I do my best worrying in the middle of the night, when I tend to cling to the domestic. A son who is training to be a pilot is especially fruitful. I toss and turn like my front load washer, that is growing a curious black icky-ness inside the door, which then takes me to what to do about that, then back around I come to weather and flight patterns. You know the drill. In other news, I highly recommend The Ballad of Wallis Island - a story of a man who wins the lottery twice. A quiet gem of a movie, an antidote to worry.
Oh, that washing machine analogy...! And the looping from real and present ick to imagined but not impossible ick. I so understand, Lindsay. Another friend here, and before that a homeschooling connection, has a son who became a pilot...if you ever want to connect with someone about those particular worries. (https://nicolemulhausen.substack.com/) The movie sounds just right. I'll look for it. Thanks so much for stopping by today.
A week? That's nothing. The minute the doctor said "Well, everything looks good, we'll see you in 10 years," after my first colonoscopy, I started to worry about the prep. For real. xo
Oh, Elizabeth, been there, done that. (Though not as cleverly as you've done it right here. Brava!) For the last few days at least, I've deliberately stopped worrying about the state of our country, reasoning that I have zero control, and started worrying about my own status quo--which, at the moment, is pretty darned good. Now I have to figure out how to keep it that way, against all odds, considering my age and the fact that I'm being treated for cancer.
By all reasoning, I should be miserable, or at least anxious, and I can't bring myself to become either. I'm actually happy, at least in my personal life. I'm beginning to wonder if all of that rage and angst over Trump and the onslaught of his insane regime isn't what caused an open door for cancer to slither in again. It's crazy, I know, but is it just coincidence that my first cancer showed up right after Trump 'won' in 2016? I'm beginning to wonder. In any case, I'm not taking any chances. I'll yell a bit over politics because it's my thing, but I won't go into a rage unless I just can't help it. I'm finding more pleasant things to occupy my mind, and I'm wondering why I wasn't doing that all along.
You are an inspiration, Mona, and I'm delighted you are able to tap into pleasure and real happiness these days. Isn't it all so interesting -- the feeling better at just the time it might seem you couldn't feel worse? I'm sure you have the right approach, my friend, and you can be sure I'm following your lead.
This is so good. The topic. Your wit and sarcasm. The humor. All of it. It's been a heck of a decade for Worriers. I consider myself an average Worrier, but the last year has perhaps taken that ranking up a notch. Thanks for writing this. It gave lots of much-needed laughs.
I'm honored and elated, Nancy (my mother's name) that this helped you feel seen and made you laugh. I can't think of a more uplifting comment. Take care, and happy new year.
Oh, I sure do get that one, Vicki, and have hauled it around myself like a weighted blanket with none of the comfort. May I recommend breathing exercises? In all seriousness, my hunch is you're a whole lot more capable than that worry wants you to believe. Thanks for stopping by today.
Thank you Betsy for such meaningful writing... Your words that describe worry are on target... And I can relate to each.... Based on the situation with our nation and world and especially today with the tragedy in Minnesota.... For me I am bound with one word and freed by another.... "Helplessness" binds me to worry and weakness.... "Faith" frees me . gives me hope. and makes me strong...
Fun! My spouse was calling downstairs from her bath "What's so funny?" Laugh out loud. So many times. Reminds me of a book from the 60s - The Worry Book, which makes the distinction between Classical and Baroque worry. Fun and funny in a similar way.
I was researching satirical motivational posters and came across one picturing gently stacked stones near water. The title was "Stress" and the tagline reads "Worrying about everything is always better than doing nothing about anything." Ha!
*snort!* I think that last line pretty much nails it. So glad you got some laughs from this one, Stew. I'm not familiar with the book, but I'll look for it. Sounds like it'd be up my alley. On we go...
So done with the current USA despoiling the world.
I feel for those of my sensibly minded friends who live there but right now, with Venezuala and Greenland and the potential collapse of NATO, the respectful world order we need is gasping its last.
I'm shocked that most of the USA (including its military) are allowing the White House to sit comfortably with Putin and Xi and the lesser megalomaniacs like Netanyahu. So much for democracy and freedom. The Declaration of Independence is last year's food wrappings.
I'm sorry, Elisabeth, but I suspect one day, in this beautiful summer of ours, to wake up and read that the worst has happened and that the ally we used to trust has created large-scale war.
