Thirty one.

Well folks, we made it. Together, we made it through 31 days on this Lyme awareness journey. Can you believe you've been reading all the crazy things that have spilled out of my brain and out through my fingers for 31 whole days?! (I'm not sure whether to apologize for your misfortune or say thank you for sticking it out with me!)

Let's recap what we've learned this month, shall we? 

1. Lyme is serious. 

2. Awareness matters. 

3. Your person with Lyme needs you, whether you know what to say or not; just be there. 

4. It's important to think before you speak. Words hurt more than you can imagine, but they can also help more than you know. 

5. Your person with Lyme is trying their hardest. 

6. Yes, someday I will get a job. 

7. Nothing about Lyme is fake. It's a real disease. It's a real struggle. It's all very there and very real. 

8. Yes, I really need to take all this medicine. 

9. Your person with Lyme wants you to ask questions. Don't make assumptions. Don't just wonder. Ask, we will answer. 

10. The littlest things mean the most. 

11. Check yourself for ticks. For real. Do it.  

12. Oh, and did I mention...Lyme is serious and awareness matters?

So, now we have made it to the part where I tell you thank you twelve more times. Thank you for sticking it out with me--not just this month, but through this whole journey so far. Thank you for telling me that you're reading what I have to say--it means the world to me that my words are reaching you. Thank you for taking the time to become aware. Thank you for doing it for me, and thank you even more for doing it for yourself. 

This isn't the end of my blog's life, of course. But it is the end of this month specifically set aside for awareness. I hope you have learned something. I hope you can walk away knowing something that you didn't know when you sat down, fastened your seatbelt, and decided to go on this journey with me. 

Let's not look at this as the end of something. Let's look at it as a beginning. I hope it's not just the end of Lyme awareness month. I hope it's the beginning of a lifetime of awareness. I hope it's the beginning of you taking the extra couple minutes to help ensure that Lyme doesn't happen to you. And I hope it's the beginning of your efforts to look at things a little differently. 

Perspective matters. Awareness matters. 

You may now unfasten your seatbelts. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for taking a closer look into the Lyme life with me.