Week From Hades

Last week was brutal. Everything that could have been thrown at me, was lobed my way.
While my husband was away spending time with his parents, I had a call and letter from my oldest son's teacher, a slap on the wrist at work (really long story!), one kid home for 3 days straight, reinjured my shoulder, etc, etc, etc....And it really did go on to the point I was ready to snap and actually did so a couple of times.

Then Saturday I saw a migraine aura while shopping in a local clothing store. That scare alone made everything else
Water under the bridge.

The best things that happened all week were:
1)  I got The Bookstore Lady edits done and back to my agent.
2)  I had some great laughs with my kids.
3)  I had some wine and great laughs with some friends.

The bad stuff, I've decided, no longer matters.
The people who tried so hard to make me look bad, they no longer matter.
The determination to become a writer and get my work published. THAT'S what matters.
My kids. THEY matter.
I MATTER.

I know what is in my heart and on my lips.
To those who believe in me, thank you. I will always do my best not to let you down.
You matter to me as well.
Thank you.

 

Scraping the bottom of the barrel...

The holidays over, Christmas packed away, this year the colds have set in. Yesterday, I coughed so hard I cried. Today, I have no voice. I'm living on a diet of water, ginger tea and soup. So is everyone else in my house. So what does this have to do with scraping the bottom of the barrel? It's all about energy.

We all need energy in our lives. Energy to keep up with our kids, do our jobs and being creative.
Now and then, forces in life conspire to drain that energy and leave us flat and listless.
Without the energy to resist, we get sick.
Funny how when we're at our lowest point, friends will appear to inject a little much needed humour.

Recently, I put out an appeal to my facebook friends to tell me something positive. The bad news had overwhelmed me and I wanted to shut myself in a cave and cry. Within minutes, I had messages about the crime rate being down, school and karate starting Monday and people asking what was going on. Funny how just those few notes made me feel less alone. Less overwhelmed.

2012 did not end on a high note. Someone I love is very ill and may not recover. Someone else I love fell and was badly injured. She will recover. I had a strange massage that brought out damage and my entire back and left shoulder pained me for weeks. Now I'm sick. Of course.

Time to, as Julia Cameron says, prime the well. Sit back and do something that will replenish my spirit and restore my soul. Over the past couple of weeks, I've worked on my collection of short stories. Two more to add then I need to do a good edit before passing it off to my two readers. That is my mission tomorrow. That and clean out my closet. Not that I'm very good at throwing things out, but it makes me realize what I have and what I don't use.

Maybe scraping the bottom of the barrel is where I'm supposed to be. Maybe this year, I'm meant to clean out more than my closet, clear the clutter, and become more buoyant.