The Last 2 Months & Where I've Been

It's pretty difficult to find the right words for this post. I've been trying for a couple of weeks now and have never managed to actually hit Publish. If you follow this blog then you'll know that over October I posted a LOT...and then...nothing. I'll apologise in advance for the potential length of this post, but in order to get myself sorted and ready for 2017, I feel like I need to share this.

2016 has been a rough year for, well, all of us in one way or another. Until 1st November i'd probably have said that wasn't the case for me. It had been a pretty amazing year in all honesty. I've done so much stuff this year and I've travelled and had some amazing experiences. That all ended on 1st November.

On the morning of 1st November 2016 I sadly attended my uncle's funeral. He had suffered for a long time with cancer and we finally laid him to rest. It was a beautiful service honouring an especially talented, loving and caring man. Later that evening, I was exhausted from the day and decided to have a nap on the sofa in front of our gorgeous bay windows whilst waiting for Brianna to come over. We were going to Amsterdam the following day.

At around 10:38pm I was woken up. This isn't the time or place to go into detail as there is an ongoing court case, but it wasn't a gentle awakening by a friend or my boyfriend.

A car smashed into our house, ending up in the living room, just inches away from where I was sleeping.

A man in a stolen car, who was trying to evade the chasing police car, drove directly into my house. The entire exterior is destroyed and our home is completely unlivable. Within a short space of time, we were homeless and lost a lot of our possessions. My life has been thrown upside down and honestly, 2 months later, things aren't that much better.

This has been one of the most traumatic things I've ever had to experience. I don't think I've coped very well, and I'm learning that it's OK. As of right now, we are sleeping in my parents living room. Our belongings are scattered from house to house, thanks to our wonderful friends and family who have offered to store our things. I have very little access to any of my books. Thousands of books just....lying around in other peoples houses, getting damp in attic spaces or freezing cold garages. I'm extremely grateful to have the support and somewhere for Alex and I to live, but it's heartbreaking knowing that by the time we can find a new home, a lot of our belongings will be damaged and have to be replaced. We will be starting our life together all over again. But we'll make it.

Until then, I have a handful of books left, a whole host of new ones as Christmas presents and a loaded up kindle to take my mind off things. All i'm asking for is to bear with me whilst I process everything going on. Posts will be sporadic and well, probably not all that interesting with the limited amount of books I have to hand, but I will be trying. 2017 is going to be difficult and full of trials, but I'm stubborn as hell and we will find a way to get ourselves sorted!

With all that said, I've got a few posts in mind. Blogging is incredibly difficult giving our living situations but i'm going to try and get to grips with the iPhone app and see what I can do. I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and get the very best out of 2017, whatever that may be :)

Cazz xxx