I have not been participating in the forum recently, but in case you still remember me, wanted to give you some update and explanation. For more than a year I am dealing with my parents failing health. My mom was diagnosed with colon cancer last year that was successfully removed, but just recently she was diagnosed with liver cancer and she is going through chemotherapy at the moment. My father is also not doing well and can’t take care of himself on his own, and my mom can’t take care of him anymore so he is now in nursing home. Being an only child, living in a different country and dealing with this from a far has put me through a lot of stress. On top of that I have developed some nasty looking dermatitis all around my mouth that took months to get under control. And just few weeks ago both of my kids had COVID.

We are also looking for a new home for my parents dog, Tara, and even thinking of bringing it here, but it would be a huge adjustment - we live in an apartment and Tara has been a backyard dog her whole life. Anyone with such experience?

I have a feeling that I am just going from one crisis to another. Because of all that I have lost interest in fashion and shopping even though I could use some distraction. My style has changed a bit, it is more muted and softer, I am not feeling bright colors at the moment - they seem too happy for my current state of mind. I am also wearing less blazers and pants and more cardigans, skirts and dresses. I am repeating outfits more often and I am craving comfort.
I am aware that this is phase of life that we all are going through at some point but it is hard.
I have been reading forum from time to time trying to keep up but did not have energy to participate.