My week was going okay, really, Reader.

✅ Continued to wrap up all outstanding 2025 projects so I can start 2026 with a clean creative slate.

🎲 Game night with friends.

🎮🐈 Finally getting to play Stray because my brother gave us his 1st-gen Nintendo Switch.

Having to go to the Express Care for meds because I’d been coughing since the 1st of November, and I was convinced I had bronchial pneumonia. Again.

Wait…what?

Well, after the standard battery of tests, they concluded it wasn’t RSV, the flu, strep, or COVID. So then they sent me for a chest X-ray. And then a CT scan. And well…everything looked okay…ish.

So they gave me some antibiotics.

Except everything wasn’t “okay.” Because Thursday morning—36 hrs after starting the meds—I was coughing worse than ever, struggling for air, my face and throat swelled up, and I broke out in hives.

So, needless to say, having to be rushed to the Urgent Care to be injected with a high dose of steroids (One guess where they have to stick that. No, it’s NOT in your arm.) is NOT how I wanted to round out my week.

But at least I’m alive.

And when life knocks you for a loop, you have to focus on the positive so you don’t get bogged down in the Mire of Misery.

Because hey, you might have rewritten that chapter 20 times, but now it really shines. ✨

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Well, until next time, Reader, this is your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat wishing you a wonderfully creative weekend.

Your cohort in storytelling,

Kat Vancil

🐱

PS 👉 HEADS UP: Your regularly scheduled writing advice will return after a 2-week hiatus. I’m taking a much-needed staycation to spend time with my family.

If there’s a topic you’d like me to cover when I return, hit reply and send me your questions and topic suggestions.

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Beth Thomas - Neuroinclusion specialist From overwhelming thought spirals to empowering clarity- fresh into your inbox every Friday with tips, relatable insights and resources to help transform those 3am revelations into real-life victories. Join 3500+ fellow neurodivergents looking to understand their unique operating systems and thrive on their own terms. Subscribe​

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