Self Care w/o 9/17

[auntie]

It's been awfully quiet around here.


How is everyone doing? Are you settling into the routines of the fall with school and such? 

[auntie]

I'll start.

Back-to-school is no longer a thing for me. But the fall always feels like the real start of the year anyway.

I have fallen out of my fitness routine. The summer was either too damned hot or pouring rain. DS is OK, but my mother is consuming a lot of my bandwidth. She was hospitalized for a week in July. We had a heart scare and lots of appointments in August and yesterday she was diagnosed with pneumonia. In between, we did a complete cosmetic update of the house she bought to be closer to me. New roof and HVAC system, hardwood floors throughout, all new lighting fixtures, window treatments, slipcovers, new door handles, bathroom mirrors, painted the whole house including the kitchen cabinets, new countertop and backsplash and all new appliances. I'm ready for her to settle in and have some playdates with the nice little old ladies in her community so I can stand down.

[sahara78]

Things are going here. I finally started counseling after looking/waitlisted for months. I’m hopeful that will help with my stress/mood. I’m also applying for a new job. I’d been hesitant to apply for anything because DD’s ABA approval is on my insurance. We finally applied for Medicaid secondary through DD Services, so hopefully that will cover her if my (potential) new insurance denied anything. My new boss has added exponential levels of stress to my job; I hate logging in.

DD started K two weeks ago. She seems to like it, but has amped up her finger sucking & nose-sore picking. Hard to tell what’s going on at school, as she’s told me some pretty bogus stories. We have ABA therapists coming to the house twice a week. So far it’s going well. Practicing bike riding & interacting during play dates.

[freezorburn]

I have not been taking good care of myself, other than trying to eat right. Workouts have gone out the window with school and committee work ramping up, to the point that I have cancelled everything until mid-October when I'm hoping things will calm down.

We had a scheduling snafu with DS's aftercare program, and a minor skirmish with my insurance company over whether or not they would continue to cover my son's ABA therapy. That has been no small drain on my energy and attention. It has all been ironed out finally, but was that really necessary?

[funchicken]

I think the only self-care I'm practicing at the moment is getting enough sleep. I need to cut back on some of my volunteer hours because I have no time for myself right now. The kids are doing okay with school so far.

[auntie]

A new fail in self-care. Mother was complaining about her vision. I took her to her AMD specialist ophthalmologist who, after 3 hours of scans and testing, turfed us to the eye hospital ER for further testing. Another 8 hours of tests and she got another eye issue and added a neuro-ophthalmologist to the roster of places I drive her. But at least she doesn't have a brain tumor so that's good.

[funchicken]

So sorry, auntie, I hope your mom is okay and you get a break from the doctors' appointments!

[waverly]

I took a sick day yesterday. I was PMSing, feeling stressed and had a terrible tension headache.

I took a bath, took some medication, used the massager on my neck and trap muscles. Took some vitamins that I had been slacking on. For example, calcium is supposed to help during the PMS time because that is when the blood calcium is lower. Found that out while nursing. Took a shower later in the day and did a hair conditioning treatment. No one was home which was awesome because I have been too busy.

I did do a little cleaning at the end of the day, but basically tried to just do self care for the day. I don't know if I need a day to myself more than most because I am an introvert that needs the quiet sometimes....

No working out this week due to feeling crappy.  Hope to get back to it next week.  

[bugandbibs]

I'm doing okay. I'm working on asking for help more around the house and not being annoyed of it isn't done like I would do it. It's a process.

I'm still overwhelmed by never getting any alone time, but I've started reading again after dinner and that has helped to quiet my mind before the bedtime routines start.

[mightymaude]

I am in a significantly better place than I was at this time last school year, when I developed shingles due to the stress of work. My students this year are so much better behaved that it is kind of unbelievable.

DD has had another rough start to the school year though, and it is spilling over into all of her other activities. Things she has done for years are suddenly causing anxiety attacks. On Sunday she refused to even touch a drop of water at swimming and had a massive meltdown. I have not been consistently patient with her, as my own anxiety about how it is affecting her social life ramps up when she has public moments.

And then Monday I realized she had had a cough for two weeks and none of us had caught her "cold", so I started giving her allergy medicine and suddenly she is able to deal with life more. So, I feel guilty about that and am attempting to remind myself that no one is all-knowing.

Summary: Work life better, being too hard on myself at home.