Sucktober – The Good, The Bad & The Flood

Maybe you’ve noticed, or at least I hope you’ve noticed that in the middle of posting my best and greatest in Halloween splendor I suddenly fell off the face of the earth. I would like to officially blame this on the month I now refer to as Sucktober. This new month starts a few days before Halloween and happily ends on Thanksgiving.

I don’t think I need to go into long drawn out details about my problems, especially on a kid’s fashion blog that’s designed to inspire and evoke happiness. This isn’t Dr. Phil, and I’m not laying on a couch, but we all experience ups and downs in our life, and this month has been a roller coaster. To explain my vanishing act, here is a quick rundown (both GOOD & BAD) of the 13^th month of the year I will forever lovingly call Sucktober:

1. Max’s first school Halloween party so appropriately called “Fright Night” was cut short when we had to leave the party early to rush Max to the emergency room with the worst asthma attack of his little life. He would also pass out from a spiked fever. Scary as all hell! We were told to watch him like a hawk for the following week that lead smack into the middle of Superstorm Sandy.  BAD (ps- he is now fine.)

2. Frankenstorm Sandy hits the East Coast leaving our NYC apartment without power for 5 days (bad, but we dealt with it). Unfortunately it also destroyed the majority of my childhood home on Long Island (aka: my mom & stepdad’s house) flooding it with 3-4 feet of dirty seawater ruining everything inside and leaving them with literally the shell of the house remaining. Thank God they evacuated before the flood hit. They’re now living with my wonderful (and patient) sister Lisa for the next few months in Manhattan while the house is under construction. We are all devastated by this tragedy, but we’ll pull through it together as a family. BAD, but I’m forever grateful my parents are safe.

3. I love having my mom so close by in the city. I know it’s not under the best circumstances. I’m not trying to be insensitive to what she’s going through, but I do love having her near. Max gets to see his grandma almost everyday, and I love seeing her too. GOOD

4. Obama! GOOD

5. I’ve been sick as a dog for the last month. Yup, I said month. I’m asthmatic (just like Max) and contracted some kind of virus I just can’t kick! I’m not sure if I’m the reason Max got sick, or vice versa, but this sucks. I’ve been to the doctor 4 times including chest x-rays and a months worth of downing steroids. My face is puffy like a Halloween pumpkin from the meds and my voice only recently returned back to normal. I sort of sounded like Marge Simpson’s chain smoking sisters Patty & Selma. I would have much preferred the raspy tones of Demi Moore. My lungs still hurt and it’s hard to breath. I am frustrated.  BAD

So there you have it my loyal Super Goody Bag fans. The cause of my writer’s block and brain farts that lead to my much needed break. Luckily Thanksgiving has renewed my spirit and reminded me of what’s really important in life: my family and sweet potatoes with marshmallow. I am a lucky girl. Things do get better. Sometimes I just need to pinch myself very hard to remember this.

At this point without further ado, I would like to officially say goodbye to the end of sweet Sucktober. It’s now time to move on and get back to business. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass. – Jill Topol