Boy, writing all my stressies to you guys definitely helped me reduce the list. Well, and also it’s several days later now, so some of those things were solved by the passing of time. But MOSTLY YOU.
1. I had my physical/pap/Tdap, which I hated but then it was over. Now I have to go get a mammogram, my first, which makes me feel like I’m getting old. I also have to get bloodwork and peework done. So I’m not done yet, but the part I really dreaded is over, and it’s a relief to be getting these things tested and/or taken care of. And she didn’t lecture me about my weight, which is one of the fears that makes me reluctant to go to the doctor.
2. I made the call to the vet about Mouse’s Final Appointment, and I’d hoped I wouldn’t cry on the phone but I did, and I’d hoped I wouldn’t choke up to the point of being unable to speak but I did, and I’d hoped I wouldn’t make an inappropriate joke about how it would be nice if a cat had one of those pop-up turkey timers that would let you know when it was Time To Make The Final Appointment but I did, and it nevertheless went fine. I reminded myself afterward that this is a routine part of the vet’s job, and that she too probably worries about how to handle these phone calls: how much sympathetic talk and how much practical, saying too much or saying too little, knowing whether or not to talk when someone else is choking up. The appointment is tomorrow morning, and it will be fine. Mouse has been a good cat, and it’s hard to let a good cat go—but on the other hand she’s also been peeing all over my new carpet, which makes it a little easier.
Poor old thing
(there’s a heating pad tucked into the towel)
3. My mother assured me that although there is indeed a frustratingly large financial impact from their recent medical drama, it’s not as bad as I’d feared (I’d been under the mistaken impression that one entire hospital stay would not be covered), and they are able to handle it, and it just means I won’t be able to buy an indoor lap pool with a future inheritance.
So if you’re wondering what to get me for Christmas…
4. I told Paul I couldn’t face calling the car place again, so he stopped by there on his way home from work, and they told him they’d found the problem, and the part has been ordered and should be here tomorrow, and the car should be ready by tomorrow afternoon, and we won’t be charged for any of it.
5. I’m trying to do a small house-reorganization thing each day, and not get overwhelmed by how big The Whole Project is. Today I cleared all the junk off the bureau in our room, putting it where it actually belonged (most of it was stuff from the previous room). That meant I could get my jewelry boxes out of the dining room and into our room, which reduced (1) the mess in the dining room, (2) the mess in our room, and (3) some of the living-out-of-suitcases feeling.
Well, go you! Also, I’ll be thinking about you guys tomorrow, and Mouse.
I’m glad you’re stress list is getting smaller. Poor Mouse, she is a good cat. I know you will miss her but you did the right thing.
Awesome! I think it’s so important to let out what’s bugging you, and blogging is such a great platform for that — so many normal, sympathetic, understanding folks out there going through similar daily-life-drudgery-and-annoyances! It’s important not to feel alone, lifts the spirits right away!
Sorry about Mouse, but it’s better for her not to suffer anymore. Big hugs!
It’s a crumby call to have to make. :(
I’m sorry. Internet hugs to you!
I’m so sorry about Mouse.
Glad to hear your list is shrinking into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
I’m sorry about Mouse; that’s never an easy thing, even when it’s the right thing.
I’m sorry about Mouse, Swistle. I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow.
I am so sorry about Mouse. No matter how irritating the peeing is or how much you know she’s had a great life it still really sucks.
But I think you should totally get the lap pool.
Oh, I’m really sorry about Mouse. A good cat with a good name.
This is a great reminder for us to just jump in and get stuff done – one thing at a time. It’s usually not as traumatic as we originally imagined!
So sorry about Mouse.
You know what my first thought was on this post? It was how glad I am that you’re getting a mammogram, because I know that you will describe it realistically and thoroughly with the proper amount of experiential detail. That information – seriously – isn’t available anywhere else, and I’ve always wondered/feared.
Keep up the awesome!
I’m glad your load feels lighter today.
And I’m so sorry about your cat. She looks like such a trouper.
I will keep you and Mouse in my thoughts tomorrow.
Okay I just want to clarify. You were more worried about the Pap than you are about the mammogram?? I mean, I definitely don’t want to upset you and I’ve never been through the mam but I’ve seen that menancing looking machine and I am WORRIED about that shit! But this from the girl who thought she was dying when her milk was drying up so maybe I have boob sensitivity issues?
Anyways, so very sorry about Mouse. But I feel good knowing kitty had a good life with your family and I know ya’ll do too.
Good luck and remember every detail of the boob appointment for us please!
I am so sorry about Mouse. It sucks to be a grown up and have to make those types of decisions. Thinking of your family Swistle.
Sorry about Mouse, but you are brave and wonderful for making that phone call. It’s a call that no one wants to make. Good thoughts for tomorrow. Y’all are all troopers.
Oh, so sorry about Mouse.
So glad that you’re knocking things off the list… That’s a good feeling.
And so sorry you have to say goodbye to Mouse. It’s such a heart-wrenching thing to say goodbye to a beloved pet. I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow.
Sorry about Mouse….You will be in my thoughts
Judy
I feel like I organized MY house by reading YOUR post! Whew! I love this place.
