Update: Life...

May 11, 2019, was the beginning of the most challenging time in my life thus far. It was the day my grandma passed away. That same day I unknowingly took responsibility for caring for my grandpa, who relied heavily on my grandma. On top of my responsibilities of taking care of my mom, who has MS, I barely had enough time to rest because I was always worried about one or the other.

On May 16, 2022, I lost my grandfather due to complications with chemotherapy from the lymphoma he was diagnosed with two months before. I loved him more than words can say, but because of my stress, I was relieved that the struggle and his suffering over the last three years had ended. Little did I know that things would only get worse from there.

I became the executor of their estate. My mom could not handle this position, and my uncle lives in MI. I made the call to cremate him and ordered a bench to place both of my grandparents' ashes to rest in the family plot in TN. I hired an estate sales company to liquidate their assets and a real estate agent to sell the house. At the same time, my mom and I were going through her stuff to either put in the estate sale or our garage sale. From the months of June until the beginning of September, I worked hard to get everything organized enough.

My mental health began deteriorating in august, causing my anxiety and stress levels to skyrocket. I have been writing notes about my past to prepare for a type of memoir later down the road, but this is the first thing I've written to publish in months. I've had some interesting ideas but no motivation to try to write them. I am still waiting to get my children's book illustrated. The artist I've chosen to work with has been busy, but I don't mind because my life has been chaotic.

Now that the sales are over and the house will be sold soon, I've had time to rest and calm my nerves. I will be going back to school to complete my master's degree at the end of September after a 3-month hiatus, and I am looking forward to it because it gives me something to focus on. I was nominated and accepted into an honor society called the National Society of Leadership and Success because of my GPA in school (3.95).

I will be resuming my attendance at the writer's group I am a part of here in my hometown. I missed them so much. I need to be surrounded by creativity again. It's hard to live without it. Since the madness has subsided in my life, my hope is that I can continue working on my next novel, The Splintering, and get my kids book illustrated and published.

For those of you who are still with me, I appreciate your patience. Life is hard, so I feel honored that you all still support me and my passion for creating interesting stories.

You'll be hearing from me soon,

S.L. Mabe