SurvivingSara

Tag: life

  • Parent is Also a Verb 8/13/22

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    Sara Z
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    Oh, but it goes so fast! Enjoy time with your little kids now. Before you know it, they’ll be grown and gone. You’ll miss these days later. And on & on & on. At a big box store about 20 years ago, my two boys, ages two and three, sat side-by-side laughing together as they…

  • Spitting Nails

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    Sara Z
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    *Cursing ahead. When our bathroom remodels were merely a plan, I was assured my bathroom would be done first. Both the basement and en suite bathrooms were taken down to the studs at the same time. My tiles hadn’t come in for the shower and backsplash, so the tile guys began downstairs. The installation of…

  • Torpid

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    Sara Z
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    lethargic · sluggish · inert · inactive · slow · slowmoving · lifeless · dull · listless · languid  This here is a short tutorial on what it feels like to be engulfed in fog brain for whatever reason, fatigue, illness, fibromyalgia, depression, etc. Imagine it’s a clear day until your plane is suddenly surrounded by clouds, any view obstructed. Duration unknown, thickness of whiteness varying, and someone else at the controls. Not…

  • Rambling Club

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    Sara Z
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    While Americans may join a hiking club, in England and Canada, rambling clubs are taking to the trails! How perfect is that for my series of rambling posts with tidbits and doodads that don’t deserve their own posts. I welcome you to join my rambling club. They’re typically named after the nearest city, but we’re…

  • WARNING: Loud Ahead

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    Sara Z
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    I was watching a video on YouTube of a symposium on decreasing stress and increasing peace in life. There were a couple of professors whose presentations I paid minimal attention while concurrently writing, tweeting, or playing games. Then an expert was introduced who surprised me. Here in the heart of academia was a Hindu guru…

  • Parent is Also a Verb 7/29/22

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    Sara Z
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    Do you want your children to always be honest with you? Do you, or will you, tell them that they can discuss anything with you, that your home is a safe place to share difficult situations? Be careful what you ask for. At bedtime, when our kids were young, I’d sing a ditty of my…

  • I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet

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    Sara Z
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    In 2021, our younger son, let’s call him Bob, was living with us while he went to school and worked. Late in the year, I’m not sure which came first, the older son, let’s call him Joe, asking to move back in after a couple years piy on his own or Bob announcing he was…

  • Do You Remember Me?

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    Sara Z
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    To my sons, There was a time I was active. We went on hikes after school, even though you couldn’t figure out “Why do we have to do this?” Watching out front when you went out to play in order to intercept fights with neighbors or general mischief. I did yardwork while you rode bikes…

  • 45+3

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    Sara Z
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    My mother-in-law sold her house, pending appraisal, less than a week after putting it on the market. There’s a 45-day escrow plus three days for moving. She’ll be relocating to our home immediately after Labor Day. The plan that was drawn up after the death of her husband in January is coming to fruition imminently.…

  • Hearing Hangover

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    Sara Z
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    Following my discouraging disability hearing yesterday, I yet felt weight move from my shoulders, down through my hands. I had my husband brush the negative energy down my arms and out my fingertips. Sleep was spotty with blurred edges. This morning I woke up at my usual time, about 7 am, and had a cup…

  • Paper Thin

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    Sara Z
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    Shallow breaths are all I need. Feeling hungry is satisfying. If I can take in tiny sips of air and spend most of the daytime feeling the effects of eating a minimal amount of food, I can almost disappear. Just a slip of person, thin as paper. No matter my physical weight, I nearly disappear.…

  • A New Loo!

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    Sara Z
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    Fortunate to have three bathrooms, we are currently remodeling two. The primary bedroom has a three-quarter bath, while the daylight basement has a full one. The only lavatory not taken down to the studs is the full guest bath upstairs. For now, one of our adult sons lives in the downstairs but, so proud to…

  • Parent is Also a Verb 6/30/22

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    Sara Z
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    Dedicated to my late dad on his birthday. My sons were both encouraged to sign up for sports and other interests they thought might be interesting. The older one preferred to achieve his personal best in track and cross-country, while the younger enjoyed competing on a team, including basketball and baseball. In the early years,…

  • Parent is Also a Verb 6/19/22

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    Sara Z
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    Happy Father’s Day! When my babies were very young and we lived in a cozy starter house, my husband parked his work van in the alley behind our yard at the end of his work day. More than once, I stood watching out the kitchen window, calling my husband on his cell phone when he…

  • Warriors

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    Sara Z
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    During the seven years I was living in the Mojave desert, the northern most reaches of Los Angeles County, the round trip back home each summer had become routine. In my early 20’s, I drove on I-5, the major north-south freeway on the west coast, avoiding two-lane highways that may cut drive time but would…

  • Slow Thinking

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    Sara Z
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    I’ve taken to sharing with people that I have cognitive difficulties when I have trouble in the midst of a conversation, usually about scheduling an appointment. A friend and fellow blogger, Ashley https://mentalhealthathome.org, used the phrase ‘slow thinking’ in her writing and I think I like it. This week, I’ve been seriously slow thinking. I’ve…

  • Rambling On

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    Sara Z
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    Hello, there! Here’s one of those posts where I share some random thoughts and ideas that do not warrant posts of their own. The process of moving my mother-in-law into our home continues. My husband is headed to her place for ten days, completing final preparations before it goes on the market. Yes, that’s right.…

  • Pooped

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    Sara Z
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    Woke up worn out My get up & go got up and went. Exhausted Fatigue is one of the most difficult fibromyalgia symptoms to deal with for me personally. It affects every fiber of my being when it makes itself at home, whether that’s around lunchtime or even first thing in the morning. Today, I…

  • Lil’ Old Ladies

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    Sara Z
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    You’ve seen a senior woman and thought, “Did she look in the mirror when she put on that makeup? Does she know what she looks like? Can’t she see the clumpy mascara, messy bright blue eyeshadow, and too thick eyeliner? Why is her lipstick covering more face than her lips?” I am here to explain…

  • Color Me Pleasant

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    Sara Z
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    Having received a brief litany of my current state of fibromyalgia (frustratingly reluctant to improve), my husband grew quiet and then began, “It’s so weird. It seemed like when you had a broken leg…” his voice fading. “What? When I had a broken leg, what?” “I don’t know how to describe it. When it was…