Family First

First of all, it’s great to be back! It’s been a while since I’ve been able to take the time to sit down and pen a few words on this blog. Thanks so much for your patience, especially because for the past two months or so, my personal take on Love and Life has been virtually nonexistent. That’s because I had to drop everything to live byÂ my motto, Family First.

If there’s anything that’s going to make me disappear like a ghost on November 2nd (don’t @ me, y’all – I’m rusty here), then it’s going to be due to a family emergency. I’ve always been taught Family Comes First, and it’s something that my husband and I agree with 100%. So when Little Man doesn’t feel well, I’m going to be right by his side, even if it’s for almost an entire month. I had to take care of my precious little toddler, who suffered from suspected pneumonia, accompanied by drastic hearing impairment spanning over four months.

I should probably say that my little guy is so much better, thank the Lord! We were even scheduled for ear surgery, but being the crunchy Mama Bear that I am, I requested further evaluation post-recovery. The results were so vastly improved, even the thought of surgery was off the table. I’m so grateful!

Despite having to push all work aside (OUCH), over the course of the month, I once again grew accustomed to working at odd hours so that my writing didn’t suffer. I’ll talk more about that in a separate post, but throughout this experience, I can say that my husband was amazing at taking over as soon as he got home from work, allowing me to take care of the barest essentials for a few hours. *Insert heart emoji here.*

To me, keeping family first is a genuine team effort that demands sacrifices from all, but the result is the overwhelming love and confidence that you gain knowing exactly who’s in your corner when you need them most.

I hope that all is well with you and yours!

Sending Love and Light to all of you.

â€“ Atina Atwood is a southern girl who moved from Europe to the West Coast. A former university professor in Germany and California, Atina stepped away from Academia to focus on her miracle child, life, love, food, quilting, and of course, romance. She is the author of the Holiday Heartbeats series. Follow her onÂ Twitter,Â Pinterest, Instagram, andÂ FacebookÂ for more, and sign up for Atinaâ€™s newsletterÂ here.