Mostly this has been a very frustrating day off. I say mostly, because the session with the therapist was one of the best. More on that later.
It seemed that wherever the errands and chores took me today I inevitably ended up in a line usually directly behind a person who had a “problem” of some kind that, of course, caused a backup of sometimes very angry people. It happened in the supermarket, pharmacy, post office, and department store. What could have taken an hour tops, turned into two hours and by the time I finished the last stop on the list, I was grateful and exhausted. I couldn’t wait to get home and chill. The worst was by far the pharmacy where an elderly man was screaming at the clerk that he had dropped off three prescriptions last night and they had only filled one. No one took him aside so that others in line (like me!) could be served.
Well, 20 minutes later (if that doesn’t sound like a long time to you, you have never experienced this kind of ordeal – it felt like 2 hours) we learned that his wife had dropped off the prescriptions, and that the other two were still in her purse and apparently forgotten. The entire line learned this as the wife was called at home to get to the bottom of the confusion – and her purse.
So, with the clerk clearly not a fault the old guy started screaming at wifey on the phone. (I hope it wasn’t his blood pressure meds that were still in the purse.) Then he stormed out of the store not bothering to apologize to the poor clerk, let alone any of us on the line who were inconvenienced.
Anyway, the therapist offered more insights into myself that I had not seen before, and gave me suggestions to counter negatives that have been bothering me lately. We also talked about my sleeping patterns, loss of appetite; worrying about things I have no control over, stress (remember stress?) and a few other things. Of course all of these things are directly related, or caused by, stress. Imagine that!
It’s clear that while I am healing in many ways I still have a long way to go and he gave me some sound advice regarding my actions and reactions to various thoughts and feelings when they become overwhelming almost to the point of a downward spiral. I can’t afford that right now, physically or emotionally. I feel physically healthier than I have in a couple of years. He also suggested that I try to journal every day, even if I don’t have much to say and I am going to give that a try. I pledged to write 3 or 4 times weekly following the Life in Balance classes, and I have kept that pledge so far. I think I can spend a few minutes the other 3 days writing something. We’ll see.
I am home and listening to Talk of the Nation. They are currently discussing homosexuality in Arab culture and the Arab world. Interesting.
Life isn’t half bad this afternoon. There. I have written something for today when I thought I’d have nothing to say.
More later.
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There are a lot of old self important people in the Rehoboth area. They have special needs. Most of the stores don't know the definition of service. Expect to stand in many lines. More often than not. I know this to be a fact because I come from an area where there are normal people. A lot of the folks down here aren't normal. They have no concept that their selfhisness affects others. It's all about them. Get used to it. It is a fact of life in this area.
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