04/02/2026
This has been a long journey. Over the past six months, I’ve been, and still am, recovering from major hand and finger reconstruction surgery due to severe osteoarthritis, and it’s given me a lot of time to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with things in a different way. It hasn't been easy and I'm not going to lie about how frustrating it's been, too.
But one of the things that’s really helped me through this process is creativity and painting, especially with watercolors because it's easy on the hands. I'm just allowing myself to create and focus on what I can do rather than what I can’t. I can't write with my hand for more than a minute at a time, but painting is a completely different fine motor skill I've come to realize. I'm doing what I can in very small moments, at my own pace while I continue to recover.
This is a simple rose I painted recently using just one color and one brush, in about 15 minutes. It reminded me how much I’ve grown, not just in art, but in how I approach limitations.
There are things I will honestly never be able to do again, I'm finally facing that. But I’m learning to focus on what I can do, what I can grow into, and even what I didn’t know I was capable of.
