No, really...it is...
Sometimes, I find myself scared to death of missing all the good stuff. I wander around, feeling sorry for myself, hoping (seemingly against hope) that I'll see that light at the end of the tunnel.
Well, I see it...I'm standing in it.
Mom got great news from her most recent blood results. The debt I've been chipping away at for 6+ years has been cracked for good. My daughter is doing so well in school. Christmas shopping has been started and I'm actually having fun looking for the right prezzies for my loved ones.
Hope. Friendship. Love.
The greatest gifts. They beat receiving fuzzy slippers or a magazine subscription any day!!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
One of Those Weird Periods of My Lfe
I've been reading the blog posts of friends and it seems we're all weary, yet on the cusp of something fabulous.
Life here is finding its groove again. School has settled into its routine, work is steadily crazy instead of manically so. All the extra-curriculurs are in full-swing, but they're not annoying yet. The weather is changing and it seems more glorious than in years past.
I find myself wondering why things happen the way they do. I'm wondering about this A LOT lately. I have words that were left unsaid, I have emotions I'm afraid to feel. I have discovering a well of faith inside me that I didn't know I had.
Yet, I'm so tired. And skeptical. And numb.And I hate feeling those things.I break through them when I'm conscious of it but I'm not conscious of it all that often anymore.
The Kid and I went apple picking this past weekend. Although we had fun and didn't even mind that it was raining, the car ride was the best part. We laughed and talked and renewed our bond. I almost pity Ex because his bond with The Kid is irrevocably broken. He's going to miss having The Kid's adoration.
I was just getting around to feeling sorry for myself here at my desk. My co-worker is out on vacation and in addition to the 2 full-time jobs I'm doing right now, I'm covering for her too. I'm swamped all the time and I hate it. It seems that all tasks are only barely done when the next emergency comes down the pike. And then...a patient presents with an emergency situation. Having patients in pain come down the hall past my desk always give me the perspective I need. I wish they didn't have to feel pain in order for me to learn the lesson. Maybe they'd feel pain whether I learned my lesson or not. Perhaps the lesson is all about timing.
As I put one foot in front of the other, I wonder when things will be easier for me. Or maybe this is the easy part. I hate not knowing.
Peace, that's all I want. I want to know that I'm doing the right thing. I want to not get headaches worrying about things. I want to know what it's like to be care-free, even if it's just for a little while.
I know something fabulous is right around the corner for me. Will it be a complete remission diagnosis for my mom? Or could it be that I'll be debt-free soon? Or will I finally be recognized for my work? Or will it be that I'll be able to finish thinking/speaking a complete thought before I'm interrupted?
Who knows...but I'm ready for the next thing. It's not that I don't want to learn my lessons; I just want to feel joy again...
Life here is finding its groove again. School has settled into its routine, work is steadily crazy instead of manically so. All the extra-curriculurs are in full-swing, but they're not annoying yet. The weather is changing and it seems more glorious than in years past.
I find myself wondering why things happen the way they do. I'm wondering about this A LOT lately. I have words that were left unsaid, I have emotions I'm afraid to feel. I have discovering a well of faith inside me that I didn't know I had.
Yet, I'm so tired. And skeptical. And numb.And I hate feeling those things.I break through them when I'm conscious of it but I'm not conscious of it all that often anymore.
The Kid and I went apple picking this past weekend. Although we had fun and didn't even mind that it was raining, the car ride was the best part. We laughed and talked and renewed our bond. I almost pity Ex because his bond with The Kid is irrevocably broken. He's going to miss having The Kid's adoration.
I was just getting around to feeling sorry for myself here at my desk. My co-worker is out on vacation and in addition to the 2 full-time jobs I'm doing right now, I'm covering for her too. I'm swamped all the time and I hate it. It seems that all tasks are only barely done when the next emergency comes down the pike. And then...a patient presents with an emergency situation. Having patients in pain come down the hall past my desk always give me the perspective I need. I wish they didn't have to feel pain in order for me to learn the lesson. Maybe they'd feel pain whether I learned my lesson or not. Perhaps the lesson is all about timing.
As I put one foot in front of the other, I wonder when things will be easier for me. Or maybe this is the easy part. I hate not knowing.
Peace, that's all I want. I want to know that I'm doing the right thing. I want to not get headaches worrying about things. I want to know what it's like to be care-free, even if it's just for a little while.
