The Truth Serum

Photo Credit: We the Living Photography

Sometimes I don’t know where to begin. What to share and what not to share with all my amazing, loyal readers. I’ve done the whole personal, gut-spilling blog before and don’t want Lulu Letty to be that, but I also feel like I share very little of my real life with all of you. Part of me wants to keep this blog solely about fashion, but another part of me, a part that keeps growing stronger every day, wants to be more personal. I think I’m scared that once I open the floodgates it will all come pouring out. There’s such a fine, delicate line to walk between keeping my privacy and also including you in my life. At this point, after over a year of blogging, I’m not sure how to begin to be more personal. There’s so much and so little I want you to know. And my biggest fear is that it will change the way you view me and my blog.

The easiest place to start is to tell you what’s currently happening in my life. As most of you know, Cole and I moved back to Michigan last fall so that he could attend the University of Michigan’s graduate business program. It’s an amazing school and a very tough program, but Cole is doing exceedingly well and we love having this opportunity to be living so close to family and friends. Having a spouse in school fulltime is pretty tricky. He works crazy, long hours and has to use our only car to commute to and from school every day which leaves me stranded and alone. Since I tend to be naturally a loner, this doesn’t always bother me so much, but some days, particularly in the winter, I miss having company and I miss having the freedom of a car. We’ve talked about getting another car and me getting another job to pay for the car, but it just doesn’t make sense. He’ll be done with school in May and for all we know we could be moving to a city or even abroad where we won’t even need a car, let alone two. So for now, I keep myself busy doing what I love most, blogging.

Another big thing that’s been a part of my day to day life is that I was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The easiest way to explain Hashimoto’s is that my body views my thyroid as a foreign substance and tries to attack it. People with Hashimoto’s experience both hyperthyroid and hypothyroid symptoms that can fluctuate often. One day I’m feeling jittery, anxious and not sleeping and the next I’m exhausted, depressed and could sleep for days. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster ride. The hardest part for me was getting diagnosed. For over two years, I’d been trying to find an answer to my erratic physical and emotional issues and getting a doctor to listen was incredibly difficult. Since Hashimoto’s is a hereditary disease, and is rampant in my family, I felt it was the logical answer. Every doctor I saw while living in Massachusetts disagreed. They wouldn’t even do the necessary testing to find out. Instead they gave me antidepressants and essentially made me feel it was all in my head. Being back in Michigan, I decided to finally go see my parents’ doctors. They finally did the necessary testing and my results were off the Richter scale. I was quickly and easily diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. It was such a huge relief to finally have an answer and confirmation that I’m not some crazy hypochondriac and that it was all real. I’ve recently begun treatments and while there is no magic cure for Hashimoto’s I’m confident that working with my doctors will help me manage the disease and eventually help me to feel like myself again. I have my first checkup appointment tomorrow and since my doctor isn't close by, I'm currently staying at my parents' house and helping my mom organize her closet. ;)

Whew, see I told you the floodgates would open and it would all come pouring out! ;) If you’ve made it this far, Thank You! I appreciate you taking the time to read my long-winded post! I hope my honesty has given you a better glimpse of who I am and from now on I won’t find it so hard to be more open.... To end on a lighter note, Cole and I will be going to the Jimmy Eat World concert tomorrow night!! I'm very excited.

Yours,