Mission Logs

After the Move: Finding My Footing in a New Chapter

SuperMell, a superhero in a black suit with purple accents and glasses, carries a large moving box inside a partially unpacked apartment. She looks steady but slightly tired. A black cat with golden eyes peeks cautiously from behind a doorway, watching her as sunlight filters into the room.

🛰️ Mission Update: We Have Landed

Now that it’s been nearly a week since the move, I wanted to share an update on how this new chapter is settling in. I have been quite busy. I’m in my new place, and adjusting to my new schedule, sleep pattern and all. It doesn’t quite feel magical yet—but it does feel real.

Level 50 has proven to be much more difficult in finding the energy reserves I thought I had. Exhaustion has set in, making me slow down quite a bit. This post is about adjusting to the new chapter in my life.


📦 What’s Settled (Even If It’s Small)

Since the move, I have been busy trying to put the place together. I first started with setting up the bed, as the move itself kept me awake most of the night before, the physical exhaustion, and my usual sleep schedule made sleep my first priority.

Slowly over the week or so I’ve managed to get things to a respectable place. Here’s what I have accomplished so far:

  • Unpacked most of the bathroom and set up the counter and drawers
  • Set up essentials in my bedroom
  • Figured out what will live in what cupboard in the kitchen and homed quite a few things (noticing I need to figure out where to stash extra stuff, as my cupboards are full and there are still a few boxes left)
  • Moved boxes and bags to where they will live so unpacking is more organized
  • Set up my wifi with the help of a Telus technician (who was in and out within a half hour and actually helped me unpack my TV, so he rocked!)
  • Moved furniture in the living room to where they will live
  • With help from my parents, put together the couch (which proved quite the task)

So that’s quite a bit of work in such a short time frame. Perhaps predictably, I woke up quite exhausted today and could barely muddle through much of anything. My only goals today were to take a “Me Day” and relax, and to set up my computer, which I have done, as I’m typing this post on it.


🛠️ What’s Still Finding Its Place

While I have been busy setting things up, I also have quite a lot to do. My resolution for this year is to keep a clean, tidy and well-organized home. As someone who’s lived with ADHD my whole life, this has always eluded me—but it’s a skill I genuinely want to build now. I envy people who keep a good home.

As such, I have been taking time to figure out where everything in my home will live. I am not a person who believes you have to have the resolution set up from January 1st. It can take up to a whole year if that’s what it will take. But it will get done.

I have to set up the rest of the living room by unpacking boxes and positioning things around. Then I will find homes for the remaining kitchen things in boxes. After that, my next priority will be to finish the bedroom unpacking. Finally, I will set up the spare room. When all of this is done, I will then deep clean everything.

Sure, it’s a lot of work, but if anything this week has shown me, it’s that I am more than capable of handling it.


⚠️ Villain Watch: Old Voices in a New Place

Of course, with this exhaustion I am feeling today, my old foes the Depression Beast and Dr. Anxiety have made their presence known to me. I can see them lurking in the shadows, plotting and scheming on how to fully take advantage of this apparent weakness.

Fortunately, my new friend Lady Optimism has reminded me that there is no rush to get everything done right away. I need to remember to take breaks and rest here and there. Dr. Anxiety was ruling while my living room was so disorganized post-move, suggesting this will never end. Once I had reorganized where the boxes could go and moved them out of the middle of the floor, and also set up the couch and furniture, I could finally laugh at Dr. Anxiety’s madness. It definitely feels more livable now.


🧠 How I’m Keeping My Balance Right Now

Instead of pre-planning everything spread out over multiple days as I had done previously, I have adjusted the plan. I will be saying to myself, “What do I feel like doing today?” and give myself that task, on workday mornings. On weekends, I will attempt to do more.

I will take things one day at a time, keeping the course steady. After all, there isn’t really a deadline to get everything in place. All I have to remember is to take it easy, and take many breaks along the way, as my aching body has reminded me to do.

