Seven books I'm reading and other living life stuff

It's been a tough year. We moved to Spain to be with my elderly parents in November 2020. My uncle passed away earlier, and my dad passed away in Jan 2021, my aunt few months after, my mom in November, and  one of my best friends in Dec. And two of my sisters in law lost their fathers as well.

Creating balance was tough; between being there for my mom and mourning my dad. Giving her hope and feeling drained myself. Getting on with life in a new country and feeling like there's not much life left. doing my best to steer conversations with my mom away from medicines and doctor appointments and possibilities of spending time in the hospital - which we did, three times over a period of nine months. My husband and I did our best. We made her laugh occasionally, we took her out, we cooked for her and gave her space to cook and stay independent. In the end, she was too heart broken after dad passed away. She left. And I was left with a big hole. And finally I could truly cry for the loss of my dad, too, because I was afraid of crying too much in front of mom.

Mom turned 81 in October 2021. My sons came from Canada and we celebrated her birthday with her. Dad would have been 96 i n December. 

On 31 Dec, I decided I needed to follow my own advice. To live while I was alive. Loved ones would not want to see you sad all the time.  I bought a thick spiral calendar and I marked out everything I wanted to do this year. Color-coded days for different activities, keeping in mind that I will fall off the wagon, I gave myself space to do so with grace.

And so, I share with you my plans and my journey, in the hope that they will inspire you, and in the hope that you will share your journey, too. 

You can expect long blog posts!

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Seven Aspects to Wellbeing

1. Intellectual
2. Physical
3. Spiritual
4. Social
5. Emotional
6. Purpose
7. Environment

​These are the aspects I intend to look after, develop and nourish. I'll be sharing thoughts, insights, ideas, things I've discovered and found along the way.

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Intellectual

I've started with Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Meh.
I'm more than halfway through this book. For me, it ebbed and flowed. What I'm loving is the insight into China and bits of history. What I'm not enjoying so far is that the writing is a bit dry for such an emotional journey.
I'll tell you more once I've finished it. Has anyone here read it?​​

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Next on my reading list:

• قصة حب مجوسية
• A Place Called Here (recommended by my mom)
• Free formations (also recommended by my mom, who used to love Jenny Dowde's work). Freeform crochet is amazing; if you're a crocheter, I highly recommend you research and try it. I use this technique a lot in my work, especially my Tenderness Journals.
• A Traveler's Life by Eric Newby. First published in 1982. Mixed reviews on Goodreads on this book. 
• Now You Can Go by Vendela Vida. Here's an interview with the author about her book.
• One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry.  I'm so looking forward to this one. Drawings, squiggles, demons, autobiography. I'm getting more and more into illustrated books since my son introduced me to The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Palestine.​

What are you reading now? Or planning to read soon? Have you read any of the books above?

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Until next time,
xoxoxo
​Fadwa