The weather forecast has been deteriorating to the point that there is a 90% chance of severe weather on Saturday. The HOA finally announced that Sunday, which should be gorgeous, is the rain date. I am praying that my "chicken guy" and "plumber chick" (story for another post) can still attend. Actually, it sounds like she is in, but I have not heard from him.
Yesterday I went to the community garden as instructed by my contact at the county to get Wipe Out Waste brochures and leaves for the composting demo. My contact, who has been with the county for 20 years, was embroiled in some sort of drama, and left abruptly saying that she was about to lose her job and had messed up. Further, the leaves were not leaves, they were mulch. I searched high and low to find the brochures, which, thankfully, I did find with the help of another volunteer. My wife Joselle had left work early to help me gather the leaves, and I needed to come up with a Plan B quickly. I remembered my friend Ruth complaining about the abundance of leaves in their yard, which backs up to a greenway, so I called her. She was home and told us to come on over. We gathered 8 bags of leaves, which is plenty for the demo. All is well that ends well, I guess. But the drama does not end there.
My dog, who is ordinarily very sweet, has been having terrible behavioral issues around food guarding to the point that I thought he was going to bite me yesterday. Between giving him up or hiring a behaviorist, we chose to hire a behaviorist. No doubt the fees will be exorbitant. My computer, whose hard-drive crashed and was replaced last semester, is showing signs of crashing again. Everything is backed up, but that is still another large unexpected expense!
My brother-in-law, who is a wonderful human being and skilled craftsman, left for Des Moines today. Unfortunately, he is also a slob, leaving messes in his wake. It has been difficult to study (and keep the dog calm) with so much activity in the house, which has been torn apart for one project or another since Christmas break. Having my brother-in-law living with us immensely added to the complications. (The other workers go home at night, but we still have a messy house guest to feed and entertain. And we are both in school.)
My wife picked the day her brother left, actually the minute he left, to get irate and start cleaning up his messes. This was no doubt a self-protective measure, given that they only see each other once a year and her parents and other brother are deceased. (It is easier to be mad than sad.) However, the problem for me came when I realized that I was supposed to be cleaning too! I have an event in two days; I have things to do - lots of them!
I naturally seek tranquil surroundings, particularly when I need to focus. I feel that life has been chaotic all semester, which is particularly affecting my stress level. An important lesson for me in all of this is finding a way to maintain my calm in the midst of the insanity around me. I have been going to the gym more regularly, and the blog has helped me to maintain sharp focus on my project. Still I have allowed my stress levels to get out of hand. (I ended up in the ER about three weeks ago with chest pains, which I think were stress induced. The verdict is still out, but it was not life-threatening.) I know I am living in a turbulent world, and I usually manage the stark realities of that fairly well. But when my home life is feeling tumultuous, I have a more difficult time maintaining my own balance. I wonder if the turmoil I feel is symptomatic of what is going on in the world. Regardless, it is important for me to find a way to maintain my balance.
No comments:
Post a Comment