Shit storm blues

Last week has been horrible.

Due to unexpected extra damage caused by a water leakage last Fall I had to tear down my library (the furniture, not the books) to free the wall behind it which turned out to be still wet after all these months.

It kind of broke my heart, because my library (which I had built myself) was my signature piece of the renovations which I went through last year.

Renovating a house is heavy. Renovating a house as a single parent with autism, adhd and chronic depression and fatigue?

Well, let's just say it's a miracle I've made it this far.

Add to that that there was this leakage last Fall (13 000 litres of water were flushed through the house), a neighbour who kept on harassing me through all these months with unsubstantiated threats and complaints, the fact that we had to move twice (since we were kicked out of our temporary residence) before we could move back in last September, the continuous financial uncertainty surrounding my invalidity status, the fact that one of the people I love had serious health issues, that one of my kids was bullied in school and you probably kind of get that it's been a lot.

Oh and I also decided to quit my self-employement status.

What kept me going nonetheless? My kids, my love Katelijne Morreel, my wonderful other neighbours, my family and some close friends (you know who you are), and ... well art.

I kept making stuff. Because as long as I could make stuff (drawing, taking pictures, telling stories, writing poems), I was still adding something beautiful to this shit storm called life.

This week promises to be another challenge. Wednesday the insurance companies involved will send their experts over (it's only been 4 months since it all happened, but hey, who cares?) to figure out if and how everyone who suffered from damages will be compensated.

I need to finish the paperwork to cancel my self-employement status.

And I need to call the company who fixed my roof a year ago (oh boy, what an adventure was that) because it turns out they made a mistake with the window they installed above the bathroom.

But.

I.

Will.

Still.

Make.

Art.

#autism #disabilityjustice #cripactivism #autismawareness #neurodivergence #neuroqueer #art #drawing #mentalhealth