Dear Francesca,

Boo and Polliwog are finally here. Actually, they arrived Saturday. They began exploring, seeking out every unfamiliar spot. By that evening, they had found favorite places and seemed settled in.

Mumma stayed the whole weekend and we went to an art fair yesterday. We walked through the booths of pottery, rugs, jewelry, photography, pausing to look at cups with ceramic hippo handles, wooden puzzle boxes, and watercolors of old houses. Even after my physical illness has faded, Mumma continues to do so much for me. She has been a big help in getting this place cleaned up, organized, and making it my space.

I finally received info on the Tai Chi class that I want to take. It starts next week, meeting two nights a week. I hope that it will be good for me physically and mentally. I think it will be good to have some kind of activity in my life rather than coming home from work to being alone all night. I hope too that I will get more energy from regular exercise, and perhaps that will help my depression too. Lately I struggle to get motivated to do the simplest things. My psychiatrist thinks I should be seeing my therapist, but I haven't been in weeks. Sometimes it seems to help, but other times it doesn't. I keep looking for something to control this depression, to supress it, but there aren't any easy answers.

Yours,
Hannah Iona