Rest is not something to take lightly. It’s stabilization. It keeps you sustainable. Without it, you just wind up in the shape I’m in today: physically exhausted, sore, and a little moody. This was such a good reminder to tell myself that rest is required to be added to my schedule as well. I shouldn’t overdo it. I’m no spring chicken anymore!


🐾 Diana’s Adjustment Notes

Oh, my poor little girl! Moving day scared her so much. It took awhile for me to wrangle her into a carrier, but even when we got to the new place, she spent a lot of the time hiding and laying down in her litter box. She was terrified. I felt bad for her, but once I went to bed she came out and slept on the bed with me. Over the course of the week, she got better and better, even taking time to play with random objects on the floor or a couple of her toys. I guess sometimes even your sidekick gets influenced by Dr. Anxiety, but she rebounded rather quickly.


🌱 Final Thought: Footing Comes Before Forward Motion

Getting one’s bearings after a move is the key to overcoming any obstacles in your path. Being kinder to my body means letting it tell me when to stop, when to start again, and when to take both mental and physical breaks along the way.

There’s no need to rush into the next chapter; standing comfortably in this one comes first.

What’s your post-move strategy? Please share your story in the comments. I’d love to hear how you handle unpacking and organizing.

Hero in Progress

Levelling Up to Level 50: The Evolution of SuperMell

SuperMell stands confidently in a black and purple superhero suit with a large “M” emblem on her chest, surrounded by glowing pixel-art icons representing her earned powers. Above her, pixelated text reads “LEVEL 50 — EVOLUTION UNLOCKED.” A warm halo of light forms behind her like a skill-tree ring. Diana the black cat with a white chest tuft sits proudly at her feet, next to a pixel “+50 XP” symbol. The background blends cosmic colors with subtle pixel texture, creating a nostalgic video-game level-up screen.

The Level-Up Moment

Today marks a major life milestone for me:

I have levelled up to 50!

Yes! You read that right. I am now 50. Wow! It seems like just yesterday I was turning 40. Honestly, the 40s were kind of a blur for me, as so much shitty things happened that I’m now very happy they are over and done with. Things are already starting to look up as I’m working to rebound from the terrible hit I took a few years ago. I’m hoping the 50s will be much better for me… But what do I get to look forward to? *Checks notes* Menopause… Time to get a colonoscopy… yay…?

When I was younger, I assumed 50 would officially make me an ‘old lady.’ Ha-ha! Do I feel like an old lady now that I have finally gotten there? Not really… I don’t feel as spry as I used to, and I don’t feel like an old hag either. In fact, I don’t really feel anything about 50… Which is weird, as usually I panic when I reach the milestones.


My Hero’s Origin Story (So Far)

Don’t worry… This will be brief.

From childhood, I learned to appreciate the finer things in life, like watching cartoons, playing with toys, and my vivid imagination, I found that I had a creative drive in me and really wanted to pursue something in that field—In fact, I still do!

The Depression Beast™ was introduced to me during and many years after I was bullied in a small town. (I honestly don’t like small towns. Too much gossip, and if someone decides they don’t like you, no one else is allowed to like you either.) At least that’s been my experience. I also went most of my life without officially being diagnosed with ADHD… which was the source of so many issues, particularly with school and concentrating. They didn’t know how to diagnose girls with it at the time—still don’t, really. I struggled in school, struggled with reading, and was an average student. Ritalin has changed so much for me in the last three years that I wish I had tried it so many years ago.

My adulthood was marred by the Depression Beast™, and its super-fun friend: Dr. Anxiety™. I made some very costly mistakes as a result of these monsters, including being on the wrong medications, a failed marriage, and not realizing how great I had it until I threw it all away. I’m still rebuilding from my mistake three or four years ago. I’m now on the right meds, the right dosage, and feel more optimistic about my future than I ever did before. Now I’ve got a better job than I had before, and am looking forward to moving in a couple of weeks.

For many years, that bullying haunted me. Now I’ve come to see it as my hero’s origin story. Every superhero has one. This just happens to be mine.


