Two blogs in one week? It's not possible! However, the more things change the more they stay the same. I feel like the weight of the world is crashing down on me this week and it's not a feeling I am used to anymore. I have created a very peaceful, calm existence for myself and it has taken me years to cultivate. There have been a lot of goodbyes, see ya later or never to get me to this point and I am okay with that. There is peace in letting go of situations and relationships that just make you feel....well badly---or less than---or unimportant. I always know when it's time to move on from a person or a situation. When it is causing me more pain or sadness than anything else than it doesn't belong in my life anymore. There are, however, certain things that I can't get away from no matter how hard I try. I have gotten better at blocking out the affect these things have on me, however - just because I carry it well, doesn't mean it isn't heavy. Just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean it doesn't affect me or sometimes consume me.
There are the mornings like this when I wake up to text messages that make my heart drop and my stomach twist in knots. Texts that used to cripple me and have me in a panic for days....weeks even. But I have responsibilities that can't just be ignored and I have to show up and be "on". It's funny, my daughter mentioned yesterday the first trip that we took solo that began the years of us being "travel buddies". She mentioned how it was so fun. I laughed and said "If you only knew what was going on in my head and my nerves were on the outside of my body" (we were going to Florida to take care of my mom and take her to her radiation appointments) I was leaving my 15 year old son and my 19 year old son home alone in Arizona - Seems like not such a big deal right? Well it was - they did not get along and my 19 year old was not reliable.) Add that to the fact that I knew my mother was dying. No one else wanted to believe me, but I knew it in my soul. It made me realize that I am pretty good at hiding my inner turmoil apparently. I smiled through the whole week and no one would ever have known how truly overwhelmed and anxious I was inside. I became really good at that because 5 years before that my middle son (at 10 years old) had cancer. That's when I really mastered the art of smiling on the outside and crumbling on the inside.
It seems like a great thing to be able to cope with things while smiling and not bringing the rest of the world down, but is it? I am not so sure. But it was necessary, as I had 3 children to protect and also I despise pity. NEVER tell me you feel sorry for me because I will lose my shit. So----I learned to wear the mask and it became quite comfortable. It became my persona. Only a very few select people got to see the disfigured human underneath that mask. She was not a pretty sight. I don't like her if I am being honest, she's weak. No thank you. I don't do weak or pity - yuck - so unattractive. For me! In others I can sympathize, empathize, commiserate - I don't expect anyone to be like me. I am not so sure it's healthy, honestly. This week is showing me that. This morning I let it all out in a phone call and I allowed myself to be raw and vulnerable. I admitted I have no clue how to feel or what to do or how I am going to get through it. But I will. I always do. But it is really comforting to have someone who just gets it! Who says - I put myself in your shoes and I feel sick to my stomach! Yes! THANK YOU! That's exactly it. And also - I don't know what to tell you because I have no idea what I would do! Yes! THANK YOU again! I don't expect anyone to fix what's going on - it's not fixable. But coupled with the fact that this week has shown me that I am always having to cave to other people's ways of doing things with no regard to how it affects ME - is just too much!
I feel betrayed by some, I feel neglected and dismissed by others, I feel used and taken for granted by others still. But what will I do? I will carry on, put a smile on my face and do what needs to be done one day at a time. And I will find ways to drizzle joy into those days because life is too short! 2025 is halfway over already! So I will love the people who love me back, find a way to move on from situations that seem to hurt me no matter what I do to avoid it and I will adjust the mask when it's necessary and take it off when I feel safe. At this moment, it is truly just a day in the life-