Vacation Anxiety
Do you ever stress out or worry about things? I know I do.
The other day I realized that even though I am really excited about my upcoming vacation, I am also really anxious about it. I mean, I will have to go to 2 airports, that's stressful. What if something happens that I can't pay for? What if I have an awkward conversation with my sort-of relatives that I don't see very often? Oh Lord, then there's politics. I try so hard to avoid discussing this with people, but for some reason others don't always follow this rule. What if I get sick?
So, I tell myself, just STOP IT. Easier said than done, right?
But that's okay. It's okay to start with "stop it," as long as you have part 2 of the instruction.
Part 2: Remember that you have survived all of these things before, and still managed to have some fun.
Exhibit A: My family trip to New York in 2014
This is a picture of one of the falls at Letchworth Park. I had a lovely time walking around there with my father. Then we went to a little Amish restaurant and back to my Aunt and Uncle's house where we were staying. Two hours later, I was puking, etc. and so exhausted I could hardly walk to the bathroom. Two more hours, I got to experience the local emergency room in this tiny town. My poor step-mother was saddled with me while the rest of my family was in the lobby laughing and telling stories .
The picture above is my dad and step-mom
This is my family having a good old time in the hospital lobby.
Did I mention I threw up all over my Uncle Daryle, who had just learned how to do laundry? Man I felt bad about that. This is my Uncle Daryle-pre-throw up.
I had a nurse with an attitude problem because I have too many medications and he did not want to have to type them all in. Then I had faulty equipment that fell apart as they were trying to put an IV in me. Nothing like watching blood go all over the floor.
Then they left me alone with poor Sharon. I was getting more and more anxious. I wanted to sit up, but my IV cord was all tied up to the 1960's hospital bed and I couldn't get the arm handles down. Eventually I slid down the bed around the arm handle. I kept saying that I wanted to get out of there. I basically had a major meltdown while Sharon talked to me in the calm voice intended for soothing crazy people.
Well, they insisted I get an x-ray. I can't really remember why. I do remember that they had no automatic doors and there was a hump in the floor, so the person wheeling me to the x-ray room had quite a workout. The IV did restore me somewhat and they prescribed me some anti-nausea medicine, so I went back to Julie and Daryle's house. I wasn't better, but I no longer looked like death wormed over.
One thing I can say though, is that even though I had the crabby nurse, everyone else at that hospital was super nice and acted like they really hoped I would feel better, not like they were concerned about if my insurance would cover it. That is the up-side to a small town I guess.
I really wasn't able to do as much as I would have liked to, but I still got to spend time with my cousins and my aunts and uncles. I got my hair braided. I sat around a camp-fire. I went by my childhood house and even though it was a completely different color and somewhat hidden by a big fence, I did get to see the swampy area on the dirt road where my mother used to wade out and get pussy-willows for us. So even though the bad part really sucked, the good part was equally awesome.
Also, I wasn't alone it.