Sunday... normal day, but I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep last night, so I had a lot of trouble staying awake in church this morning!
After we ate lunch, I came home and slept about 3 hours, I think. (Setting up another problem tonight, probably, but dgs is here and he will certainly allow me to sleep later than DGD, and later than our wake-up time for church.)
Tonight, we had thunderstorms. I came into my bedroom, and dgs' was lying in the bed, no lights on, and he said he was just "listening to the rain." Then, at his suggestion, we both went out on the porch and watched the storm for awhile. I told him, the porch may be too big, and it is a mess a lot of the time (bird poop, spider webs, just like my dmil told me it would be) but I am so glad I have it. I know it's not really smart to be outside during a thunderstorm, but there was no sharp lightning strikes, just flashes all across the sky, and rumbles of thunder. And HEAVY rain. We just sat in the porch swing and dgs gave his estimates of how far away the lightning was and in what community. It was very peaceful -- dsg is not much for deep conversation, but it was nice to just sit there with him.
I did not cook supper tonight, either. Maybe tomorrow.
I appreciate the reassurances,
Harriet &
blessed -- maybe I am still just reacting to an overload of emotional and mental stress, even though it has been 13 months since dh passed.
As you said,
Harriet, re: your dd's dmil, I don't know how I would react to the loss of a child (or grandchild). I might take to my bed and never leave at all, not just on anniversaries. I cannot even imagine how people live through that. I am functioning better than my dmom was 13 months after ddad's passing. I do get out and do certain things... grocery shopping is not a big problem for me... I enjoy the fellowship of others at church, and with my teacher group, and lunches with my dfriend... but when I'm home, it is still sometimes all I can do to just get off the couch. Maybe it's not laziness, maybe it's just the mental exhaustion of keeping up appearances when I'm with others. Then when I'm home, sometimes I just have to sleep.
I don't really feel depressed, but I do still take Paxil for anxiety. I don't think I'm what a doctor would diagnose as depressed, but I do feel just a general numbness, most of the time. I'm sad, but I can enjoy certain things with family or friends -- as long as it's not TOO "social." I still feel kinda hopeless re: the future. Except for seeing dgrands grow up, there's nothing I really feel I can look forward to, so I'm just in a sort of limbo, I guess.
I have always felt lazy and been somewhat embarrassed about it -- partly because my ddad had such a high energy level and expected the rest of the family to keep up with him, and he was a difficult task-master. So I've always known HE thought I was lazy, and I am constantly criticizing myself based on all the "should be doing" I hear from him in my head. I guess a lot of my self-expectations and self-criticisms come from over fifty years of trying to meet what I felt were HIS expectations.
Maybe I should just keep on trying to do better each day, but allowing myself the freedom to do what I feel like without beating myself up about the times I still don't feel like doing anything except lying on the couch.
I have been doing hourly challenges with myself. At the beginning of the hour, I selected 3 easy....very easy.....extremely easy tasks to do before the next TOTH. Because the tasks are so easy then I don't have any resistance in doing them. The result is that those 3 extremely easy tasks get me moving and it results in my brain giving me a dopamine hit...leading to motivation and further success in other endeavors. For me.... A successful hour starts with those extremely easy 3 tasks being planned and executed.
This is such good advice for me,
LadyM. Thank you. I will try to follow this tomorrow.
I called dmom after we ate lunch, but she admitted she really didn't feel like having us (DS, dgrands, and me) over, even to bring her belated Mother's Day gift. I asked if she needed us to bring her anything, and she said no.
I certainly hope the doctor can do something that will help her when she sees him Thursday. The first two shots have not really done anything to relieve her pain.
And
blessed... oh my goodness... I am in awe of how well you and your ddaughters manage the caregiving with your mother. I would be a basket case.
Cathy's lost picture reminds me that I have not yet found my high school poetry. STILL SMH over this. And feeling nervous about what DS will think of me if he ever comes across it up when I'm gone. If I could find it, I might not immediately shred it, but I could at least put a note in it, as I have my journals, for DS to not judge me too harshly if he reads it, and for him to feel free to toss it unread if he is so inclined. SMH...
DS and DDIL called tonight to ask me to make a list of things that are important to remain in the family -- for example, my maternal great-grandmother's ring that I wear all the time. The loss of her aunt has ddil thinking that she wants to be able to tell dgrands WHY this or that possession is important. I told her I would put "make a list" ON my list!
Hope you all have a great day tomorrow!