I'm off to have a swim. The sea can heal me from the outside in.
Prue, I can hear how heartsick you are, and I understand why. Watching what’s happening from afar, especially when you care about people here -- people everywhere-- must feel overwhelming and enraging.
I wrote this piece partly because of that shared anxiety—because humor is one of the ways I keep myself from coming apart in the middle of it. I’m not minimizing what you’re naming; I’m just trying to keep breathing while living inside the actual worry.
I’m glad you wrote this, and I’m glad for your dedication and access to the water. The image of the sea healing you made me smile. Take good care.
Early in my career in Physical Therapy, I specialized in pediatrics. My colleagues and I would joke that while other children would fall and bump their heads, ours would fall and sustain sub dermal hematomas. We saw too much and knew a little too much and became "fretsperts". My preference for optimal worrying is in the wee hours of the morning, also known as " the hours of the wolf". The more rational thought scrambles away and catastrophic thought erupts like Old Faithful. For escapism, we are watching The West Wing which seems eerily current! Still endeavoring to do what we can in protest but it is difficult today in a country that purports to uphold freedom of speech and peaceful assembly but stifles it at every turn.
The hours of the wolf. I've not come across that expression before. I suppose it relates to the howling they do in the darkness. I'll admit to wondering, at times, what it might feel like to be uninformed.
So grateful for your readership and comment, Susan. I hope you are doing okay given all that is happening.
Oil-igarchy! So clever.
I do my best worrying in the middle of the night, when I tend to cling to the domestic. A son who is training to be a pilot is especially fruitful. I toss and turn like my front load washer, that is growing a curious black icky-ness inside the door, which then takes me to what to do about that, then back around I come to weather and flight patterns. You know the drill. In other news, I highly recommend The Ballad of Wallis Island - a story of a man who wins the lottery twice. A quiet gem of a movie, an antidote to worry.
Oh, that washing machine analogy...! And the looping from real and present ick to imagined but not impossible ick. I so understand, Lindsay. Another friend here, and before that a homeschooling connection, has a son who became a pilot...if you ever want to connect with someone about those particular worries. (https://nicolemulhausen.substack.com/) The movie sounds just right. I'll look for it. Thanks so much for stopping by today.
The colonoscopy reference is perfect. Competitive worriers start imagining the prep a week ahead.
It does evoke a particular kind of dread, doesn't it? Thanks, Rona.
A week? That's nothing. The minute the doctor said "Well, everything looks good, we'll see you in 10 years," after my first colonoscopy, I started to worry about the prep. For real. xo
Brilliant. ❤️
Thank you, Janet. Great to see you here, and happy new year.
Oh, Elizabeth, been there, done that. (Though not as cleverly as you've done it right here. Brava!) For the last few days at least, I've deliberately stopped worrying about the state of our country, reasoning that I have zero control, and started worrying about my own status quo--which, at the moment, is pretty darned good. Now I have to figure out how to keep it that way, against all odds, considering my age and the fact that I'm being treated for cancer.
By all reasoning, I should be miserable, or at least anxious, and I can't bring myself to become either. I'm actually happy, at least in my personal life. I'm beginning to wonder if all of that rage and angst over Trump and the onslaught of his insane regime isn't what caused an open door for cancer to slither in again. It's crazy, I know, but is it just coincidence that my first cancer showed up right after Trump 'won' in 2016? I'm beginning to wonder. In any case, I'm not taking any chances. I'll yell a bit over politics because it's my thing, but I won't go into a rage unless I just can't help it. I'm finding more pleasant things to occupy my mind, and I'm wondering why I wasn't doing that all along.
You are an inspiration, Mona, and I'm delighted you are able to tap into pleasure and real happiness these days. Isn't it all so interesting -- the feeling better at just the time it might seem you couldn't feel worse? I'm sure you have the right approach, my friend, and you can be sure I'm following your lead.
Hi Elizabeth,
This is so good. The topic. Your wit and sarcasm. The humor. All of it. It's been a heck of a decade for Worriers. I consider myself an average Worrier, but the last year has perhaps taken that ranking up a notch. Thanks for writing this. It gave lots of much-needed laughs.
