The Unexpected Break from Just About Everything

Well, hello there.

It has certainly been awhile. Looking back at this blog, the last time I posted something was February 6, 2021. Over a year ago. A lot sure has happened since then. Even for those of you who follow me on Instagram, you know that I have been absent on there as well. Perhaps not to the same degree as on here, but what started out as days between posts became weeks and then months. Whichever platform you follow me on, you know that my online presence has certainly diminished. So what has happened since February 2021?

Bad news: I’m still a Type 1 Diabetic (LOL)

Honestly, life. Life happened. In March of 2021, I went through a bad break up. Then I pretended I was fine, made some questionable life choices, and then I decided I should probably deal with that emotional ✨trauma. Part of dealing with that trauma was deciding if I was truly happy with where I was. In all aspects of life: my job, my living situation, my location, all of it. As it turns out, I was incredibly burned out at my job (And if you knew me at that point in my life, you could probably see that from miles away.) It felt like I was wearing more hats than ever, and while I loved the people I worked with, my work/life balance was gone. My decision to quit my job was extremely tough, and I’m honestly still surprised I even did it.

The biggest reason quitting my job was so hard was because that meant I would have to leave North Dakota. My home for the last four and a half years. While many people couldn’t fathom how I even lived in Fargo, I loved it. I still do. But the job market for my field there was pretty much non-existent, and if I wanted a change, I needed to move. What turned into me spit-balling possible locations a few days into my family vacation turned into a recruiter reaching out to me before the end of that vacation with a job opportunity. Within the month, I was interviewing and within six weeks, I made the difficult decision to start over in Madison, WI. Believe me when I say that moving from North Dakota back to Wisconsin was probably the hardest decision I’ve ever made. All of my friends either lived in Fargo, or not far from it. Even though I was burned out at my job, I loved everyone I worked with, the work I did, and I was good at my job. I was going to be giving all of that up to live in a strange city where I knew very few people to start a new job that I didn’t know if I would be successful at. On top of all of that, I would be leaving my Fargo Diabetes Team who helped me manage my T1D so well and I would have to navigate new insurance and deal with all of those frustrations. Anyone with a chronic illness can relate the anxiety that surrounds all of that.

In October of 2021, Dennis (my cat) and I packed up our townhome in Fargo, and moved to a new apartment in Madison. Since then, I’ve been navigating my new job, settling into Madison, and making new friends. Finding time to post regular content on here and my Instagram has really been put on the back-burner. Even running hasn’t been that high on my agenda since moving. What activities used to fit in so seamlessly with my daily routine are now things I struggle to find time for.

Now that I have been living and working in Madison for almost nine months, I am hoping that I can find time to fit more of these activities, like blogging and running, back into my normal routine. I would like to be able to start training for another half marathon and complete that by the end of 2023! Considering the last time I ran four miles, in early June!, it was a bit of a struggle, I’m interested to take you all on that journey with me.

I hope you all have been staying safe during the pandemic, and I’m excited to share more with you all soon!