I don’t know about y’all, but May FLEW by for me! The first week of May was spent scrambling to prepare to fly to Israel for my grandma’s funeral services (I missed the actual funeral and shiva, but got to visit her gravesite), then going to Israel for a week, and then spending a full week adjusting back, and boom the month was over before I knew it!
I started off May getting ANOTHER ulcer flare up, which most likely was caused by the grief of losing my grandma but was also exactly a year after I got it in the first place, making me think it was back on some “anniversary tour” 🙄 It was horrible timing before my trip, and definitely bothered me while I was there.
Luckily, I met with a new doctor a couple weeks after getting back, who FINALLY confirmed my suspicion that I have a parasite causing all my gut problems! Not only that, but I also have h. pylori, which is a sneaky bacteria that causes ulcers (I had been tested twice for it and both times came back negative).
I never thought I would be so excited about hearing that I have a parasite, but when you have been dealing with health problems and getting gaslighted by doctors and family and friends for as long as I have, that validation means everything! More importantly, I know how to treat it because I know WHAT I am treating now! I am relieved to be in good hands with a naturopathic doctor who actually has experience in treating parasites.
Another highlight of the month was going to an event in DC hosted by Pinterest, with the focus of the night being on mental health. As a therapist, obviously this was right up my alley! It was great getting to meet women working on mental health in different capacities, and I made some amazing connections that will hopefully lead to some exciting opportunities for me to share more content about mental health!
Speaking of mental health content, I also started a series on my various social media accounts with mental health tips, such as coping tools I like to use. I will be continuing that series throughout the year (and beyond), so make sure you follow me on my accounts to stay up to date!
Overall, May was definitely good to me, but I am ready to start a new month. Today holds a lot of meaning and mixed emotions for me. It is the “shloshim” of my grandma’s passing – which literally means 30 days – and it is an auspicious day in the mourning period for Jews. Unfortunately, my family won’t be able to hold services until next week when the holiday “shavuot” is over, but today is still meaningful.
Today is also exactly a year since I started my current job as a therapist, which I see as my first real therapist job, because the one before was only three months and it was trash so it doesn’t count 😂 It has been quite a journey to get to this job, including lots of hard work to get my Master’s degree and social work license and also several traumatic job experiences. I am thinking ahead to where I want to be with my career and trying to map out the best way to get there, but I am having trouble figuring that out. Hopefully time will tell and bring me some much needed clarity!
Lastly, today also marks five years since I packed up my car and left San Diego to move back to DC. I decided to go on a two week solo road trip back home instead of flying, which I could not be happier about. Anyone that knows me knows I love to travel, especially solo, so I was NOT going to pass up an opportunity to hit up some cities along the way home! I spent 4 days each in Austin, New Orleans (my third time there) and Atlanta, with an extra night on each end just to break up the drive. It was a fantastic trip, and a much needed buffer to process ending such a big chapter of my life in San Diego.
I had a fun and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend, and I am super excited to see what the summer holds! I am currently trying to plan a birthday trip for next month, but I hope my nights and weekends are filled with fun outings and hangouts with friends. I wanna be outside this summer! What are you guys planning or looking forward to this summer?