We just had to say goodbye to our beloved diva-cat Molly after 15 years this last fall. I, too, wished there was a pop-up timer and was constantly second-guessing myself. I’m so sorry.
You are rocking it! I’m envious! But also very sad to hear about Mouse but glad that you have a nice vet, especially at times like this. On the doctor note, I don’t mind the gyno but I hate, hate, hate the dentist and to reschedule my 6month check up–ugh! And as for the mammogram? I feel like everyone told me horror stories about it being painful and mine went totally fine and the tech was super nice. Keep going, you are on a roll :)
I’m so sorry about Mouse! I had to take my beloved, diminishing (9 pounds instead of his usual 19), old cat in for his Final Visit last summer. I cried on the way there, checking in, in the waiting room, during the procedure, and the rest of the day. THANKFULLY, the vet was VERY SWEET and KIND and loving with my old friend…I’d had him longer than I’d had my husband, sniffle, sniffle. I’m so sorry you’ll be losing your faithful friend, but I think it is a VERY LOVING thing to do to let her go so that she doesn’t have to suffer.
Nik-Nak- Not so much about the pap as the WHOLE PHYSICAL. My main nervousnesses were about communicating with the doctor, remembering to tell the doctor everything, and not self-thwarting by thinking on the spot that something I’d wanted to talk about wasn’t important after all. And I’m kind of scared of DOCTORS, just for starters. The mammogram also makes me nervous (New Thing, plus I’ve heard it’s super uncomfortable), but I’ll be dealing with a technician, and it’s easier to make an appointment (no trying to get a specific doctor and getting thwarted, for example), and I’m kind of relieved that I’ll be having one, and it seems more like a “satellite appointment”—less of a big deal, more of a piece of the big appointment.
Er. That may be more of the Workings of the Anxious Mind than you were bargaining for!
oooh, I’ve been doing number 5 too! The small bits of organization/decluttering make me feel really productive and successful at life.
I’m so sorry about Mouse.
Go Swistle Go!! Glad to hear you’re feeling a bit better :)
I’m always so nervous before going to the doctor too. I always worry that I’ll forget to say or ask something that will end up being sooooooooo bad that I’ll probably DIE from it!! Also, I love the day after a pap because of the feeling of not having to think about it for a year.
I’m sorry about Mouse. I’m thinking of her and your family this morning.
Sorry about Mouse. I’ll be thinking about you.
I cleared off a table Wednesday that had been cluttered with some stuff since last summer . In my mind, it was a week-long project; it actuality, it took less than 45 minutes. And now every time I walk by that space I smile at the openness. Why did I wait so long?
That indoor lap pool will fit quite nicely in your stocking, I think.
I’m thinking about you and Mouse.
I’m so sorry about Mouse.
Oh, cher. Mouse is lovely. I am thinking of all of you today.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
I’m so sorry about Mouse. I’m glad you”re doing the right thing, though.
(I once got bad news from the vet on the same day I got bad news from the OB, and I couldn’t figure out whether explaining why I was crying so much would make me Creepy Oversharer Woman or whether crying without explaining would make me Creepy Overreactor Woman. I couldn’t talk. It turns out they’re used to sobbing.)
In my pajamas, on my couch and in full blown tears about mouse. Prayers to you and the fam.
I’m so sorry about Mouse. That’s very hard to do, letting a beloved pet go, and I’m sad for you.
As for the mammogram, I just had my first one last month and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d expected–not bad at all, really! I’d put it off for a long time expecting it to be awful but it was quick and didn’t hurt too much at all, and they were very professional and nice and matter-of-fact.
I am SO glad to hear things are moving along in the right direction! My good thoughts for your little mouse and The FInal Appointment.
My list of stressful things was shrinking too, and I was feeling good about the way things were going. Then… Zack broke his leg and tore the ligaments from his ankle necessitating surgery. Also, he can’t bear weight on that leg for two months. This is all manageable, but also a very large pain in the rear and highly inconvenient!
So sorry about Mouse, Swistle. Bah.
(I took forever to comment on this because I kept getting caught on the picture of the indoor lap pool thinking “oh RIGHT, that’s why it would be nice to be rich.”
I’m so sorry about Mouse. We had to let our first pet go last summer and I remember all those things – wondering if it was time, the awful phone calls… It would be so much easier if they could just say “Yes, I am ready. I’m so tired of hanging on.” I hate having to guess.
Thinking of you and the family today.
I just had to do that vet thing this week. It was awful, but it wasn’t as awful as watching my poor kitty struggle to walk two steps and slowly starve to death because she wasn’t eating. I probably waited too long, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it until I knew it was 100% hopeless. So I feel for you, and it sucks. :(
I’m glad The List is shrinking (by a lot!). And I’m so sorry about Mouse. It sounds like you’re in as good a place as one can be in about these things, but I know it’s still sad. Hug!
Oh, I am so, so sorry about Mouse.
I’ve had a mammogram and I thought it wasn’t so bad, compared to what I’d heard. I think it might actually be a little less painful if you are ample on top? Also, my clinic had a list of things you could possibly do to make it less uncomfortable and I tried to follow that advice.
I’m sorry about Mouse – I’m behind on reading/commenting and I just missed that bit. :-(