Life with an Addict

So, this is a hard blog to write about. If my parents ever decide to read it they will be truly pissed. I mean, it is hard to discuss, but how do you say to your Mom, "You're a drug addict and I want you to go to rehab so that you can live." My mom is 70. She has a chronic, degenerative bone problem in her lower lumbar spine. However, her pain threshold is ZERO. I mean, to her a minor headache is a migraine. For those of us out there that have actually suffered from and experienced a migraine, it does not take a 20 minute nap to get rid of it. Oh no, this is a serious condition that takes serious Excedrin or other pharmaceutical drugs to get rid of it. It can take a full day to several days to get rid of it as well as the symptoms.

My mom is taking all kinds of different drugs. They are mostly all pain killers and she will eventually go to sleep and never wake up. I expect this to actually happen in the next two years or so. Being a medium, I don't usually have clairvoyance, but when reading my mom's aura when she was here at Thanksgiving, it kind of let me know what I was dealing with. She slept all day on Wednesday (the day after arriving) and didn't get that it was the drugs that she was taking. I mean she takes Ambien, as well as all these pain killers.

My sister and I have talked about it. She has talked to my dad about it, but he chooses to take the road less traveled and avoid the discussion with her about all the drugs. I mean, she brings with her a Gallon size ziplock bag full of her medications. The majority of them are not supplements, oh no, they are heavy duty pain killers.

I find this to be extremely upsetting and sad. I cannot say anything to my family because 1.) it will bring drama; and 2.) no one wants to hear it.

So I will slowly watch my mother kill herself. In a family that swore that I would be the drug addict, wasteoid, I am the one that recognizes it in others and refuses to take medication unless I can't stand up. I'd rather have pain and say, "I'm alive and I feel it!" I mean why live every day in a fog? I'd rather see it clearly and enjoy it. Life was meant to be lived.

Thank you for allowing me to vent.

New Job

Well...I applied and got the job...What type of job you ask? Especially since I'm a Domestic Diva, right? Well, it's the job of a writer for an online newspaper called 'The Examiner' dot com. Look for my byline :)

Overall, it's pretty awesome. I am going to be going to open houses to talk about them and I'm working to build my business as a home stager as well. This is important to me, as I want to work where my passions lie and I love real estate, just not the selling of real estate. Hey, I know my strengths and weaknesses.

This week I had the opportunity to meet with Jim Duncan. He's a partner at Nest Realty - they have a terrific website set up with homes in neighborhoods rather than just the caar.com listings. He also has a terrific blog which I found and he's really quite brilliant. Not like some of the other realtors I've met in town, this guy really knows his stuff. He gave me permission to use his blog as a reference source as well as the opportunity to really pick his brain. I also had an opportunity to have coffee at a terrific place in the Barracks Road shopping center called "Greenberry's." The food there looked awesome and my chai latte (with skim, of course) was BETTER than Starbuck's.

Now, for my new writing gig - it's hard to not be redundant all the time. I make money off of how many views I get and it's hard to direct people to your articles. I have a lot of friends on Facebook and I'm using my Twitter account shamelessly. I guess whatever it takes. But it is hard sometimes. I am so not a sales person, yet I am foisting my articles on friends and family hoping against hope that they read my articles and give me great feedback. Keep your fingers crossed.

It takes a lot of research, but it is definitely keeping me busy. I am learning so much about Charlottesville. While I may charge more to sing at weddings, I know that a stager should help a seller sell their home without costing a great deal of money. I don't have a large cache of furniture, nor do I have a large group of people on staff. I will work with the homeowners to help them get their home ready for sale. I can be used in an advisory capacity or as an assistant to help them get their home ready for sale. In regards to painting, repairs, etc. that is up to the homeowner and ultimately their decision in regard to how motivated they are to sell.

This has been a fascinating few days. I look forward to keeping up with the Blog and so love my life here in Charlottesville.