LIFE: a brief rundown on the past 3 years
(my cat is asleep on my arm, making typing awkward and annoying. oh well.)
So I thought maybe, I'd make a sort of timeline, and then go down the list and maybe fill in some details. For anyone who's reading, but also for myself. I'm kind of excited to have it all written down somewhere.
May, 2013;
I went to my best friend Rebecca's graduation up in Edmonton. After the party, a friend of Rebecca's brother's drove myself and another of my friends to the house where we stayed the night.
I developed a crush on pseudo taxi-driver.
September, 2013;
As some of you know, my whole family packed up and moved to Halifax.
February, 2014;
I got my first job in Halifax. I worked at Bizou, a little accessory store in the Halifax Shopping Centre. It was quiet, I liked it. I worked almost full time, which allowed me to save enough to go back to Alberta for my own graduation...
May, 2014;
I flew out to Alberta for my graduation. Because we were all homeschooled, it was more like a party the students put on for themselves. That was pretty much just Mass in the afternoon, a ceremony with speeches, and a dance. This was where, a year later, I bumped into Mr. Taxi. His real name is Matthew.
July, 2014;
The tail end of my trip involved going to the Catholic Family Life Conference. This was where I got to know Matthew a little, and where I decided I'd like to have him as a friend. Three days after the conference, I was on a plane back to Halifax, so I didn't really hope for much more than that.
August, 2014;
It's hard to put a real timeline on it, because there was a lot of things that lead me to this point. But this is when I'll say, officially, I had developed Anorexia.
I've been debating whether or not to write about my struggles with my eating disorder for months now. For so long, it's been something I kept secret. But it's something that affected me greatly. Talking about it has helped some, but the big thing was hearing and reading about others and their struggles. Maybe, someone will read about mine, and maybe they'll feel less alone.
November, 2014;
I bought a plane ticket to visit home again for the new year. I started to meet with a Franciscan priest in the city. I'll call him Fr. J. He noticed my weight loss, but I lied and said it wasn't intentional. He helped me with a lot of things, emotional and spiritual. As my health declined, I don't think it's extreme to say that he probably saved my life,
December, 2014;
I had lost about 30 pounds in three months. At the start of the summer I weighed about 135, but now I was closer to 110. My goal was 100 or under. I barely ate and was hungry all the time. One day, I snapped. I told myself that I couldn't do it anymore. So I started eating. But when I started eating, my starving body couldn't stop. That's when it turned into Bulimia.
Two days after Christmas I was on the plane and headed home. I was there two weeks. For that short amount of time, my disorder felt like it was only a small hiccup instead of the looming presence it had become.
January, 2015;
I started off 2015 with some friends at a cabin outside of Edmonton. That night, sitting on a couch in the corner of the room, Matthew reached out to hold my hand. The next evening, I was his girlfriend.
February, 2015;
I moved out of my family's house. Father J had set up a sort of program for young women in difficult situations. The parish office was situated in an old Rectory. It had three floors and a basement, and only the main floor was being used. A bedroom on the top floor became mine, and the second floor became my living room. I lived there with two other young ladies.
April, 2015;
Matthew came to Halifax to meet my family. I hadn't seen him in three months, and was over the moon. It was the first time we really got to spend any length of time together, and he met my family. During his visit, he bought me a ticket to go spend two weeks in Alberta in the middle of May.
By the time May came around, he and Rebecca had convinced me not to get on the return flight. In a month, I packed up two suitcases, said my goodbyes, and went home for good.
May, 2015;
I was home. I spent the first two weeks in Edmonton, spending time with Matthew and his family. Then I took the greyhound down to Calgary, and that's where I lived for over a year.
July, 2016;
Matthew and I did what I call "middle distance" for 14 months. The drive from Edmonton to Calgary is 3 hours, and that's a million times better than 7 days. We saw eachother most weekends, but eventually, I decided I wanted more. I moved to "Deadmonton."
January, 2017;
Exactly two years after he first held my hand, Matthew asked me to marry him....and I asked if he was joking. He wasn't!
March, 2017;
Rebecca, who started dating Matthew's younger brother Peter about a year ago, moved up here. We live together now and I'm so content.
Now we're all caught up. I've only written the more important things, of course there are hundreds of little happenings in between, but that would probably take years to write about.
To anyone who's reading, what would you like to see me write about first?
xo
Ivania
2 comments
Hi Ivania, I want to know that you are making it in the world. I am glad to hear that you overcame some serious problems. It gladdens my heart that you are getting married. Even the fact that you have a cat, a computer and place to live all make me happy.
ReplyDeleteMost importantly I want to know that God is in your life.
That's a lot you put in just one short page. I hope your eating struggles are over. Best with everything. BP in Oregon
ReplyDeleteBe kind. I ♥ comments.