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Friday, June 29, 2012

Chronicle #1: DIY Life...My Story

(Sorry this post is so long)

  Hey there!  I'm Jaime, and I am CONSTANTLY doing DIY projects, reading DIY blogs and scouring the net for inspiration.  So I figured, why not start my own blog and post my adventures (and misadventures) with DIY projects and with life.  This is my first blog, and I'm not too tech-y, so I'll be figuring this out as I go...kind of like life. :)  
  
  First, I'll tell y'all my story so you'll know what kind of person is administering this blog.  I'm a 20 something year old from Southeastern Louisiana.  I was born and raised on the North shore of Lake Pontchartrain, which borders New Orleans.  That's all what I like to refer to as my "past life".  I love New Orleans, and will someday own a home there full of DIY projects.    I was a completely different person in Louisiana, two years ago, when tragedy struck.
  
  I'll leave out as many details as I can, without taking away from chronicle number 1.  My brother Brandon was involved in a car accident when I was 15 years old that left him paralyzed.  He was a tetraplegic, meaning he was unable to feel or move three of his limbs.  After Hurricane Katrina, with my mom's help, he was granted a waiver and allowed to come home from the hospital... if he could find a home.  


  He was able to get a home built on my dad's property, which my dad had leased to yours truly.  It was perfect!  I was next door to help him, and to put him into his wheelchair and go anywhere he desired.  My mom, aunt, and some of our family helped to get a handicapped van, and I truly believed he may finally have a somewhat "normal" life. 


Brandon and I circa 2008




  Brandon faced the same struggles as others who are wheelchair bound.  He went through times of depression, frustration, happiness and loneliness.  Every day was a struggle, and all I could do was be there for him and help him in any way I could.  For six years, we lived next door to each other.  I finished college, and planned on finding a career in the marketing field. All of my plans for my future revolved around keeping my big brother safe and with me, from vacations to building a handicapped equipped home someday.  


  In August, on Friday the 13th, 2010, at 30 years old, Brandon passed away from a heart attack.  Devastated is not the word to describe the state in which I found myself.  Brandon was everything to me.  He was the most amazing person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and loving.  The things that I learned from Brandon are the most important things I will ever learn. He taught me about struggle, about finding joy when it's tough to find.  He taught me appreciation, determination, and that it is absolutely ok to break down sometimes.  He would always say, "It's you and me against the world, J".  My heart had been ripped out, and I have never fully recovered.  







  I started dating Reed on June 18, 2010, and instantly we were inseparable.  Reed is an amazing musician, but more on that later.  He and Brandon had become good friends, even in two months.  It was impossible for anyone to not become good friends with Brandon instantly.  Reed watched my life, as I knew it, lose all meaning in one night.  He stood by my side and helped me grieve.  He did everything right, but I was broken.  I quit my marketing job and bounced from job to job for awhile.  


  Around December, Reed finally sat me down and gave me a reality check.  He told me the grieving would continue for the rest of my life, and that I would never fully recover from the loss of Brandon.  It had forever changed me as a person, but Reed gently let me know that he couldn't take seeing me going through the motions of life as a shell of the person I had been.  We decided to try to pick up the pieces and start a new chapter.  We were planning on moving to New Orleans, as I couldn't take living next door to Brandon's old home anymore.  


  Things became pretty desperate, my seasonal job ended, bills were due and I had no hope of paying them.  Just when I thought I had run out of options, I received a job offer in Florida.  The catch?  I had two days to decide.  We discussed everything, over and over again.  Then I took the leap of faith.  I reasoned that Brandon's ashes had been scattered off of the southern most point of Florida, into the Gulf of Mexico, and this was his way of continuing to look out for me.  We decided I would try out the job for the two week training period, then decide whether to look for a place to rent, or for me to return home.  We moved to Florida the next month.  


  My job was ok, I was doing online marketing for local businesses.  The marketing aspect was fantastic, but there was a sales aspect too.  That part involved cold calling businesses, and sales quotas.  So, when I grew sick of the pressure and the rat race, I quit.  I decided to DIY my life...I had come this far, right?  Why not throw any and all expectations out the window and start from scratch?  Reed had been playing a few open mics on the beach, and had landed a few gigs. I knew some of the bar owners from these gigs, and I asked if they were hiring.  I had a ton of service industry experience, so that helped.  


  At first I figured it was temporary, what could be better than bartending on the beach in Florida for the summer?  Then, I stuck with it.  I had made so many friends, met some amazing people, and gotten to hear all of their stories.  I realized how lucky I was, to make the money that I do, have so much fun doing it, and to have the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life who want to share their story.  


  (Fast-forward a year and a half)  Reed is now playing 6 nights a week, sometimes doubles, on the beach.  So Florida worked out, not as expected, but it worked out.  Thank God for that, because in the last year and a half, our lives have changed drastically.  Who we are has changed forever, and every single day has been an adventure.  We live in paradise!  (Well 15 minutes from paradise, where rent is affordable)  We have a blast...and we are surrounded by positive energy, fun loving people and the beautiful Gulf Coast.  

There is a quote that reminds me of our story, and this picture we took last summer.


  "The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears or the sea"
                                                   -Isak Dinesen


  I've always painted, but after Brandon died, I had lost all creative energy. Florida helped with that.  I picked up a brush, then I ran out of places to store my paintings, so I picked up a hammer.  I found out I really enjoyed building things, so I started building more things.  Reed helped with that, because my first project, a desk made from upcycled pallets, literally collapsed.  I'm not at all an expert, but I am figuring it out as I go, and so far I've been successful in my DIY-ing.  


  We still go home, every chance we get.  We encourage our friends and family to come visit us at the beach, every chance they get.  We miss our parents, our friends and New Orleans, but we aren't too far away.  We have tentative plans to pick up and move again after the tourist season...possibly to Nashville, depending on the progress of Reed's first album.  He is a singer songwriter, an amazing one.  I'll post links to his performances throughout the life of this blog.  We like to think of life as an adventure, and to always be willing to take a "leap of faith", since this one worked out so well.  I like to think it's because Brandon's up there somewhere, pulling strings and watching my back.  


  Hopefully, my projects will inspire someone else to try.  If not, at least the tales of a musician and a bartender at the beach on the Gulf Coast will provide some laughs.  We deal with people on vacation...which means they throw all of their inhibitions to the wind and party.  That makes for some pretty hilarious interesting stories.  I promise, I'll try to keep them shorter than my first post. :) Thanks for reading!  If you've stumbled across this beginner blog, PLEASE feel free to leave comments and suggestions.  Please keep the feedback positive though, or at least constructive. :P







2 comments:

  1. Very. good. read. JLM


    Love to hear more

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  2. Thanks! I'm aiming to post once a week...or more but hopefully no less...no idea what day of the week lol, but feel free to subscribe so you'll find out when via email...just enter your email address into the "want to follow my posts?" box at the bottom of the main blog page.

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