[email protected]

Over the past two months, my family has endured one unforeseen stress after another.  It's far too much to go into here, but we feel like we've slammed into a brick wall.  Tempers are short, emotions are out of control, we don't know where life is taking us, and the stress just keeps coming.  No one is coping well, everyone is depressed.  Personally, I am so exhausted and frazzled that I don't have any idea what to do to help my family.  Or myself.  My biggest concern is my dd 9, but I also have ds 19, and he needs help as well.  I need some ideas.  Anything you can share with me would be appreciated, from ways to deal with my stress to ideas for having family fun in the midst of uncertainty and chaos.  Thank you in advance for any help you can give me and my family.



Carol


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

diana jenner

When we talk about recovery from school, there's the process of deschooling
- much like treating your life like summer vacation.
When things get low for me (especially in these dark, rainy months of the
PNW) I give myself a vacation from my LIFE!
I do the things I would do if I were visiting my town instead of living
here! Go to the next town and be a visitor for real!
Moving around, fresh air, new environment -- a good recipe to get things
moving towards happy :)
~diana :)
xoxoxoxo
hannahbearski.wordpress.com
hannahsashes.blogspot.com


On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 9:32 PM, <mykaylabee@...> wrote:

>
>
>
>
> Over the past two months, my family has endured one unforeseen stress after
> another. It's far too much to go into here, but we feel like we've slammed
> into a brick wall. Tempers are short, emotions are out of control, we don't
> know where life is taking us, and the stress just keeps coming. No one is
> coping well, everyone is depressed. Personally, I am so exhausted and
> frazzled that I don't have any idea what to do to help my family. Or
> myself. My biggest concern is my dd 9, but I also have ds 19, and he needs
> help as well. I need some ideas. Anything you can share with me would be
> appreciated, from ways to deal with my stress to ideas for having family fun
> in the midst of uncertainty and chaos. Thank you in advance for any help
> you can give me and my family.
>
> Carol
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

When things get low for me (especially in these dark, rainy months of the
PNW) I give myself a vacation from my LIFE!
************************************************



Diana,

Thanks for the idea; it's a good one. By the way, does PNW mean you're anywhere near Marysville, WA? We just moved back to WA after five years in Utah, and although I know this area from when we lived here before, we haven't done as much sightseeing as we could be doing. I'll gather our umbrellas and get right on it!

Thanks,

Carol



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

otherstar

>>Anything you can share with me would be appreciated, from ways to deal with my stress to ideas for having family fun in the midst of uncertainty and chaos. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me and my family.<<

When my family gets stressed, we go in maintenance mode which means we do the bare minimum when it comes to daily chores. I encourage silly stuff like having pajama days where nobody gets dressed. Or, we have brownies for breakfast and bake brownies which we then proceed to eat all day until they are gone. We try to do fun stuff or do stuff that is completely out of character. Sometimes, we all pile in the car and just drive around and listen to the radio. If we see something cool, we will stop but most of the time we just drive and talk and play loud music. I remember one winter where it was in the single digits and we went out for ice cream. We had to get out of the house because we were all stressed and driving each other crazy. We have gone to the beach when it is cold and built sand castles. One time, when we could afford it, we packed up and went to a local hotel in the area and ordered pizza and spent the night. We have done other ridiculous/crazy stuff as a family just to relieve stress. The main thing is that it is not something that you would ordinarily do.

Connie

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

The main thing is that it is not something that you would ordinarily do.

***********************************************************************



Connie,



This last sentence jumped out at me because I realized how entrenched I have become in the "have to's " of life. Normally I operate in a free-wheeling mode, but I've let recent circumstances drag me down into a life that is not flexible. Certainly not joyful, and joy is indeed a choice that I have forgotten to make lately. Thanks for the reminder!

Carol 




__ ._,_. __ _



__ ,_._, __ _

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]