Overwhelmed Part 2: Staying on an Even Keel

I am determined (or at least going to try to do my best) to stay on an even keel (the nautical reference is important in my life) even as life throws me more than I think I can handle.  And I probably can't; which is something I, and we ALL need to accept.  Sometimes, perhaps MOST of the time, we can't handle all that is thrown at us.  It's ok.  We can ask for help.  Or we can even just give a pass to things.  (Like I did last Wednesday...I had every intention of going to choir practice, but the shutdown of Rt. 3 and a meeting that went on longer than I had anticipated meant that by the time I was supposed to be at choir, I was still trying to figure out what the family was going to do for dinner.  Instead of completely frazzling myself, I allowed myself to SKIP choir and attend to the needs of my family and myself in a CALM way.  Even if it did mean grabbing food from McDonalds!)

Life threw me (and my family) another curveball over the weekend.  For those of you who might have been reading this blog for a while, you may recall that back in the fall of 2014 and winter of 2014/15 my life was a bit chaotic as my dad was in the hospital for an extended period of time. (http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/challenges.html and http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2015/01/20-weeks-and-were-at-end.html are just a few samples of what was going on.)  As you may have guessed from last week's overwhelmed post ( http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2017/05/overwhelmed.html)  his recent foot infection has evolved.  After 10 days on oral antibiotics, it became clear to my parents that it wasn't getting better, and was in fact spreading.  (My mother has become an expert in noting infections.)  Hence, Saturday, my father ended up in the hospital, where he is currently being treated with intravenous antibiotics (which seem to be helping) and is being evaluated with a battery of tests. (Here's hoping for no bone infection.)

Amazingly enough, I am NOT overwhelmed by this.  (Even more amazing is that my MOM is managing to handle this very well!  For Mother's Day I had gotten her a necklace with an anchor pendant.  Who knew how apropos that would be!)  Though my first reaction was to want to drive down to the shore and get to the hospital, my mother rationally said that now was not the time.  Of course she was right. There was a Nor'easter blowing and what help could I be?  

Instead, I am keeping an even keel.  I have allowed myself moments of upset.  But mostly what I have done is planned for the unplannable!  I have let my boss know that I may need to take off or work remotely.  I have let those who depend on me know that I may not be so dependable over the next few weeks.  Most importantly I am ALLOWING my husband and son, to take care of things that normally I obsess about.  (It's not that they don't help...it's mostly the fact that I don't let them help because I like things done "my way."  )  They will support me and I will support my parents.  (Most likely my help will be needed when my dad is released from the hospital.)  We are all working TOGETHER and though the situation is stressful, it's not quite so overwhelming.


A wise person once said to me, "Let Go and Let God."  Maybe it's time to heed this advice.  It just might help me stay on an even keel.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's Not About Starbucks (or is it)?

Image
  About a block and a half from my home in a major intersection.  At the southeast corner (which is nearest to me), is an empty building.  Back in 1995 it was a Bank of NY (I remember this because they didn't shovel/de-ice their parking lot well and my husband fell and broke his ankle one Monday morning.  I recall this clearly because we were not yet married and it was the first day of a new job for me.  I had gotten on the bus to work and he was catching a later one; only he never got there.  Instead he ended up laying on the ground until an employee came to open up the bank.  Then he had them call an ambulance AND my mother who took control of the situation until I arrived home that night blissfully unaware of what had happened that day.)  It eventually became a Chase Bank; the second one in my small little town.  It eventually closed.  I'm not sure when but it's been empty for quite a long time.  (I do know that it was open in 2005 because the night before my son was bor
Read more

As Is

Image
  Today I want to discuss what I think it is a relatively simple concept, but may be difficult for some, even an attorney who might have once, over a decade ago won a  prestigious award  for young lawyers .  That term is "AS IS." As you may know, I volunteer in a thrift shop.  Everything we sell, from all the donations we receive, is "as is."  The items are not brand new.  They are not perfect.  That doesn't mean they aren't any good or worth something. They are sold "as is."  Buyers should go in knowing that. (After all you are shopping in a thrift shop!)  In some cases, particularly when we are offering higher end products, we will actually write on the price tag, "as is." Such is the case of two designer purses that I purchased from there this summer.  (I'm a purse-aholic!  Don't look in my closet.)  They were reasonably priced (especially when you consider the name brand), but each had an "as is" clearly marked o
Read more

Dear Mom & Dad: Coming to a Close

Image
  Dear Mom & Dad, Last week I prematurely said I sold the house.  (Who knew that the buyer's lawyer would be such a...well you fill in the blank.  I get the feeling that he doesn't like that the seller [me], seller's agent and seller's attorney are all women.  I also get the feeling that he likes to play games which will increase his billable hours.  I'm not naming names [yet] because although paperwork has been signed we are not yet at the finish line and based on my awful experiences of late last week, I still have fears that something could go wrong, even though we clearly outlined everything from the very beginning. )  I am closer and have spent the last weekend doing more packing up and moving out. This is the hard part.  I have sold the house furnished (although the buyer doesn't want the furnishings).  I am taking some things (more than I had originally outlined), but I can't take it all.  So I'm doing what I can.  Especially with the &quo
Read more