Friends and Neighbors

I want to take a moment to broadly thank everyone who has sent flowers, plants, condolences, cards, emails, and food to me and the rest of my family over the last 10 days. I have been surprised by the support and love of my friends, both new and old. Old friends are the best at times like these. They always seem to know what you need most. I have also seen new friends reach out in unexpected and welcome ways. One of my oldest friends, Mandy, sent me a sweet card on Monday. On the same day, my neighbor Heather brought me muffins. Ironically, I knew Heather in college - she was Mandy's roommate. We weren't really friends then, but now we're neighbors. I Hadn't seen her since 1994, until I moved in to Grandma's house. I just think it illustrated so well how old friends and new friends are there for support when you need them.

My neighbors are bringing us dinner tonight. I'm not sure what it will be but I am surrounded by talented cooks so it ought to be wonderful. Of course, none of them have seen the house before and it's not really finished - but it's good enough. I took the opportunity yesterday and today to finally get my house organized and clean for them. I just finished mopping and I have to say, I feel so much better than I did over the weekend staring at piles of clothes that needed ironing and baseboards that needed mopping. Cleaning is also a way I deal with stress. I usually have a pretty messy house because I'm a pretty happy person! If you ever come over unexpectedly and the house looks completely put-away and scoured, I am probably in the middle of some crisis. There are worse ways I could deal with stress. I could drink a lot - or turn on my family - or delve into a deep and dark depression. Compulsively organizing closets is benign enough.

Last night I had a panic attack in the middle of the night. I have had these before when I've been particularly stressed out but not in a long while. It wasn't as bad as the ones I had in the past. I was able to go right back to sleep afterwards. The first time I had one, I thought I was dying. I guess expecting the reaction makes it a little easier to handle. I broke out in hives on Sunday - also a physical response to stress that I am familiar with. I had one little patch then and didn't give it too much thought. However, by yesterday, both of my legs were fairly covered in them. I exfoliated, bought some fresh hydrocortisone cream which I applied liberally, and resorted to taking a benadryl. I am very sensitive to benadryl and so it took me most of the morning to completely wake up. The hives are still there but I think they will be getting better now.

The rest of the week will be spent just catching up with life. I have so much work to get done by Friday and also a book I need to finish reading before we meet to discuss it on Sunday. At least we're caught up on school and house-cleaning. Maybe I'll get out and get some sunshine this afternoon.