Drowning Stress

No, I'm not drowning in stress; I'm just dumping all my stress -- along with all my responsibilities -- for a day. It's been a bit of a rough few weeks. First was the heart thing (and, by the way, I still have not seen a cardiologist or had any further testing. Then I started a new scoring program, which is a good thing. I had a hard time getting the hang of it, but I guess I'm pretty good at it now. I am attending training on Monday to be a scoring leader. The next day my new class on the Naval base starts, and until yesterday I didn't understand what I was supposed to do. It's a hybrid class -- half in person and half online -- and I understood that part, but I didn't know which parts to do where or how to set it up. Fortunately, after almost two weeks of asking, I was assigned a mentor who is wonderful! I'm actually excited about it now. I had to buy my own textbook (which arrived only yesterday) and I still don't have a classroom assignment, but I'm not going to worry about that. I have sent no fewer than three emails asking about the classroom and have received no reply. If the weather is nice and we can't get into the room, I'll do my first-day stuff outdoors. I'm pretty good at winging it. Still, it does cause a little bit of stress.

Meanwhile, my fence fell over and I need to replace it. It's expensive and a pain in the ass, but it needs to be done. It's been crumbling in some sections for years and with the high winds this week, it just blew down. There's no point in replacing two panels only to have to do the rest next year. And just as I was dealing with getting my handyman to come over and at least tie it back in place until he can start the work, I found a bogus charge on my debit card. I'm watching my account very carefully, and so far haven't seen any further charges. Did I mention that all this was going on as I was starting a scoring shift yesterday morning? Oy, what a mess!

So between dealing with health issues, figuring out new teaching modalities, replacing yard parts, and straightening out fraudulent changes on my bank account, I'm just tired. I woke up at 2:30 this mornng -- probably worrying about putting together my teaching materials -- and tried until 5:00 to go back to sleep. I finally gave up, started a pot of coffee, and felt like I was literally going in five directions at once. I'd start toward one room to work on one thing and before I even got there I'd turn around to work on something else. Finally I decided to get dressed and go to the grocery store. I bought myself a beautiful plant that's on a table in front of my kitchen window, and will go outside when the threat of cold weather has passed. I went to the Bundt cake shop -- yes, we actually have a store that sells only Bundt cakes -- and bought one, got one free (just tiny ones), came home and started my favorite New Mexican Stew, and now I'm going to take a nap. Or maybe I'll do a crossword puzzle on the porch. Anyway, I'm doing nothing of consequence today, which means I'll have to pour it on tomorrow, and that's just fine. I don't think I'd be very efficient today. And this evening, after I've drowned some stress with relaxation, I'm going to drown some stress in baby Bundt cake. I've mostly gotten away from emotional eating, but everyone should be able to indulge once in a while.