Well Hi There

Long time no blog, eh?

Well, that happens when your poor family keeps fighting off sickness after sickness, and this morning Hubba-hubba and I agreed that we are still not 100% recovered from that damn flu.  When I breathe out, I get weird bubbly/whistle-y sounds coming out of my throat, and he is still coughing.

Remind me to display my weird bubbly/whistle-y sounds at the next party I attend.  I am sure to be a big hit.

Which will actually probably be my own birthday party, which not to toot my own horn, is right around the corner.  Jesus Christ, I will be forty-freaking-two years old.  I still cannot wrap my mind around the fact that I am that old and I have a three year old.  She makes me feel like an ancient crone.  I can just imagine her joy when she is a tween and I am an elderly lady in my 50's.   Those ought to be some fun shopping trips.

Seriously though, I don't truly see 50 as elderly, although I am sure my daughter will.

Speaking of my daughter, this morning she and my son combined to make me so stressed out that I actually got a stomach ache.  This has never really happened before, but I assure you the stomach thing was due to their behavior.  My daughter throws tantrums and self-harms, and today was a very large one, resulting in bruises on her forehead and bite marks on her arm. 

Hubba-hubba suggested that we try meditation.  He is big into laying down and doing deep breathing, and I am big into being annoyed when he does it. 

But he claims to feel much better afterwards, so maybe I should try it? 

This weekend I met for the first time a mother of one of the girls in my son's enrichment program.  She is an emergency room doctor, and she is honestly one of the calmest, most centered people I have ever met.  I imagine that is either a prerequisite for being an emergency room doctor, or it is a skill you must develop quickly in order to maintain your sanity.

Anyhoo, I was deeply envious of this (apparently) very happy and calm woman who was nothing but absolutely loving to her daughter who had forgotten her fancy dress, thus making her mother drive close to forty miles (and back!) on short notice to deliver it to her in time for their scheduled dinner.

If my son had called me and told me he had forgotten his suit and I would have to drive like a bat out of hell in order to get it to him on time, there is no way I would have entered that hotel lobby as serenely and full of love as that woman.  I actually joked with her about how different I would have been, and she looked at me with well-concealed pity.  Of the kindest kind.

Meditation, here I come!

Comments

marvel said…
My mother-in-law has commented on how patient I am when I cook with my two girls. (Flour on the floor! Sugar in the hair! Eggs EVERYWHERE!). But I have to say, after some of the things you see working in a hospital, sugar in the hair is just no big deal. You're just so thankful your kids have all their fingers, you know? I imagine it's the same for her. And yeah, I think it's a skill that develops -- or a reset of one's priorities, such that what it takes to get you stressed is just on a different sliding scale.

Also, she probably has not had the kind of year you and your family have had, which would be enough to stress anyone out. Also, she probably doesn't have a child with the behavioral issues of your daughter, which is an unremitting strain. Remember she can leave her work when she leaves her work, and your work is ALWAYS with you. It's different.

We're the same age! Soon, we will both be the THE ANSWER to life, the universe, and everything.
4:28 AM
Ted said…
Well, there's always screaming "Serenity now!" It might not work as well as meditation, but it could induce laughing -- which is a good stress reliever, too.
10:42 AM
Gina said…
@marvel- OMG, I knew I loved you for a reason! I never even thought to equate 42 with my beloved HHGTTG! I need something desperately with a "Don't Panic" on it.

@Ted- Oh, that is one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes of all time!
9:33 PM
Anvilcloud said…
Ain't life fun?
6:41 AM
Liz said…
So glad you added the caveat about 50 not being truly elderly! :)

So glad to hear you are feeling a bit better, despite the bubbly whistles!
6:54 AM
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