Scary stuff I've handled the heck out of this week

[BlueIris]

I think we've all done really well this week. Pulisa, I don't think I even have a fraction of your strength.

[Darksky]

Well I certainly can't beat or even emulate your brilliant achievements but I did manage to reprogramme the Sky remote knowing that i could wreck everything by getting it wrong..I was shaking afterwards!! I knew what the "repercussions" from daughter would be!

My daily challenges are constant as a carer but DIY always fills me full of dread. I want to limit having to get tradespeople in but I am


wretchedly hopeless at anything practical.

Fair play with that one P. I wouldn’t even know where to start. I guess it’s bad that I leave all that stuff to Mr.D. Not a healthy way of doing stuff

Not particularly rocking stuff but I am finding my mothers nurse appointments increasing hard to get through. The ulcers aren’t healing, her foot is constantly wet and she’s been referred to a wound clinic. I hate medical stuff and I’m awfully squeamish so I suppose the fact that I’m still standing after a twice weekly battering is at least something to, if not shout about, at least give it a loud whispering.

[pulisa]

I think we've all done really well this week. Pulisa, I don't think I even have a fraction of your strength.

That's very kind of you to say this but I'm no warrior. I just get by by hook or by crook

[pulisa]

Fair play with that one P. I wouldn’t even know where to start. I guess it’s bad that I leave all that stuff to Mr.D. Not a healthy way of doing stuff

Not particularly rocking stuff but I am finding my mothers nurse appointments increasing hard to get through. The ulcers aren’t healing, her foot is constantly wet and she’s been referred to a wound clinic. I hate medical stuff and I’m awfully squeamish so I suppose the fact that I’m still standing after a twice weekly battering is at least something to, if not shout about, at least give it a loud whispering.

Loud whisper away, D! You're certainly facing your demons with visual exposure to weeping wounds on a very regular basis. That must be very challenging yet you persevere and your mum must be very grateful for your support.

[Catkins]

Blueiris, these weren't small wins! They were amazing! I seriously couldn't have stood up and talked in front of people.

I have my own wins this week too! We went to London early Friday morning. We visited Tate Britain in the afternoon and went to see the Pixies and Pearl Jam in Hyde Park in the evening. On Saturday we spent the day with our son in his new flat/surrounding area (Wimbledon) then went back to Hyde Park and saw Stereophonics and Pearl Jam. Sunday morning we met our son at Euston, had breakfast and caught the train back.

I can honestly say I feel very proud of myself, it was very challenging at times, but I did it all and managed to feel relatively relaxed most of the time. Particular challenges were;

* The heat! Bloody hell it was hot! I drank more water than I thought was possible to ingest, we didn't go to the festival in the afternoons because it was too hot, to be honest I would have liked to see a couple of the performances that were on in the afternoon but the thought of sitting out in the open in the sun was just too much for both of us. I wore my trusty bucket hat for most of time time and was incredibly glad I had taken it (added bonus - I realised it was reversible!).

* The tube! Again the heat was awful and the sheer volume of people on them at times. On the way to the show on Saturday we had to literally squeeze in by the door.

* My insides! On the Friday and Saturday morning my insides were having a bit of a party, fortunately I always managed to be near a loo when necessary!

* Panic attack in a cafe! Our son took us out for lunch and despite having some anxious moments I hadn't had a panic attack until the Saturday lunchtime. It was a strangely calm experience, I told myself to just sit with it and it dissipated quickly enough that I could still eat my lunch. Often I get all wound up, start fidgeting around, go to the loo and then can't settle at all. But this time it passed without too much fluster.

* Overwhelmingly busy concert! The sheer number of people in Hyde Park was incredible! Fortunately I'd bought fan club tickets so there was a large enclosure in front of the stage that was fenced off from the rest of the crowd, it meant that we could be at the back of that where there was more space and still see the band on the stage.

* Train cancellation. When we got back to the room on Saturday night I checked my email on my phone and discovered our train for the next morning home had been cancelled. I had to work really hard at staying calm and not going down the rabbit hole of thinking I was going to be trapped in London for the rest of my life. I quickly formulated a back up plan that we could go up to Leeds and then get on the Carlisle to settle line and then get someone to pick us up in one of the villages. It might have seemed a long way round, the the trainline app was telling me there were no tickets available on any of the other trains coming home that day. Of course we went to the station early Sunday morning and they just said, 'oh it's fine just get on either this or this train'. At 11.30 the previous night it really hadn't felt that simple!

So anyway, I had prepared all week by doing guided meditations every morning in the lead up and I really felt it helped. I didn't try and cram too much into our time there and even watched a bit of the tennis on the telly with our son on Saturday afternoon - it did amuse me that I was in Wimbledon watching Wimbledon on the telly. I ate sensibly to help settle my tummy and avoided all festival food, even the churros which were very tempting. So that I had no nighttime backlash from that.

I think I did pretty well 😁

[Darksky]

You did really well Catkins. I had to smile at thinking you would be trapped in London for the rest of your life. That is so my way of thinking.

[BlueIris]

Catkins, you were awesome!

Ps: the trick to public speaking is not caring

[Scass]

You did great Catkins! I can honestly say I don’t think I would have done the tube in this heat. Although I love the breeze it generates!

I saw Barbra Streisand at the Summertime event before lockdown. Quite different from Pearl Jam! Wish I’d seen the Rolling Stones this time, gutted I didn’t check the acts.

You did really really well.

[.Poppy.]

Way to go Blue! A little over a year ago I had to start doing presentations for my job; I'm very shy so it was incredibly hard. It's still difficult, but I'm hoping I can use the skills I gained from it to leverage into another position, so there's a bit of a silver lining. But I agree with the others, no small task!

I also very much empathize with you on the finances. I just got my electric bill and.... My dad's been in my house working on things and he sets my AC really low, and then leaves it low, and I forget to turn it back up. Bill paying is no fun. But I'm doing a little bit better at telling myself "NO" when I start coveting things to buy lol, though anytime I think about paying back my renovation debt I have a bit of a panic attack.

I did a deep clean on both bedrooms in my home. I'd been putting it off because my depression was sinking in and the motivation wasn't there. But I did force myself to do it, and it feels a little better having it done.

I also took my dog on a walk both on Saturday and Sunday. We can't walk in my neighborhood so I have to drive up to campus, and we had to go early to beat the heat. But campus on break is a really nice place for both of us, it's nearly empty. We usually walk along the edge but Sunday did venture into the main part of campus and never got super close to anyone else but it was good practice for him being in a new(er) area, seeing/smelling new things, and we worked on emergency U-turns and other management stuff. Had to take some unique routes to avoid some people but overall it was a really pleasant couple of mornings.

[Carnation]

Wow catkins you did amazingly well

You too Poppy.

BlueIris, this is a great thread and what you achieved in a week is amazing!