Plot Twists I Never Saw Coming

Dr. Anxiety is such a sinister villain. He arrives out of the blue and steers you in one weird direction or another. It seems to everyone around you like you’re impulsive and tend to make rash decisions. They don’t know how often Dr. Anxiety talks to you about it. How you ruminate on the thing for days, weeks, or even months or years.

The old Doc showed itself in my life when I decided out of the blue I wanted to get married—and didn’t seem to care who to. It told me I needed to be married by 30 or I wouldn’t prove to everyone that I’d be a success despite what they did to me. That marriage was brief and quite painful, but it made me realize a few things about myself:

  • I’m not suited for marriage, and much prefer being on my own with my cat.
  • I had some unresolved trauma that led me down that path.
  • I deserved better than this.
  • I am both the hero and the writer of my own story. I get to decide what path I choose.

At least, I thought I had learned those lessons. Dr. Anxiety and the Depression Beast showed up yet again when I turned 40, to yell at me to fix myself and my issues or I wouldn’t prove to everyone that I’d be a success. It’s when I went on the wrong medications, became lethargic, and the Trump thing really affected my mental health in not-so-good ways. I’m considering a lawsuit against him some day…

Anywho… the pressure built until the inevitable explosion, taking my job as the first casualty. Attempts to course-correct failed, even though the desire to do better was there. The losses stacked up—career, home, stability—leaving me back in Alberta in my parents’ basement, earning shit-pay and fading under the weight of the Depression Beast. Appetite vanished, pounds disappeared, and surrender felt dangerously close.

After awhile, I decided to see about getting on the right medications, and convinced a doctor to let me see a psychiatrist. This has worked out beautifully! The Depression Beast has now officially gone away on a trip hopefully far, far away. Dr. Anxiety still pops up every once in awhile to tell me things, but I’ve chosen to not care about proving myself to everyone anymore. I really am the hero of my own story.

But somewhere along the way, I met someone new—Lady Optimism™. I honestly never thought this creature existed due to the lies the Depression Beast and Dr. Anxiety told me. But she’s there! It’s really nice to have her in my life now.


Skills, Powers & Traits Earned Along the Way

It turns out I’ve earned more than scars along the way—I’ve collected superpowers. Through the stumbles and roadblocks, I have managed to discover some superpowers I didn’t know I had:

These are great powers to have. Sure, flying or running really fast would be cool, but how realistic are they?


What Comes Next on the Journey

I’ve decided not to get too much ahead of myself and enjoy things slowly, one moment at a time. I’ve told the Depression Beast and Dr. Anxiety to take a hike. I no longer care about having to prove to anyone that I am a success. I know I am a success. It was silly having those beliefs at all. Who cares what any of them think of me, if they even do! I haven’t seen any of them in the couple of decades since I graduated from high school, so they mean nothing to me. All that matters is what I think of me, and I’ve finally come to a point where I like me.

A real shift is taking place, and it’s nudging me toward trusting the Universe a little more—especially when those old monsters try to resurface. Letting go, rather than gripping tightly, was exactly what led to the new home appearing like a beacon in the fog. Call it synchronicity or intuition, but life seems to respond to the energy you put into it. Challenges can feel cruel… or they can be the training arcs that reveal the powers you never realized you had.


The Calmness of a Purr

Diana is just the best. She’s currently resting her head on my knee, laying beside me on the couch as I’m writing this. It’s as if she knows I’m writing about her now, as a soft, gentle purr is emitting from her. I don’t know if she knows what levelling up is, or age for that matter, but she still seems like the same sweet, playful, and destructive cat she’s always been. She and Lucy were two of the best decisions I ever made.


Final Thought

Levelling up doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, often in video games, it’s seen as a good thing. You get new abilities, or more coins, or something. I’ve chosen to view aging as levelling up. The path before me was full of zigs and zags, but each one taught me something about myself and made me more resilient. Thanks for reading, for those who do. It’s appreciated.

What are some of the major shifts that have taught you more about yourself than you ever thought was possible? I’d love to hear all about it! Share your story in my comments, or comment on a post on social media.