, lost Bill to cancer, had to move out of our second rental permanently because the owner was moving back in, Judy was diagnosed with cancer and just 3 short months later we lost her. Just re-reading that puts a lump in my throat the size of North America. It’s been … a lot.

Of course, there have been good things that have happened and to be honest, they are mostly found in the quiet moments that are smaller, but no less full of joy: We added a new family member named Ted, we’ve tried plenty of new restaurants and recipes, and spent lots of time with friends and family. So I guess without further ado, the tiny moments that have sparked joy the last 6ish months (3 years was too much, have to start slow).

The last photo I have with Judy before she was diagnosed. I shared it on Instagram and wrote “hot girl summer: we are girls and we are sweaty.” It was a particularly hot summer here in DC and we spent a lot of time together cooling down inside. When I look at this picture long enough, I can almost feel her beside me again, nuzzling up to my neck in the sweet and special way she knew how. Oh, here come the tears again.

We celebrated Fourth of July at Capitol Fourth in front of, you guessed it, the Capitol. It was such a fun celebration despite the torrential downpour and it was funny to get texts and DMs asking if we were there because people thought they saw us on TV. It’s true, we were there, and yes, that was us.

Ted is one of the funniest dogs I’ve ever known and I am pretty sure the universe knew we would need to be laughing out loud when it sent us this silly boy. He loves nothing more than cuddling up in bed and has gotten pretty good at morning cuddles with coffee.

My license finally needed renewing (goodbye beautiful Hawaii license, I’ll miss you!), so I reverted back to my OG Pennsylvania license thanks to the military’s home of record policy, which meant I got to vote with my mom this year. Being able to see my parents with so much regularity has been a true gift.

We went to go see the new Wicked movie and unintentionally wore green and pink leisure suits. Good thing, because it’s nearly 3 hours in length! That aside, we both thought it was a great movie. That’s Ted’s tail peeking in at the bottom. He’s not quite sure how to do family mirror selfies yet.

In a turn of events we never saw coming, we have developed a deeply wonderful friendship with the team of doctors who treated Judy and Bill and every single day, I remind myself what a real blessing that is for us. Bright side, always, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. Dane and I headed out to DC to celebrate one of their birthdays earlier this month.

And before I wrap this up, I’d be remiss in not sharing this adorable snap I capture the other day of Ted enjoying the fireplace. I’ve never seen a dog so intrigued yet cautious over the fire and I’m pretty sure snuggling up (safely) to the flames is his favorite cozy activity…especially as we enter a season of 20-something temps.

I’m not sure how often I’ll be doing Life Lately posts (maybe more, maybe less), but you can always follow along on Instagram since I’m more active there 🙂