Virtual Guestbook :: The Grandparents

One Little Word :: being put to the test

With the recent snowstorm and today's warm weather, the snowmelt was pretty drastic and quick. I was getting nervous about it, and my concern was exasperated when I discovered parts of the side yard were flooded. I knew it could lead to flooding in our basement, which was an issue we had in the fall (we had only moved into the house two months prior).

The anxiety caused by that leak last time really put me in a bad place for a good month, month and a half. It led to all kinds of other uncertainty and negative thoughts and I was sad a lot. All that emotional turmoil was caused by something that wasn't, in the grand scheme of things, a life-altering incident. Was it a nuisance and stressful? Hell yes. But it's a problem that's solvable (albeit with a good chunk of change). Yet, I let it get the better of me and I was consumed with worry and negativity. It really wore me out.

Part of the reason I decided to take part in One Little Word was to help train myself not to go through a similar experience. I think about my word [today] a lot, even though I haven't really worked on the monthly assignments very much. And, here we are, facing another wet basement and I'm trying to talk myself through it in a manageable, realistic way.

• What can I do today to help solve this problem? Take action to dry the basement, come up with a plan to solve the problem long-term, and talk to people about what I'm feeling instead of bottling it up inside.
• Was today stressful and did I worry? Yes, but I was able to talk to my husband and my mom about an action plan. They reassured me it was going to be OK, and I know it will be.

There will be bumps in the road, I can already tell. (I'm not 100% calm right now.) But being cognizant of my thoughts and how I plan to manage my anxiety is going to help me get through this better than I did in the fall. I'm going to take it one day at a time, in chunks that I can deal with, and I have to think about only the things that are in my control.

My word is going to help me.

Virtual Guestbook :: High School Buddy

Half of a set of twins we've been hanging with since high school. We actually saw him back in July when we were staying at our temporary apartment in Virginia. He's back in DC again for work (he's in alternative energy) and we made him come out to Maryland to have dinner with us. 

We may not be particularly unusual, but I feel lucky that we're still very close with our core group of friends from high school. It's funny to think of ourselves as adults knowing what we were like 20 years ago, but, apparently, we've all grown up and are doing pretty well for ourselves!