November Updates

I just can’t believe that November is almost over!  And what a wild month it has been.  We made it through Halloween on our busy street.  I’m so glad the election is over.  I’m also happy that The Teen will have a long break starting Thursday afternoon!  It will be nice to sleep in a little longer if I can.  It just seems like my body is programmed to wake up at 5 AM regardless of whether I can sleep in or not.  Oh well, the early bird gets the worm, right?  Haha!

But first, per usual, I’ll regale you with a picture of my November Beanie Babies.  I know, I know!  Try to contain your excitement! HA!

They took their place of honor promptly on November 1, but their time will be up by next Friday!

Anxiety

This month has been a little mentally challenging for me.  I’ve sat down to blog many times and just read others’ blogs instead.   Honestly, there isn’t much exciting going on here.  We are just doing the usual during the week and having really slow weekends.  Maybe it’s just what we need at this point.  The world has been so loud and busy lately that just coming home, closing the door, and tuning out everything has helped a little.

November is always tough for me because this is when my anxiety ramps up to an all-time high.  It was the month I was not released from a test in the hospital and was having heart surgery the next day, coming up on 8 years.  And five years after that, I was once again admitted for having a heart attack.  Basically, when my heart wants to act out, it always seems to choose the end of November to shine.  So, for the whole month, I feel like I’m constantly worrying over every little skippy heartbeat and just waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I thought it would get easier in time, but it never does.

Numb

I’ve also avoided blogging because the middle finger on my right hand has gone numb at the fingertip. I’m pretty sure this is related to my diabetes, and I will discuss it with my endocrinologist at my December appointment. Have you ever tried typing without using your middle finger? It has slowed my typing, but I’m getting used to it now.  Hitting the keys with a numb finger feels weird, but wearing a bandaid on my finger when I have to type seems to help with this a little bit.  So, I have a numb finger to go with the numb bottom of my left foot.  Yay.

Jake

Jake is also stressing me out; bless him.

He started acting very lethargic and not eating, and it went on for a few days. I got him into the vet last Tuesday, and they did bloodwork and checked him over really well. Nothing showed up, and it was concluded that he probably had a hairball—the most expensive hairball on earth, as it turned out.  The next day, he jumped up and went outside to the neighbor’s house across the street.  She gives him treats, and he feels safe there.  He finally returned yesterday! So he was gone for four days.  I could see him in her chair under her carport, so I knew he was ok, but I was still worried because he didn’t want to come home.  But he came back, slept all day and evening, and finally went outside at 10:30 PM.  I let him go, and he is back under her carport in the chair.  I am not positive he has passed this hairball if it is indeed that, but I’m just letting him do as he pleases to try not to stress him even more.  He let me know just how much he didn’t appreciate the vet visit all the way home on Tuesday.

Looking Ahead

But, other than trying to remain calm and optimistic, I am just looking forward to being with family and sharing Thanksgiving with them.  We will have our usual gathering at my aunt’s little church, eating and visiting.  The next day, we will pull out the Christmas decorations and get ready for the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  I really need to start a list of things I need from the store to make the food I will be taking.  I hope to accomplish all of that this coming weekend so I don’t have to be in a store next week, as it gets crowded towards the holidays.

Other than all of that, we are fine.  We have so much to be grateful for, and I really try to remind myself of this when life seems to be firing at me from all directions.   I feel like I’m a big complainer, and I don’t want to turn my blog into a big whine fest with every post, so that’s a big reason why I step back and don’t post when I’m out of sorts.  But I have been reading along with the blogs I follow and comment on, so I’m not totally abandoning the blog world.

All that to say, even though things are slow and not very exciting lately around here, we are doing okay.  I hope you are as well.