I'm old enough to remember The Precedented Times. It was awesome. I only checked the news a few times a week because that was enough to keep up with it; there wasn't a torrent of nonsense to fight through every day.
But, anyway, here we are. It feels like the whole country's gone mad, and my own personal stressors are adding up. A list:
I stepped on my glasses a couple of weeks ago. I can't replace them until I see my doctor, which won't be until next Feb. I have contacts, but I used to wear my glasses once or twice a week at least, to give my eyes a break. Now, I'm afraid to wear them out of the house, bc a lens keeps popping out.
Last month, I had to get a biopsy, which turned out clear, but I hadn't gotten over the emotional or physical stress of it before the election. Oh, and on top of the small wound and bruise from the biopsy, the bandage pulled off a small patch of my skin, so that was fun.
I got a letter from my insurance company that they won't cover a medicine that I've been depending on for months. It's a headache preventative, and while it doesn't cut out all of my headaches, it has made a big difference. Last summer, I stopped taking it for a week and thought my head was going to cave in. The fact that they had the gall to say that it was to keep my costs down was an added aggravation.
The two medications they suggested as replacements are injectables. I have a needle phobia- I always have had. I've gotten to the point of being able to get a shot without a meltdown, but when I saw that they wanted me to give myself a shot, I was a mess. Really, I was near tears for a whole day. If I can't take something to prevent them, I'm going to have to go to work with them or drag myself to the doctor when there's nothing that they can do. I can only call in with them so many times a year. I have a different pill to try from my doctor, but I wouldn't be surprised if insurance won't let me have that either.
So, I've got this going on, and I had multiple repairs that had to be done in late summer, and when is it all going to calm down? Well, probably never, because the government is about to be sabotaged from the inside. I will say, I've felt better since it has come out that it wasn't such a landslide as they were acting like. He barely squeaked by. But still... How???
I was a wreck the day after the election. I went to bed at a decent hour that night, but when I woke up with a tickle in my throat at 3AM, I decided to make the terrible decision to check the news, and that was it for me. I couldn't sleep again. I didn't sleep well for a couple of nights. I'd get calmed down and begin to drift off and think, "oh, but NATO" or "USDA."
So, here is the point of this post: I've been trying to make myself feel better, often with books and movies. I've been listening to Jane Austen audiobooks; I've gotten through Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice so far. I really like Nadia May as a reader. No matter how many times I go back to those books, they just never get old. I'll probably go through the whole list of her titles.
I've also started watching Christmas movies and listening to the music, and last weekend, I put up my tree. I watched The Man Who Invented Christmas, about Dickens writing A Christmas Carol, which is available on the library service Hoopla. I really like it. It imagines Charles Dickens going through the process of writing the book, walking around London, dealing with family issues, with Ebeneezer Scrooge at his side like a cranky imaginary friend.
I've gotten out a stack of DVDs that make me feel better. I've watched a few episodes of Community. For all the snark, they really do care about each other. I've also gotten out My Name is Earl, The Holiday, and Little Women (1994 version). That version of Little Women is my favorite, and as soon as the first few notes of the score start, I begin to destress. I'll likely re-read the book too. It's been awhile.
I've been thinking about re-reading The Lord of the Rings, too, and/or listening to the BBC radio play. It's not altogether a happy story, but it's hopeful. It looks like the radio play is available to listen to for free online.
I usually read A Christmas Carol, and I've got a big stack of books that I bought on a bookstore crawl in October. I don't have much checked out now, but I put holds on books and suspended the holds, so in early January, I'll have a stack of holds and another in February, so I think it'll feel like a surprise. We'll see.
I'm feeling better, and while I had some insomnia this week and the injectable medicine scare, I'm keeping up with my housework pretty well. I've done some Christmas shopping. I'm trying to get back into yoga. Baths, candles, candies all help. My writing really took a hit, but it never stopped, and even on days when I hardly write anything, I feel like it makes progress. I thought I'd be done with this project that I'm working on now, but I'm awful at predicting how long it will ever take for me to complete any task.
So, back to it. I'll be listening to Jane and watching Christmas movies by my tree. Good luck out there.
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