I've been away too long

I have been away too long from this space and I started missing it. Sometimes life happens and it hits you hard. I've been absent here, since I simply couldn't bring myself to work on posts, even though I love writing them. My family has been hit by the thing called life and we are trying to recover. Slowly, with setbacks and a lot of hugs. In february, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. We went through some anxious times, while waiting for further test results. It was messing with my head and I couldn't get myself to write here. Given the circumstances, she had the best possible outcome (even though treatment still is very uncomfortable, to say the least) and doctors expect her to fully recover. Treatment however will take over 6 months and I'm hugging her as often as possible to make up for all the discomfort and mess that comes with cancer treatments. She's a warrior and told the doctors she needed to be at my wedding in August looking fabulous or that she would be very angry at them. Go mum. You can do it! Then, only two weeks ago, my aunt, my mum's youngest sister, died unexpectedly. She was riding her bike and got hit by a car. It wasn't the time for blogging, it was a time to be with my family. We try to fill the gap that was once my aunt and this seems impossible. How do you replace a mother, a sister, an aunt, a friend? You simply cannot. You can only try to be the best possible daughter, niece, friend, granddaughter to your family members and hope for the best. Sewing truly has been therapy for me through these times. I'm sewing a lot to get out of my head and into my hands. It's comforting, but sometimes it's also too hard. When I was 15 and expressed to my mum that I wanted to learn how to sew, my mum called my aunt for a speed course. My aunt learned me how to sew straight lines, spirals and curves, before sending me to sewing lessons. She was always interested in all my sewing adventures and even gifted me some beautiful buttons and fabrics from her own stash. It was a connection we shared, making this bittersweet. I've been sewing a lot, so there will be posts in the future, but first I wanted to let you all know why I've been absent. I loved getting emails from some of you about my absence and your stories made me smile. Thank you. I'll be back soon.