I know something fabulous is right around the corner for me. Will it be a complete remission diagnosis for my mom? Or could it be that I'll be debt-free soon? Or will I finally be recognized for my work? Or will it be that I'll be able to finish thinking/speaking a complete thought before I'm interrupted?
Who knows...but I'm ready for the next thing. It's not that I don't want to learn my lessons; I just want to feel joy again...
Wondering What The Lesson Is In All Of This
So, the last few weeks and months have been a whirlwind of
emotions.
Work is, in a word, complete chaos. The state slashed its
budget several months ago and lay-offs were looming. The administrative coordinator
of the unit in which I work was on the chopping block and she knew it. Like any
hipster/networker/Gen X-Y’er, she began looking for work immediately. And she
found a new job pretty quickly. So guess who gets her job. Guess who still has
the other job too. And guess who gets to do 2 full-time jobs without a raise.
Yeah, that would be me…sucker!!
The Ex is out on disability. Permanently. I know he’s sick
and I wouldn’t want to be that sick for all the tea in China, but man,
it pisses me off. This scenario could have been prevented…or at least
postponed. He went unmedicated for 7 years, he drank like a fish and smoked
like a chimney…even after 2 neurologists told him that drinking excessively (Ex
can’t have 1 or 2 drinks; he has an extensive history of drinking excessively)
and smoking would exacerbate the symptoms of his neurological disorder. He only
has himself to blame.
And the real kick in the ass is that Mom was diagnosed with
cancer. She was so weak from torn abdominal muscles, but they were the catalyst
to get her to the doctor and the ER. She’s already started treatments and she’s
already felt some of the side effects. I’ve sat and chatted with her like I
haven’t done so in years. Being faced with her mortality is shocking us all
into submission.
My friend, R, just had MAJOR oral surgery. My friend, D, is
marking a year since her mother passed from cancer. My friend, S, is having
marital turmoil. My friend, M, is dealing with financial discomfort. And my
child, my sweet sensitive loving old soul of a child, struggles with wanting to
love her father and needing to protect herself from his mayhem.
It just seems that everyone I know is bearing their private
troubles very publicly. The stars and planets seem to be all out of alignment.
I’m crying over the littlest things but taking Communion at Mass and talking to
God helps like it never has before.
When I was in the midst of divorce proceedings and the
visitation court battle, I learned to stop asking the rhetorical question of
why, but to figure out the lesson in all of my challenges for myself.
Sometimes, I’m more successful than others.
I wonder why good people are being stricken with cancer. I
wonder when bad things will happen to bad people instead of to good people. I
wonder why prayer sometimes works more than medicine. I wonder why Ex can’t
realize that the mess he’s made of his relationship with his child will
probably never be repaired.
I just want to learn from all that happening around me, but
I’m too busy crying and numbing myself to the emotional pain.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Did you ever wonder if you're not meant to fit in?
I love my family and I know they love me, but I'm the black sheep on both my mom's and my dad's side.
Of the gang from the old neighborhood, there's only one other single mom, and she's a retired police officer (in NYC, you can retire with a 50% pension after 20 years) so I'm the only single mom who works full-time.
My neighborhood is VERY Catholic, and while my faith is unwavering, my belief in Catholicism isn't as strong.
I like to eat meat, I LOVE gluten and I don't believe buying organic food is better.
I never felt the need to drive a flashy car, or wear designer brand clothing (although I do loves me some vintage Coach purses), or eat in the fanciest restaurants.
Sometimes I just feel like I'm somewhere out in space, somewhat untethered.
Am I the only one who feels this way?
Of the gang from the old neighborhood, there's only one other single mom, and she's a retired police officer (in NYC, you can retire with a 50% pension after 20 years) so I'm the only single mom who works full-time.
My neighborhood is VERY Catholic, and while my faith is unwavering, my belief in Catholicism isn't as strong.
I like to eat meat, I LOVE gluten and I don't believe buying organic food is better.
I never felt the need to drive a flashy car, or wear designer brand clothing (although I do loves me some vintage Coach purses), or eat in the fanciest restaurants.
Sometimes I just feel like I'm somewhere out in space, somewhat untethered.
Am I the only one who feels this way?
Monday, January 9, 2012
Well, its January 9th...
...I guess it's time to write the year-end/happy New Year post, right?
As I reflect on 2011, I can't help but smile. It was a pivotal year, it was an exhausting year...but it was a wonderful year.
