National Sunflower Day ✨🌻✨

It's National Sunflower Day!!! ✨🌻✨ 

I have always thought that sunflowers were beautiful.  But as you know, they have taken on a whole new meaning for me over this past year and a half or so. 🌻 

The sunflower is known as a symbol of endometriosis- a disease which is often hidden, misunderstood and under-recognized. 🎗 It's become really important to me to shed a light on this disease, because so many women (1 in 10) are probably suffering from it... and like me they keep getting gaslit from their doctors and being told their symptoms are "normal" period pain.  Women spend an average of 10 years trying to get an official diagnosis.  And the only way to get that diagnosis is often via laparoscopic surgery- which I think is complete crap.  (Side rant: If men could get endometriosis, there would be more research on it... and we'd probably have more options for treatment as well.) 

I can tell you firsthand that living with endometriosis is hard... and it has completely changed my life and how I function every single day.  It can often get frustrating and depressing- and there's really not much that I can do about it.  The sunflower is associated with light, life, sunshine and hope. 🙂  And I think that's especially important to those of us with endometriosis... because some days I really need that boost.

For me, sunflowers now represent standing tall in the face of adversity. 💖 There are still some days when I feel fragile and lonely… but I remind myself that there are many other Endo Warriors out there fighting the same battle and that I’m not alone. 💛🎗🌻

Thank you sunflowers for being a bright light for me over this past year and a half.

Happy National Sunflower Day! ✨🌻✨