It gets crazy somtimes....

Wow! It's been one of "those" weeks around here. Started off with a family member being hospitalized with chest pain and abnormal heart rate. Worrisome to say the least, but the outcome hasn't been bad; yet. Initial tests were good, but now waiting on further testing so see what the plan of action will be. Next came the death of an in-law of my sibling. Not an unexpected event, but sad never the less. Finally (on the same day as the death) was the news that the spouse of a good friend suffered a heart attack. Thankfully after an emergency medical procedure, they are doing well. But I'm just about on bad news overload! On their own, these events are bad enough. However, combine them with a week in which I am trying to prepare my office to function while I am away for the next 3 weeks, and things become testy! My hope is that the next few weeks will be less stressful.

Oh, did I mention that the reason I will be away for 3 weeks is because my family is flying across the country to help my sister and her family move back here...a cross country drive. I'm counting on it being an adventure!

Hello Autumn, You Beautiful Thing!

Well, as hard as it is to believe, summer is over yet again. If you blinked around here, you may have missed it; as short lived as it was. But hot on it's heels is the beautiful autumn season, giving way to crisp, cool mornings and those oh so beautiful colours! (It's probably my favourite season, despite the fact that it leads us into winter, which is my least favourite.)  The other seasons pale in comparison to autumn and its beauty. I love the intense red and orange colours of the changing leaves. It's a reminder that things are constantly in motion, aways changing; it is a good thing.

Friend or foe?

I wonder how it is that we let ourselves mistakenly think someone is our friend, when quite obviously they are not? You know what I'm talking about, the "frenemy", or friend who acts more like an enemy. The person who is constantly undermining you, doing anything & everything to 'one up' you. When they say something off the cuff and laugh, you know it was really a dig at you, and not just some joke as they'd like you to believe.

I've been trying to eliminate as much stress as possible from my life. I'm thinking that maybe it's time to eliminate the "frenemies" as well....

"Normal" is a matter of opinion....

I have been catching up on a couple of blogs over the weekend. I love them, and I'm not sure why I don't read them more often. (oh yeah, it takes time to sit and read!) They give me laughs, and pauses for thought. But most of all, they help me realize that I am "normal"! My fears, worries, frustrations, and relationships are not so different than those of any other woman/mother/wife.  And apparently, compared to some, so is my warped sense of humour! ;-)

Queen of Procrastination...

   Well, it's becoming pretty clear to me that I'm not very good at this whole 'blogging' thing. I certainly don't have the kind of dedication it takes to write every day, or a couple of times a week, or even each week. I find myself using it when I need to blow off a bit of steam, or there's something on my mind that I need to vent about or just put 'out there'.  Even times when I feel the urge to write something, my second thought is usually 'I'll do it a bit later'. Then inevitably, later becomes much later...even days, not hours, later. Even right now, as I am writing, I'm thinking "I should finish this later, I have other things that I really need to get done."  I should do some laundry, or give some serious thought to what I'm going to have for supper, or mop the floors. Anything but sit here and do 'nothing' but write my about thoughts.
  So no matter what I do, I am putting off doing something else that should be done. Procrastination. I seem to be the Queen of it.
  

Feeling S.A.D

This time of year always seems to give me the winter "blahs", or some would say the winter blues. I'm really NOT a fan of winter; the cold, the shortened days. Did I mention the cold?! I find myself with very little energy to do anything, I'm moody, I crave junk food, and dragging my butt out of bed on these dark mornings is a chore in itself. Not typical behaviour for a self described morning person who practically jumps out of bed on sunny summer mornings. But there may be a logical explanation to it, besides my dislike of winter in itself. Just Google "sad" and the first entry is for "seasonal affective disorder". A quick read of the description makes me wonder if this is what I have. The one thing that I disagree (?) with is the phrase: "SAD is not a unique mood disorder, but is "a specifier of major depression"." I'm not sure if it suggests that someone who experiences SAD will/may have a major depression, or will have suffered a major depression in the past. (I have never suffered from a major depressive episode, nor have I been medically diagnosed as suffering from SAD.) But I digress. Where was I? Oh yeah, I hate winter! We've been very lucky so far, as it was mid January before we received any major amount of snowfall. But boy, when it hit, it hit hard. My daughter was practically doing cartwheels! Of course, she has been waiting for the local ski hill to open so she can go snowboarding. I was just slightly less enthusiastic about it all. My thoughts found me lusting for sunshine and grass, not snow and ice. Maybe there is something I can do to combat some of my winter blahs. Now that there is finally enough snow for snow activities, I should really consider dusting off my snowshoes, or maybe even my old cross-country skis.(Hmmm, just WHERE are they?) It seems that lack of sunshine may be attributed to symptoms of SAD. So, instead of moaning and whining about my winter hate, I could get out and soak up some of that sunshine when it is available, and see if it helps improve my mood. Of course that would mean actually dragging my butt off the couch, getting dressed (not staying in my cozy PJ's) and bundling up for the cold. Wow, it seems like such an effort! But it could be one that pays off.

Taking flight.

 Today was the first day of school, and in our house it was a big day...first day of junior high! Oh my, the stress this day has been causing. My daughter had the misfortune to inherit her mother's way of dealing with change: stressing about it. And she had been stressing about everything related to junior high.
 I'd been doing my best to reassure her that everything would be fine; high school wouldn't be as bad as she thought, that she would be fine. It wasn't working very well, and I was doing my best not to stress right along with her. I knew it wouldn't help her if she thought I was worried too.
I decided to take the day off work for her first day, just in case she needed me. I'd been doing the very same thing since she started kindergarten. The only difference would be that this year, I wouldn't be personally escorting her to school. (She matter of factly informed me a while ago that I had to do this, until she went to grade 7!)  Well, imagine the displeasure of both mother and daughter when we found out school wasn't opening until a day later than expected, and Mom isn't able to get another day off! She begged me to call in sick, but I couldn't do it with a clear conscience. I was peeved, but thought it was actually kind of fitting to the event. She would have to get herself ready and set off on the school bus by herself, as her Dad & I would already be gone to work before it was time for her to leave. She was embarking on a major milestone in her preteen life, with new responsibilities. Her first one would be making sure she didn't miss that bus. She didn't.
   I thought about her throughout the day, wondering and worrying about how her day was going. Half an hour before quitting time, she called me. "So, how was your day?" I asked. Pause. Then finally "It was AWESOME!" 
  So the hours of fretting and stressing were all for naught. Thank goodness. She can't wait for school tomorrow; it's the most excited I've seen her get about school since kindergarten!
  I think we're going to be just fine.