Tag: stress

  • Perspective

    Perspective

    Oh this was a long day! Encrusted with germs, donated by my generous children, I struggled to drink my coffeee and keep it down while working and sanitizing my hands and all surfaces with alcohol I made it, somehow, but the nausea rolled all day- like the good times, but less enjoyable. And somehow, my…

  • Pink eye and cute germ factories

    Pink eye and cute germ factories

    This winter has been brutal. Once again, I’ve decided my day off could best be spent with a virus. I’m not sure which one it is this time, they all look the same in the way they attack. Runny nose, sneeze, sore throat, and general malaise. But the super-special part of this was waking up…

  • Family Sunday

    Family Sunday

    I spent today working on the idea of being present. I hear a lot about it lately, “being present” The idea that you need to really experience your life. On the surface, this sounds remarkably dumb. Like, you’re immersed in your life, how the heck can you be present more than just being there? But…

  • Costume

    Costume

    This veil I wear is short and bleak And hides a bitter truth My colours aren’t vibrant or rare, My face not long of tooth I watch from behind this safe place In a costume of a sort While the world passes me by In a strange and unfamiliar sport My heart is firmly attached…

  • Heavy

    Heavy

    My stomach feels as though it’s lined with a weight. Loaded up with rocks and set adrift in the ocean. I could lecture myself all day about the need to breathe and stay positive, but today just isn’t one of those days. Something in the air, perhaps. Or maybe it’s the number 13. I’ve always…

  • The night shift

    The night shift

    The longest day in the calendar is the one where you didn’t sleep the night before. It appears the gastro has descended on the house of Gooden. It made its appearance with the sounds of my toddler throwing up at midnight. And one am, two am, three am, four am, and then it was time…

  • Citizen’s arrest

    Citizen’s arrest

    Do you have a permit for that anxiety? Sometimes it would be nice if a police officer could stop you for thinking nonsense. Someone to hold up their hand and blow a whistle, flag you down and give you a ticket. Say “back off, get your own sandwich”, or something similar. A thought blocker like…

  • Warmth and silence

    Warmth and silence

    It was a grey and silent day where I am. A quiet work environment, with clouds that seemed to touch the ground. I felt the weight of silence on my soul today. The other shoe so close to dropping for one, two, several people. Beyond my reach and out of my control. I know enough…

  • Thoughts about parenting at night after the children are in bed

    Thoughts about parenting at night after the children are in bed

    I had no inkling Not a single clue Just how much children Could do to you One moment my life Went swimming along All by myself, Singing a song Worried about loneliness, But free as a bird I never thought I’d be surrounded by words Unceasing chatter, But full of delights They light up my…

  • Burn the witch!

    Burn the witch!

    I’ve walked through today feeling guilty for some reason, like I forgot to do something. Like maybe I was tardy for an event, or stood someone up. It’s the feeling I’ve gotten in the past when I know that I’ve let someone down, but for the life of me, I can’t think of a single…