Good morning! Happy Mother's Day out there to all the mamas - as well as the dads who stepped in and acted as both mom and dad to their little humans. I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a nice chat with your kiddos.

Out of all the hats I've worn in this life - the different occupations and titles - the one that means the most to me is "mom". My daughters are the two people in the world who are the closest to me - the ride-or-die chicks. We speak every single day and the fact that they initiate this level of contact means everything to me. C & R - I love you - thank you for making me a mama.

Now, on to other dish.

As I wrote last week, I was having some kind of terrible reaction to the boot that was fitted for the rest of my non-weight-bearing recovery. It resulted in a small setback, probably a minor one in the grand scheme of things. I was restricted to bed rest with my foot in the air for yet another week on top of all the time I had already spent in bed. Later this week, thankfully, I can begin venturing out of this room a little bit more. Sitting in the living room will feel like a vacation in the Bahamas after a month in bed!

It's hard to believe that it's been just about a month since I had this life-altering surgery. At this point, there's no real way to know how things will turn out but my world has certainly become much smaller as I recover and wait. I've always been so independent and having to depend on the help of others for absolutely everything is mentally very difficult to accept. But, when I'm not fighting it I try to see this as an opportunity for personal growth. Being able to accept help when you need it is almost as important as being able to give help when you can. I realize I have such a gift in the people around me who sincerely want to give that help. The least I can do is accept it, right?

This week, once the pain and swelling began to resolve, I finished working on a new project, 40 DIYs for Preppers & Survivalists. I'd been thinking about this project for a long time. I never had the money back when I began prepping to buy all the fancy accouterments for prepping at retail prices. I did so many things myself, from preserving food using what I had on hand to making my own kits to learning creative workarounds for those things I couldn't afford.

It became more than a makeshift philosophy - DIY became a way of life and a state of mind for me. So, I rounded up all the most popular DIYs from the website and put them into a PDF book where you can find 40 projects you can do - many of them from things you already have kicking around the house. You can find it here: https://selfrelianceandsurvival.com/product/40-diys-for-preppers/

Things are pretty tight over here after copays and time off and shortcut meals so I really hope this product is something you are inspired to purchase. You can pay what you want, starting as low as $2 and every penny helps so much. I really want to hear about what project you try first!

I had hoped to see the auroras here in NC, but I had no luck. It was so nice to see all the gorgeous photos on social media, but most of all, I was certainly relieved not to have a modern-day Carrington event! I feel like we dodged a bullet this time, but one day, our luck will run out.

Whoever thought that the end of the world as we know it might be beautifully lit up by the Northern Lights? Sometimes, I think something like that might be our only way out of the surveillance dragnet that the modern world has become. Don't get me wrong—I love streaming movies, chatting with friends online, and blessed air conditioning, but I sure am sick of being watched, recorded, and listened to nonstop. I guess with anything bad something good also comes, and the opposite is also true.

I have rambled quite enough for a Sunday morning! Thank you so much for the cards and messages. I cannot tell you how much these things mean to me and how much they brighten my day. It feels like family.

Love,
Daisy