Saturday, October 17, 2015

Reflections on a rough week



I've had a rough week.  Actually probably closer to two weeks.  Grief and resentment have been right below the surface.  I wrote about what I called ugly feelings in my last post.  It was a post that I was honestly unsure if I even wanted to publish, but this community assured me (once again) that what I'm feeling is normal and ok.  Thankfully I'm starting to pull out of it because these phases suck.

Right now I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Normally this is the type of book that I'd steer away from (memoirs, particularly about spiritual journeys, aren't one of my preferred genres), but I picked it up because I stumbled across the author's podcast that she did to correspond with the release of her latest book and liked it a lot.  Plus it was on the clearance rack at the thrift store so I figured that even if I didn't like it, I was only out $1.  If you're not familiar with the book (or movie by the same title), after a nasty divorce and breakdown, the author goes on a quest to discover pleasure, devotion, and balance by traveling to Italy, India, and Bali for a year. Anyway, this book appealed to me because I'm currently feeling restless with life and feel like I want to do something new and big.  But I don't know what.  I'm only about half way through the book but I already have so many take aways.  Mainly to be nice to myself.  And that whatever I feel is ok.  And to be true to myself.  These are reminders that I need (continuously, it seems).

I know that I'm not the only one who feels the itch to do something big because Another Forty recently wrote a post on the same topic.  Mali also wrote a poignant post about what she called "The Next Big Thing" pointing out that it doesn't need to be something that is earth shattering.

The quote above is my life.  Well, the glorious mess part, not necessarily the embrace part.  But I'm working on it.  I actually swiped this picture from one of Liz Gilbert's Facebook posts (if you don't "like" her page, you should!).  She started the post by sharing that she had been "cheerfully fucking things up for the last 24 hours," something I could definitely relate to.  She then went on to point out that "....I am loved and I am worthy, and you are loved and you are worthy" which is a reminder that I desperately needed.

Moving to Italy (or India, or Bali) isn't an option for me like it was for Liz Gilbert (unless someone wants to volunteer to foot the bill, in which case I'd gladly accept), at least not right now, but I can take care of myself.  I can honor myself, my feelings, and my grief.  Right now I think this needs to be my next big thing.

*****

My pregnant sister announced her pregnancy on Facebook the other day with a cute little "our little pumpkin is due....blah blah blah" picture.  It took me by surprise because she previously said she wasn't going to announce it on Facebook.  No big deal, I can hide it so I don't have to see it.  But what I couldn't hide was people tagging me and asking what my reproductive plans were.  Since it was a completely inappropriate venue to go on a batshit crazy rant I just ignored the comments.  But they hurt.  By the time this baby is born I will have had at least one sister pregnant for 22 consecutive, and three babies born in slightly over one calendar year.  Frankly, I can't wait for it to be over.  Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my sister that gave birth in June manages to not get pregnant before her tubal scheduled for early December (not getting pregnant has proven to be quite difficult for her).

14 comments:

  1. dear BnB,
    how I love your writing.... "Not getting pregnant has proven to be quite difficult for her"... this sentence made me laugh.

    And - your currently pregnant sister is getting a pumpkin???
    I always hated when women use silly nicknames for their children.

    I love your conclusion. That whatever you feel is OK. That you need to be true to yourself.

    I hope that your weekend is nice.

    xo.

    Klara

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    1. It's funny how that works....the oldest sister (me) tries to have a baby really hard for a long time and ultimately comes out of it with no baby and the youngest sister has not one, not two, but three unplanned pregnancies. How does that even happen?!

      I don't get the nicknames either, or the cheezy pregnancy announcements. Hubs and I always said that we wouldn't announce on Facebook. Turns out we didn't need to have that conversation. :)

      I think that being true to ourselves is a reminder that we all need sometimes.

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  2. HI there. I, too, have an itch to do something, if only I could figure out what the heck it was! I'm just hoping that whatever it is will eventually smack me on the head and say 'this, you want to do this', until then I just faff my way through life, pretty directionless, watching far too much sport on TV. I also know about the 'can't not get pregnant' difficulty - my sister in law, who had 4 kids in 5 or 6 years, once complained how terrible it was that she was able to get pregnant so easily. Yeah, right, that is such a bummer. I'm so glad you shared that with me, an infertile *sigh*. Life goes on though ah! I just haven't worked out where mine is going exactly, yet.

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    1. Hi! It completely boggles my mind that people actually get pregnant easily....and it irritates me even more when they talk about it in the presence of people who they knew are going through/went through infertility.

      At 34 I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I love my job but I don't know that I want to do it forever. I love the city I live in but I definitely don't want to live in this city forever. Hubs and I are pretty certain we'll stay where we are for at least five more years, but after that who knows? The world is our oyster!

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  3. I cannot believe that people tagged you asking what your reproductive plans were!! This is an example of when to say, "if I wanted you to know, I'd gave told you!". I want to rant on your behalf!!

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    1. Not being very open about infertility is a double edged sword. If we're open about it we will inevitably get tons of unsolicited "helpful" advice or the god's will crap, but if we don't talk about it we open ourselves up to comments like I got the other day (from my grandma and another woman in the 75+ age bracket). Maybe someday I'll get to the point where I can respond in a way that makes them feel like jerks.

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  4. I often wonder why honoring oneself and being kind to oneself is so hard. Do we not feel we deserve it? Is our self esteem that low? Anyway, I hope you manage to figure out a way to do it consistently. As for Facebook, well you already know how I feel about it. I haven't deleted my account, but I'm completely inactive, which means I'm not contacted or tagged very much and it (hopefully) doesn't look mean that I don't comment on anyone's news. I can still log in occasionally and send someone a personal message, but only when inclined to.

    You are totally right about being open. I find it goes further than talking about infertility. Even being asked how I am can throw me into a spin on a bad day. If I say 'fine' or 'good', it's often a lie and I don't think I sound that convincing. If I say something that implies I'm not doing so well, then, as you say, the unsolicited advice flows freely. Or the pity, which is worse. Anyway, don't want to end on a negative. Good luck with the self love! You deserve it.

    Naomi M

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    1. I can definitely say that being kind to myself isn't second nature for me. At the same time I know I feel so much better when I do take care of myself. A Catch 22 for sure!

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  5. Holy smokes, why did people tag you and ask you outright like that? Just insane! Wishing you strength and peace during this tough time. Loving the quote. I didn't read the book, but I did watch the movie.

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    1. Thanks! Was the movie good? I liked the book so much that I want to see the movie. But I don't want the movie to ruin the book for me. :)

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  6. I enjoyed both the book & the movie. I liked Italy best in the book; Indonesia was more appealing in the movie than it was in the book (of course, Javier Bardem may have had something to do with that, lol). ;)

    Here's my review of the book:

    http://theroadlesstravelledlb.blogspot.ca/2008/08/barren-btches-book-tour-eat-pray-love.html

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    1. Loved your review! I might steal some of your prompts for my review! :)

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  7. I totally hear you on the restlessness thing.......I have no clue what to do with it myself......

    Thinking of you always with this family baby marathon you're going through. What a reality show that would make, or a book, or as the basis for your own Eat, Pray Love movie......(my head is so twisted and I like it here cuz I know I don't have to apologize for it:-)

    "I can honor myself, my feelings, and my grief. Right now I think this needs to be my next big thing." Yep, I think this might possibly be the BIGGEST thing. I know it's the biggest thing I ever practiced.

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    1. I like this reality show idea thing, though I'm pretty sure that TLC would portray me as a selfish bitch. Still better than anything Duggar though!

      Taking care of ourselves seems so easy but in practice is so hard. I'm trying to be nice to myself though.

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