Get Ready for "Nurture November"

For the past two months I have been tweeting every day. For me, this is real accomplishment. In September, I focused on Self Care messages. In October, it was about Optimism. I realized that when I am focused on one subject and can find quotes about that subject that I can write something every day. It doesn't hurt that tweets have to be short so I can do this writing in my allotted time to write (pacing cognitive activities in 15 minute blocks of time). I have also been having fun creating a visual for the quotes using Canva too.

When I started to think about writing in November, I googled "positive words that start with "N". Words like Nice, Nourish, New came up. But it was "nurture" that caught my eye. Synonyms or words that relate are "encourage, elevate, advance, promote“. the definition of “to care for and encourage the growth or development of…. “

As a stay at home mom many years ago who went back to school to become a teacher, it makes a lot of sense that this word “nurture” stood out to me. And why nurture is an important part of my Stroke recovery. As we go through the month of November, I hope that I can explain how nurturing myself and others has helped me in my life journey so far.

Once again, I am going to try the Ultimate Blog challenge which means I will try to post one blog each day for the next month. I have tried this challenge a few times before but now I think I’m more ready after my daily tweets. Hopefully I’ve learned that what I’m able to write is good enough. I will to give myself grace and not be as judgmental. Let’s see how this goes. I appreciate your being here with me on this part of the journey.

For those of you who are here for the first time, welcome! I’d like to introduce myself and tell you a bit about me and why I write this blog. My name is Cheryl. I live in RI with my husband and our dog. We have two grown, married children and an amazing granddaughter. On May 12, 2019 (Mother’s Day) my life was changed dramatically when I had a stroke.

As a result of the stroke, I have some challenges especially with communication. I have Aphasia which has affected my ability to speak, read and write and sometimes my understanding is affected. I also have Apraxia of Speech which affects how I’m able to form spoken words. With a lot of speech therapy and a great deal of practice I have come far. As part of my speech therapy practice I created this blog. My ultimate goal since the beginning of my stroke journey has been to write a memoir. I have learned a lot during my recovery. Of course I don’t have all the answers. Every stroke and every stroke survivor is unique. But I hope that my story will encourage other stroke survivors and their families to know that there is hope and that they can rebuild a great life even with the struggles and challenges. I am not at the point of my recovery when I can write the book, but hopefully this blog can help in the meantime.