The Ya Ya's came to town in April and I'm still not sure NY has recovered. 3 from Manchester, England, 3 from Atlanta, 1 from Virginia and one from Montana. What a wild, loving, diverse gang of girls! They all feed my soul in one way or another.Montana Ya Ya came earlier and stayed later than the others and she made the most of every minute in NYC. I didn't have to "babysit" her, she was fearless. She got on the subway by herself a few times and always made it home ok. We ate Italian food every day as it's her favorite. We found a wholesale jewelry supply store and I picked out pearls and she made me a necklace and earrings that I will cherish forever.
The girlfriends I grew up with from the old neighborhood and I started going out for dinner every so often at a fun Italian and those dinners are really something to look forward to. 6 or 8 women, many of whom I know since my first day of first grade back in 1976, who can appreciate and even love the woman I've become. We're all so different, but we have the common blood of Sheepshead Bay running through our veins.
I went back to camp!! I'm the leader for my daughter's Girl Scout troop and we want to take the girls camping so I had to get "Camp Certified." The best part is that I had to do the certification course at the camp I went to from 1980-1987!! What an amazing experience!! To be able to share with my daughter the place that was so much a part of the person I have become is an deeply moving experience. So much of the camp is the same, yet so much is completely different. The Kid and I listened to "We Found Love" by Rihanna about 396 times on the trip up and back and that song will now always make me think of that magical weekend in the NY woods. The women I did the certification course with were so in tune with me; we were all doing the course for the same reason...to make a difference in girls' lives.
I upgraded to a smartphone and for the first 2 weeks after I got it, I felt sooooo dumb!I thought these things were supposed to make us smart...SMH...
I had a very low-key Christmas and I liked it. No casts of thousands all showing up wearing their fat pants so their circulation wouldn't get cut off, no family drama, no ugliness with the Ex....Just Chinese take-out and The Help on DVD...it was divine.
The Kid and I were supposed to go to my friend's house for New Year's, but her poor son had pneumonia & the flu. We decided that we'd make everyone another New Year's by celebrating Chinese/Lunar New Year's at the end of January. My friends and I are always looking for new and exciting reasons to get together and hang out, so why not Chinese New Year?!?!?
If 2012 is half as good as 2011, I'm in for a great time this year...
As I reflect on 2011, I can't help but smile. It was a pivotal year, it was an exhausting year...but it was a wonderful year.
The Ya Ya's came to town in April and I'm still not sure NY has recovered. 3 from Manchester, England, 3 from Atlanta, 1 from Virginia and one from Montana. What a wild, loving, diverse gang of girls! They all feed my soul in one way or another.Montana Ya Ya came earlier and stayed later than the others and she made the most of every minute in NYC. I didn't have to "babysit" her, she was fearless. She got on the subway by herself a few times and always made it home ok. We ate Italian food every day as it's her favorite. We found a wholesale jewelry supply store and I picked out pearls and she made me a necklace and earrings that I will cherish forever.
The girlfriends I grew up with from the old neighborhood and I started going out for dinner every so often at a fun Italian and those dinners are really something to look forward to. 6 or 8 women, many of whom I know since my first day of first grade back in 1976, who can appreciate and even love the woman I've become. We're all so different, but we have the common blood of Sheepshead Bay running through our veins.
I went back to camp!! I'm the leader for my daughter's Girl Scout troop and we want to take the girls camping so I had to get "Camp Certified." The best part is that I had to do the certification course at the camp I went to from 1980-1987!! What an amazing experience!! To be able to share with my daughter the place that was so much a part of the person I have become is an deeply moving experience. So much of the camp is the same, yet so much is completely different. The Kid and I listened to "We Found Love" by Rihanna about 396 times on the trip up and back and that song will now always make me think of that magical weekend in the NY woods. The women I did the certification course with were so in tune with me; we were all doing the course for the same reason...to make a difference in girls' lives.
I upgraded to a smartphone and for the first 2 weeks after I got it, I felt sooooo dumb!I thought these things were supposed to make us smart...SMH...
I had a very low-key Christmas and I liked it. No casts of thousands all showing up wearing their fat pants so their circulation wouldn't get cut off, no family drama, no ugliness with the Ex....Just Chinese take-out and The Help on DVD...it was divine.
The Kid and I were supposed to go to my friend's house for New Year's, but her poor son had pneumonia & the flu. We decided that we'd make everyone another New Year's by celebrating Chinese/Lunar New Year's at the end of January. My friends and I are always looking for new and exciting reasons to get together and hang out, so why not Chinese New Year?!?!?
If 2012 is half as good as 2011, I'm in for a great time this year...
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