Monday - End Of Break Thoughts
I have strict instructions to strip my bed before I go. I will have a room inspection as well because I tend to leave things behind. I have my travel clothing all picked out, and I am ready to go. The problem? There are many hours between this moment and when I actually leave.
I am not an anxious traveler except when it comes to timing. That's where my anxiety comes in. How much time will it take to get to the airport? How much time will it take to go through security? How much time will I need to get a meal? How much time will it take to get my boxes shipped off through UPS? All of these thoughts flit through my head as I am sitting here, waiting for Mom to wake up.
To add insult to injury, my allergies have reared their ugly heads and are wreaking havoc with my ability to breathe. I am not thrilled by all of this because the heavy duty allergy medications aren't doing much - too much cat dander and plant fungus in the air, I guess. Interesting that it took an entire week for these reactions to arise. At least I have more information for the pulmonologist the next time I see her. I feel pretty rough this morning.
Walter, Mom's cat, has been in once to yell at me. He does not like when his schedule is interrupted, so he is coming in to yell at me when Mom is still sleeping. I invite him to cuddle, but he has some anxiety related to this room so he is always reluctant. I have managed to convince him to come on the bed two days in a row. Last year at this time, Mom was in the hospital, so I was all he had. I'm not sure that he remembers that time, but I sure do. It was stressful to not know what was happening with her. I am glad that I am the one having symptoms rather than her.
Today, though, will be navigated through my time-related anxiety towards getting to the airport. Once that happens, I can relax a bit. I will have to delay my evening medications because I cannot drive when I am taking them, so it may be a long day tomorrow, but that's fine. I have done it before, and I will do it again this evening. There shouldn't be any snow to scrape, but there might be some ice on my car when I arrive home.
I am looking forward to being home a bit less than usual at this time of year. This school year has been hard, so the thought of going back is less attractive than usual. I cannot identify what has made this year harder than other years, but it really has been. Perhaps it is the types of students that we are admitting or the outside pressures of insurance companies or the understaffing that happens in health care, especially when primary caregivers are underpaid and overworked (not my case in my role at the facility). I will be returning to co-workers who have had to work during these (almost) two weeks who will not be happy that I got to have time off because of my role in the work that we do. It becomes a bit more difficult to navigate rests and breaks when others have not had the same opportunities. It made us more of an educational unit when we all had the same schedule, but that is not the way of things now. So, I am not really looking forward to going back to my job on Friday, but I will because I like my paycheck and need it desperately so I can keep living in a house.
The skies are staring to lighten up a bit. I can see the palm trees that are between me and the western expansion. Today, I have to set up my mother's craft light by her chair, look over the computer in my Dad's suite, figure out when I am going to take my boxes to UPS for shipping, arrange to have two pictures shipped (Reynaldo is going to be accompanied on his journey by a great picture of my Dad), and then get myself to the airport. I will lunch/dinner at the first airport because I will not have time between flights to get something at airport #2. When I arrive at airport #3, things will be closed, so I will snack on the things that I got for Christmas to tide me over until I am ready to eat once I am at home. If I go out of my way home, there are opportunities for food purchasing on my route, but I usually head home as soon as I can!
The cat should be coming back to yell at me pretty soon. It is almost dawn, and he is only allowed to go out when the sun is up. This is due to the presence of large critters - coyotes, mountain lions, skunks - that visit my mother's backyard on a regular basis. She does not want to encourage him to meet those animals, so he cannot go outside until the sun is up. This is difficult for him during the winter nights. He'll be back pretty soon. In the meantime, my Tylenol severe congestion is working pretty well to dam up my runny nose, so I think I will end this post here and get ready for a day of travel! See you soon...
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