As you can tell by my site name I am beginning this journey to relieve stress. My journey to this point is long and detailed, but as you follow my site you will learn more and more about me and why this process is part of a healing process nearly 50 years in the making. I am not looking for sympathy, monetary support, or criticism (especially not looking for criticism). I have years of all of these elements and I am finally in a place intellectually and emotionally where I recognize where I need to make changes to benefit myself and my most important relationships. I am a lifetime learner. I love learning new things, but I am just finding that I like to learn facts that are helpful to me in the moment and not necessarily to win at a pub trivia contest. I do not remember for long periods of time unless I use that knowledge for writing or research, so I may have lots of facts that I have read (or glossed over) that may come back in a moment’s notice whether in the appropriate moment or not. I do not have an attention deficit that I am aware of, I am not hyperactive (at all) and I do not have a clinical diagnosis of another condition. However, like many I have self-diagnosed on occasion and that has helped me personally understand why I am the way I am. Fortunately I have a great support system which offers me love, acceptance, and understanding so I have found that I do not need to seek a professional diagnosis at this time. That could all change and I will move toward formal validation if necessary. Although I have had many wonderful therapists in my past, currently I am not in any program or working with a professional. The skills and strategies my past therapists have taught me are finally making sense to me and I now find that I use those same skills and strategies to make every day valuable to me and those in my circle.

Who Am I?

I am a 55 year old female citizen of the United States living in Switzerland. Some of my best roles that I currently play are wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend, student, baker, and family chef. Like most people who find themselves in these roles or something similar, I recognize that my role changes often. I have told others in the past that one of my favorite parts of being a mother is that I get to play out every dream career I ever wanted as a child. I have been a hairdresser, nurse, doctor, therapist, make-up artist, chef, coach, teacher, and many other professionals as I ventured through every day with my children. My children are all adults now, but I find that I often refer to them as if they are still in middle school and they need me to bake them cookies after a tough day at school. I know they do not need this, but I often wonder if they would want that just one more time.

I have lived in Switzerland for two years now and I have finally settled on the idea that I can see myself as a person who chose a path not like many others and grew to love the person she is becoming. More of my story in later posts. I want to end today’s post with telling my family how much I appreciate their love and patience as I learned to be me.