It’s been a minute!
Hello, friends! It’s been a while since I’ve been on, and it feels like there is so much to say- I don’t know where to start!
To be honest, I have written several blog posts over the last couple years and each time I sat there thinking, “Okay, this will be the one that I actually post and start back up with Let’s Talk Ladylike.” But then it wouldn’t happen. So today is the day!
Since starting Let’s Talk Ladylike, we’ve had some changes. A big one being the fact that Nate and I moved from New York City to Portland, Oregon in June of 2020. It felt like a big adjustment for the first six months to a year (as most big moves do), but we finally feel like we’re settling in, finding community, and building a life we love here.
We bought our first house last summer and now this summer we get to make all our garden and backyard dreams come true. It’s a cute little one-story, two bed, one bath craftsman style home in Southeast Portland and we can’t even believe it! And not only do we get to create the backyard of our dreams this summer, but we get to use our second bedroom to create a safe space for a couple foster kiddos soon. We are so excited to enter into the process, and terrified at the same time. We feel super lucky to be surrounded by an incredible community, some of which are fostering themselves as well; and we know that even though we have zero experience with raising kiddos at this point- we do know how to show them love so we’ve at least got that to offer!
In terms of my health- the biggest update is that I have recently been processing through some past sexual abuse and trauma in counseling. I am doing a form of therapy called EMDR therapy- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy. It has been WILD. I don’t really know how else to explain it at the moment. But I can tell you that I am experiencing healing and freedom in ways that I didn’t realize were possible and it’s pretty freaking cool.
I am still learning how to best manage my endometriosis- I feel like that will be a life-long journey of just listening to my body and doing the best that I can to make the best decisions for my body and its wellbeing. I think the most important thing I’ve been learning is how to practice self-compassion when it comes to days where I’m experiencing a flare-up or mentally struggling. Being gentle and kind to myself has actually helped- it seems simple but it’s been important.
Vaginismus is still a thing for me haha. It is frustrating but I also know it’s just my body doing its best to protect me from harm. I feel like EMDR therapy and working through sexual abuse is going to be a huge step in my vaginismus healing- both Nate and I are already seeing changes which is really encouraging. Most of these changes right now are mental- a lot of lies and self-protective walls are being identified and are slowly coming down- and that’s opening up my willingness to be vulnerable and comfortable with Nate. I didn’t even fully realize a lot of these things were present, so it’s been incredibly freeing and like I said, so encouraging. It’s also been really hard, but I feel like I’m finally getting somewhere!
All that to be said, I’m excited to continue this journey with y’all! There’s so much more to learn, and I look forward to hearing your stories too. We are in this together <3