From the Retreat Bubble to the Real World (And the Found Family in Between)

 Dear Diary,

Today is Sunday, and I’m feeling a little raw as I sit here "bouncing while flaring"—that strange mix of high energy and chronic pain we talk about so often. I’ve just put down Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella, and it felt like a sanctuary, though a bittersweet one.

Knowing we lost Sophie in December adds such a layer of sadness to every joke. She truly was the queen of finding humour in the friction of life. At first, the book frustrated me—the transition from the perfect "Retreat Bubble" (where the characters fall in love without even knowing each other's names) to the messy "Real World" felt so jarring.

But then I realised... isn't that exactly what this life is?

One minute I’m in a "Retreat Day"—the pain is low, the house is quiet, and I’m writing—and then bang, I’m thrown back into the real world of flares, fatigue, and the physical limitations of CP and Endo. The contrast is always a slap in the face.

The part that actually made me cry was when the character Nell got sick. Seeing that mismatched group of friends pull together to look after her just broke me in the best way. It reminded me that "family" isn't always blood. It’s the people who show up when you can’t get out of bed. In my world, that found family is everything.

Thank you, Sophie, for the laughter and for the reminder to "love your life" even when the mending is messy.