I don’t know what it is about a new sketchbook that gets me excited to create. But, I like it.

Last night, I drew what was right in front of me at the time, which happened to be a Lowe’s moving box full of my Mom’s clothes next to some of her shoe boxes and a pair of her boots.

You see…this simple drawing tells a complex story. It’s an illustration of change in my family’s life.

My parents are in the process of improving their house in order to sell it and move within the next year. They have been in the process of divorce for years now. The old, leaky roof has been replaced with a beautiful green metal version in a day by a group of Amish guys. My Dad is currently putting the finishing touches on this massive deck he built to entice future buyers while around the corner sits three different buildings with major deferred maintenance. It’s a shame that all these improvements are happening now instead of earlier when the family could have enjoyed them.

My life is also going through many improvements including a new boyfriend, job and apartment. It’s refreshing to have forward momentum in my life now because for a while my life felt like the pause button was permanently pressed. After a diagnosis of bipolar disorder with psychosis last year, my life took that long pause. I took a well-needed rest. My parents, despite their personal problems, opened their home to me. Art became a major source of therapy to me. I painted the most I ever had during that long pause. I guess you could say that even during that long pause I…never stopped improving.