Let’s Catch Up

The last blog post I published was almost four years ago. So much has happened since then, and I don’t even know where to start. Please forgive me if it seems like I’m babbling, but here we go!

To be honest, I have no idea why I haven’t written a Vibrantly V post in almost five years. Ever since COVID-19, I—like many others—have been trying to navigate our new normal.

At the beginning of 2021, my husband and I decided to buy a plot of land to build our starter home. We were renting an apartment at the time, and the rent prices were getting out of control. I’m so glad we decided to move quickly because there were only two plots left in the neighborhood we wanted. Over the next eight months, we waited and watched while our new home was being built. In November 2021, just four days before our first wedding anniversary (and the day before Thanksgiving), we signed the paperwork and were handed the keys to our new home!

We were riding high after moving into our new house, well into the New Year. We had our first house gathering in January 2022—a surprise birthday party for my husband’s 34th birthday. Now, mind you, his birthday is eight days before mine, so we probably should’ve had a joint birthday party, but we didn’t. My dad passed three days before my 35th birthday, and it was devastating. My dad was a good man and a good dad. And now he’s gone. If I felt comfortable enough to curse, I would, but I most definitely miss him. Life has not been the same since he’s been gone in a lot of ways.

And I’m not going to lie to y’all—do you know they tried to have my dad’s funeral on my 35th birthday? To be honest, no one remembered it was my birthday, but my husband said, “HELL NO!” Shout out to that man. I love you, boo! My dad’s wake was on my 35th birthday, and his funeral was two days later. Seeing my dad in a casket on my birthday was brutal. I’m not lying when I say I’m still processing the fact that my dad isn’t here anymore. I talked to him every day for 34 years of my life.

Then we got a dog. Y’all, I’ve been afraid of dogs forever, and now we have a Doberman of all dogs. Did I mention my husband went out of town after we brought him home? But I love Ace. He helped me heal for real.

The next couple of years were a blur. I was promoted at work twice, I traveled, but most importantly, I ended up pregnant! I was surprised, but not really, because we weren’t exactly “preventing” it.

Pregnancy was a wild ride at 36/37. I had a 12-year-old and was starting over. I ended up with gestational diabetes and had a three-night stay in the hospital at 33 weeks because my doctor thought I might be in early labor. I gave birth to my second child, Mya, on 8/8/24 at 37 weeks. She was beautiful, and my husband and I were so happy to have our baby earthside. I had two miscarriages previously, so giving birth to Mya was a true blessing. I love seeing my husband be a dad. It’s super beautiful.

I’m so excited to start blogging again. I hope y’all stick around!