My Life In SF Bay | June 2018

Sunday, August 19, 2018




June seems to just be a blur now that we are already in mid-August.  June was a month that left me physically exhausted. Thankfully, there were also many joys that kept my spirit afloat. 

HIGHLIGHTS: Mr Sweetie's hospitalization and my solo trip to New Orleans.

HOSPITAL LIFE

We welcomed June in the hospital where Mr Sweetie was admitted on June 1st. The first  week   was a blur of hospital stays and rushing into work just so I could have a sense of normalcy.  Mr Sweetie came home on June 6. By then, he had been in the hospital for 8 days since May 31st.  

The next three weeks were for recovering and regaining his strength. I am so blessed that I have a job that is very flexible and supportive. I was told to take as much time as I needed to care for him. There were days where I went to work for only 2 hours a day, sometimes 4 hours. These were after making him breakfast and lunch, going to work then be back early enough to make him dinner. 


CASSEROLE, FLOWERS AND FAMILY LOVE

What held my sanity together were the love and support that we got from our family and friends in the form of casseroles, care package, flowers, daily texts and visits to cheer us up. 


Mr Sweetie's mom has sent us dishes such as salmon and rice, and a big pot of chicken soup via his dad while my friend Jax sent me pans of lasagna and lentil soup. I got a bouquet of flowers from my team mate a well. 


BFF sent us this lovely care package from Farm Girl. The flowers and teddy bear above were from Nick. We were well-fed and well-loved during these difficult days. 


TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS


As much as I felt bad leaving Mr Sweetie by himself while recuperating at home, I had to go to New Orleans on a business trip during the last week of June. Family and friends visited him while I was gone for a week. Mr Sweetie was supposed to meet me there so we could extend the trip to a vacation. As expected,  he was not well enough to fly. Since the hotel room and flights were already paid for, I cut the trip short but still stayed for three more days on my own. As much as I wished he were with me, I had a good time traveling on my own and got some well-deserved rest and sleep which were elusive while taking care of him. 



DATE NIGHTS


We got to still go out on plenty of date nights when he got home from the hospital.Sushi for our first date night as eating a healthy diet is a must.





Sunday at Habit Burger. It was not good to be deprived so I let him have a steak sandwich as a treat as well as green bean tempura. I had the ahi tuna sandwich. Nick joined us and we spent the rest of the afternoon bingeing on Netflix. We watched 3 movies which at this point including Coco. It was a lovely warm afternoon. I even fell asleep on the couch while watching movies. 

Other movies we say this month:  It and My Babysitter's A Vampire. (I just love kids' movies. I really did not care for "It".)



I wrote about our date night at Stay Gold in Oakland here on the last Saturday of June which was the 30th.


QUIET SOLO MOMENTS


Despite the fatigue and lack of sleep while taking care of Mr Sweetie also came opportunities to be alone and rest. There were nights when I slept at the hospital with him. (Those were difficult nights of no sleep!) There were also nights when I got to sleep by myself. In the process I was also able to catch up on reading and resting. And a beautiful afternoon where I was able to go for a Thai lunch and stroll in our neighborhood while his friends were visiting. These were the days where I gave myself permission to not be at work. and not feel guilty about it. Sadly, it took his hospitalization for me to take some time for myself as well. 

I also did not get to see my family this entire month. They wanted to visit Mr Sweetie at the hospital but having so many visitors that actually left him drained, I asked my parents and siblings to not come. They gave me the space that I needed but have been calling and texting me everyday which made me feel loved and supported. 

So, here it is! I am finally able to write about June although I feel like this has been an abbreviated version.  I just will never catch up. It is already mid-August! Life has just been so busy. I am really wishing to post my pictures and write about my wonderful trip to New Orleans. I hope to be able to do it one of these days.

In the meantime, June was when we really felt the Lord's blessings and provisions for spiritual and physical strength. This month has made me and Mr Sweetie closer nor just to one another but to God  as we prayed together to restore his health. It also brought me and his family closer as well. 

And lastly, June has taught me many lessons about myself -- first, my strength which is really the Lord's while I was trying to deal with Mr Sweetie's illness as gracefully as I could. And the second lesson was  that I can still travel by myself. It has been years since I have fully traveled solo. (The solo business trip to Las Vegas last year does not count!) Before meeting him, I have done solo travels to Thailand and Singapore on two separate trips. Being with him for many years now, all of my trips were with him. Even when I flew to another US city, he would often meet me there such as our trip to San Antonio, Texas last year and Philadelphia this year. Knowing that I will be by myself the entire trip to New Orleans has made me nervous. I had a great time and reaffirmed the strong woman in me that is always there no matter what.

I am glad that June was already over and also thankful for the blessings of health, love of family and friends, and all the lessons that this month has brought. 

GOODBYE, JUNE. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LESSONS.


Post a Comment