I'm honored and elated, Nancy (my mother's name) that this helped you feel seen and made you laugh. I can't think of a more uplifting comment. Take care, and happy new year.
fretsperts! 😆
Heh. I was on a bit of a portmanteau bender today. Thanks for reading, Kim, and for smiling with me.
Worry warriors we,
chuckle-sparking snarky-smart.*
Read at your own risk!
I hope not too risky, Marisol. 😅 Thank you for your consistently creative replies.
Very relatable 😄 Top-tier worry for me right now is 'I'm going to mess up' (non-specific, covering as many bases as possible - efficient worry)
Oh, I sure do get that one, Vicki, and have hauled it around myself like a weighted blanket with none of the comfort. May I recommend breathing exercises? In all seriousness, my hunch is you're a whole lot more capable than that worry wants you to believe. Thanks for stopping by today.
I’m adding “fretspert” to my vocabulary list of words that needed inventing.
Ha! I'd be honored. It's right up there with "flawsome" for me. Thanks for joining in for the grins today.
Love this Elizabeth! I have nothing to add to this excellentness…you’ve already hit the high spots in my array of worrying!
Sort of an avalanche approach, eh? 🤪 Thanks, so much for the lovely comment, Martha, and for taking time to leave it here.
Thank you Betsy for such meaningful writing... Your words that describe worry are on target... And I can relate to each.... Based on the situation with our nation and world and especially today with the tragedy in Minnesota.... For me I am bound with one word and freed by another.... "Helplessness" binds me to worry and weakness.... "Faith" frees me . gives me hope. and makes me strong...
Yes, Barry, and I'm uplifted in knowing that we can still tap fully into that kind of liberation when we choose to. Thank you so much!
Fun! My spouse was calling downstairs from her bath "What's so funny?" Laugh out loud. So many times. Reminds me of a book from the 60s - The Worry Book, which makes the distinction between Classical and Baroque worry. Fun and funny in a similar way.
I was researching satirical motivational posters and came across one picturing gently stacked stones near water. The title was "Stress" and the tagline reads "Worrying about everything is always better than doing nothing about anything." Ha!
*snort!* I think that last line pretty much nails it. So glad you got some laughs from this one, Stew. I'm not familiar with the book, but I'll look for it. Sounds like it'd be up my alley. On we go...
So done with the current USA despoiling the world.
I feel for those of my sensibly minded friends who live there but right now, with Venezuala and Greenland and the potential collapse of NATO, the respectful world order we need is gasping its last.
I'm shocked that most of the USA (including its military) are allowing the White House to sit comfortably with Putin and Xi and the lesser megalomaniacs like Netanyahu. So much for democracy and freedom. The Declaration of Independence is last year's food wrappings.
I'm sorry, Elisabeth, but I suspect one day, in this beautiful summer of ours, to wake up and read that the worst has happened and that the ally we used to trust has created large-scale war.
I'm off to have a swim. The sea can heal me from the outside in.
Take care.
Prue, I can hear how heartsick you are, and I understand why. Watching what’s happening from afar, especially when you care about people here -- people everywhere-- must feel overwhelming and enraging.
I wrote this piece partly because of that shared anxiety—because humor is one of the ways I keep myself from coming apart in the middle of it. I’m not minimizing what you’re naming; I’m just trying to keep breathing while living inside the actual worry.
I’m glad you wrote this, and I’m glad for your dedication and access to the water. The image of the sea healing you made me smile. Take good care.
Help! I’m becoming an alien.
Let us know how that works out for you, Edgar. 🤪 Thanks for stopping by.
Early in my career in Physical Therapy, I specialized in pediatrics. My colleagues and I would joke that while other children would fall and bump their heads, ours would fall and sustain sub dermal hematomas. We saw too much and knew a little too much and became "fretsperts". My preference for optimal worrying is in the wee hours of the morning, also known as " the hours of the wolf". The more rational thought scrambles away and catastrophic thought erupts like Old Faithful. For escapism, we are watching The West Wing which seems eerily current! Still endeavoring to do what we can in protest but it is difficult today in a country that purports to uphold freedom of speech and peaceful assembly but stifles it at every turn.
The hours of the wolf. I've not come across that expression before. I suppose it relates to the howling they do in the darkness. I'll admit to wondering, at times, what it might feel like to be uninformed.
So grateful for your readership and comment, Susan. I hope you are doing okay given all that is happening.
Subdural...grr... autocorrect