Back in the day, PDC*, after a long day and an even longer week in which people are truly testing me at every turn, my resolve would have been to come home, crack open an ice cold bottle of beer or wine and enjoy the calmness or relaxation that usually comes with that first sip...call it actual science (I know alcohol is a depressant) or all in my head but I know for me, that was something I looked forward to.
Tonight however, when I got home, after a crappy day and a stressful conversation with my husband (I won't go into details) I found that my mind was drifting to the days when I could close out a crappy day like today with a few adult beverages; I even texted Mike to let him know that I would kill for a big glass of wine right now. But alas - I stand firm on my decision to not drink this entire pregnancy - I know there have been countless studies and anecdotal evidence that it is ok to have a few sips or even a glass of wine when you are pregnant - but in my mind, I could not live with myself if something happened to Delainey and it was in any way at all related to the fact that I couldn't make it 10 months without a drink. So we can cross that option off the list...what's next?
Ultimately, I need to find a way to curb my annoyance levels and calm down - after all, stress is not good for me or Delainey.
My mind went into overdrive to figure out ways that I could cope...
- working out - yes I should have done that today, but I am just now starting to feel better after this cold rocked me for the last week, so I opted to not workout this week to ensure I moved back into the healthy range of the spectrum and not exhaust myself - which we all know I am capable of - at the gym on top of working a full day. Back at it tomorrow though!
- pet my dogs - they help don't get me wrong - but then I look around and see the CLUMPS of dog hair all over my floor, pants, shirt and furniture and find that this is also a source of my stress...sort of a double edged sword.
- clean - yes, this helps me to de-stress - thank you rissy (because before Freshman year of college - these words would never have been uttered from my lips let alone committed to "paper" - but I am finding that it is getting harder and harder to do some things like vacuum - even with a pimp Dyson ball vacuum - I could feel the pushing and pulling of the vacuum and at times the strain on my midsection - so I finished up the rug, Delainey's room and the hall way and called it "done."
- Writing - yes this is very therapeutic. This blog may be one of the things that helps me maintain my sanity and composure during these "trying" times.
So I poured myself a nice tall glass of orange Gatorade, plugged in my laptop and got to work penning this particular blog post. And look at that - I have all but let go of the stress and frustration that was building up inside me a short 20 minutes ago.
I hope you have been able to reap as much stress relief from reading this as I have gained in writing it. And if not - just remember it's Friday which means that for most of us, work and the "real world" are two days away from reality.
and if neither of these options seem to do the trick...you could just crack open an ice cold beer or bottle of wine, toast to me and drink away the stress for both of us!
* PDC - Pre-Delainey Conception or prior to October 2011 when Mike and I found out we were pregnant
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