Saturday, October 5, 2024

When I was younger, my #1 go to for relieving stress, anxiety, or ennui was going to the gym and lifting weights. I suppose I could do the same thing now, but I find myself handling these things differently in middle age (although I do still run and occasionally hit the weights). Nowadays, if I am trying to think through a challenging writing project or a knotty issue at work or something distressing in my personal life (like my Mom being in ill health), I find some sort of manual labor to do, and I work.

My Mom had double-bypass surgery on September 18, 2024. The surgery seems to have gone well, but recovery has been . . . bumpy. She was released from the hospital on October 2. She was at home for a day and then ended up back in the hospital with internal bleeding. The medical staff identified a leaking artery and repaired it, but there is still bleeding somewhere, so they have been running a battery of tests to locate it.

I'm a 13 hour drive away from my parent's home in Iowa (which is also where I grew up), and the distance is downright difficult. Sure, I can and do make phone calls and texts to my brother who lives there and my sister who is currently there helping out (she's from Oklahoma), but it's not the same as being there. I plan to go next week (week of Oct 13) and stay the week and help out as much as I can. But until then, I am 1300 KM (800+ miles) away dealing with uncertainty.

So I work.

Today I scraped and painted our garage door (it needed it, esp. before winter). Here is the finished product:

I also put a new weather strip across the bottom.

I also climbed up on the roof and painted two sets of (fake) shutters to match the garage door paint.

I also raked leaves and mowed.

I'm doing ok, but remain pensive.