Reflecting on Indiana

Would you believe it's been nearly a year since moving to Bloomington? I can barely believe it. I feel like a lot has happened in the past year, more than other years that have passed.

I think when you struggle with depression and anxiety, it can be really easy to sort of write off your experience and let your brain convince you that you don't really accomplish all that much. I'd like to stop letting my brain make me think that.

My New Backyard

When I moved into my current home, one of the biggest draws was the fact that there was a backyard. If you know me at all, you know my dog Moose is basically my life. He's the reason I go outside, hike, and touch grass. You may be able to guess where I am going with this, but Andrea and I were both really excited to have an outdoor space that we could call our own.

There was one small problem. The previous tenants dogs had ripped the yard to shreds. There was no ground cover, the soil was highly compacted, and there just was not a ton ✨aesthetically✨ going on for the yard. But I had a vision!

This isn't where we started - believe it or not, the entire right side of yard was missing grass. I spent so much time leveling, reseeding, watering, etc, trying to lay the ground work for the bones of the yard.

I know I am going to need to reseed again but I am trying to make sure I go about this the right way. Also, I am renting so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ going for good, not perfect.

Side note – if anyone has any tips on removing English ivy, I am all ears!

My New Job

In March, my old company was acquired by Arboretum Lifesciences, a stealthy start-up out of Boston. I've been thrown in with a group of engineers that have been working together for years and have really been feeling like I am outside of my comfort zone. I have been trying to push past those feelings of discomfort and inadequacy, and just be grateful for the experience to continue learning from others.

Trying Dog Sports

This July, I signed Moose up for his first barn hunt (opens in new tab) class. He loved it. I was actually so impressed with how much I enjoyed the experience. I grew up just outside of Columbus, OH in a really suburban, midwest sort of vibe and despite being in the midwest I never really knew anyone who competed in dog sports or 4H (though, I knew of it).

There's definitely an image that you can conjure when thinking of the people that participate in dog sports – and I'm not going to argue against that. All I can say is that there is a reason dogs are "man's best friend", and building a relationship with your dog and watching them compete in activities that they enjoy is really rewarding.

On Health, Routines and Other Subjects

Something that I write continually about is usually related to ADHD and trying to feel like I am living a fulfilling and balanced life. Honestly, I fell off track since last August. I haven't had a consistent workout routine or really daily routine and have a really hard time with any disruption to my schedule.

I've been traveling back and forth between my family (Columbus, OH) and Andrea's (Madison, WI) and just really have a hard recovering. Tho I really enjoy these travels, I feel like I definitely take more than a neurotypical person to recover and get back into the swing of things.

Between now and next August, I really want to build resilience and stability (as much as possible - I also want to do things like travel without feelings of guilt about recovery) surrounding my routines. Reducing the number of decisions I make would alleviate my struggles with decision fatigue, and managing my chronic autoimmune condition would greatly benefit from these changes.