Lifestyle

Hey Gurlll & Welcome To The Safe Zone!

It's a cliche, I know, but as I sit here watching cartoons with my kids and drinking coffee, it's become clearer the older I get. As a child you're given mixed messages. "Be kind. Don't hate." but also "the real world is a cruel place. Toughen up." Which can be confusing as you get older. One thing I was always told however, was that life is never fair. I had it shouted at me, told in passing or even said it myself. Though I learned the truth behind those words at a young age, I always wished and hoped that it would be one day. When my stepfather treated me differently than my siblings simply because I wasn't his real child, I learned. When he began to beat me and tell me awful things, I learned. When my mother finally kicked him out and started the divorce process, I thought things would turn around. I thought that things would start being 'fair'. However, as we all know, it never is. I learned it more and more harshly as the years went on. Every time my mother decided to buy alcohol/pills instead of paying for heating oil. Each time my heart had been broken. When my siblings had to leave and live with their father and I stayed with my mom. When my mother chose her demons over her children. I learned.

Milo rubbed his eyes desperately, as if trying to erase the vision. Nightmares seem harrowingly authentic when they are based on your own reality. Momma said that he had witnessed what no human should witness, certainly not an innocent boy, and that’s why his mind plagued him so morbidly. His short breaths became deeper and a familiar comforting sound dismissed the echo of screaming. As if attentive to Milo’s distress, the swallow was singing a soothing tune from his usual resting tree, drawing Milo to the window.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that COVID-19 pandemic has restricted us to our homes. None of us saw it coming. And suddenly all the happy celebrations and fun gatherings reduced to online conversations and wishes. But we shouldn’t let the tough times get the best of us is something that I told myself and decided to make the most of the free time in hands.

Do you remember it? That one moment that you feel changed your life? Maybe you've only had it happen once, or maybe multiple times. Maybe it changed your life for the better and it's remembered as one of the happiest times of your life. Or maybe, like me, it turned your whole world upside down for what you consider to be the third time in your life. Maybe it's more for you, or less.

Here we go.