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Week one – flying solo

It’s been a whole week and a bit since I finished therapy with Dr Siskin. I hope her present is flourishing as much as my half is. I’ve still no idea what I’m growing but the seeds have germinated nicely. As far as I can tell, there are some grasses and maybe some flowers. Time will tell.

I’ll admit to being a little apprehensive about not seeing the good doc on a weekly basis. Ok, I was a lot apprehensive. So far my fears have been unfounded. That’s not to say life has been so dull and quiet that nothing has disturbed my inner peace. Far from it.

Cost Centre 2 set off with his mates for a “lads holiday” on the same day as news reports about a similar-aged youngster having fallen to his death from a hotel balcony. I stoped myself from reading any further than the first sentence. No sense in adding further fuel to the panic fire!

Preparations are under way for a massive family invasion, the likes of which haven’t happened for twenty years. Mr D and I work tirelessly to keep each set of inlaws apart. They don’t get on. Next week they will just have to suck it up and be nice for one whole day… Cost Centre 1 will be graduating from university, a great excuse for a good celebration. I will have emergency gin and tonic hidden in our bedroom just in case!

This weekend, Mr D and I managed to wrangle some time to ourselves to celebrate our wedding anniversary. A day out, tootling around the countryside in his car (open top), a proper picnic, and a overnight stay in a country inn were our present s to ourselves. Funny how it took less than five minutes in the car before we started discussing our kids, their futures etc. Gah! It can be hard to remember to talk about our own hopes, dreams. I guess it’s habit.

The times I miss the one hour session are mostly centred around work. That’s when I get most stressed, irritated and focussed on the smallest of bodily niggles (that I can catastrophise in a heartbeat!). I can almost hear Dr Siskin’s voice reminding me to use one of the many coping strategies I have at my disposal.

Baby steps Cath. Baby steps.

Oo, that reminds me. Look what wandered into my garden this morning.

I’ve set up a food and watering shelter for him/her. The poor little things are having a hard time during the UK heatwave. You can see how dried the ground is. I hope it survives. Fingers crossed.

Happy Monday xx

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Being a human pin cushion…

As part of my self-care to help me through the change, I have regular acupuncture appointments. When I am feeling on top of the world, I only need monthly appointments, a little like regular ‘me maintenance’. Other times, particularly when I am in a rapid change phase, with hormones bouncing around, I need a little more help.

At the previous appointment, my acupuncturist (also named Catherine) noticed that I wasn’t my usual upbeat self and recommended we move to every two weeks till I feel more on an even keel again.

This lunchtime I trotted up for my treatment. Catherine always takes a thorough history and pre-treatment examination of tongue and pulses before she decides what to do. This time was a little different. She announced I would be a human pin cushion! I stopped counting the needles after ten.

As she turned on the relaxing music and left me to relax, I took a little sneaky peek at my body. Yep… pin cushion! Or a human hedgehog! Either way, I didn’t dare move. And now all I had to do was lie back and relax! Easier said than done. Under less needley circumstances I would listen to the music, or do a little meditation. Today I was unable to settle.

Or so I thought.

I was sure I’d only closed my eyes for a moment.

OMG! I fell asleep. I only hope that I didn’t snore or drool. No. I’m pretty sure I was drool-free, but I’m not so certain about the snoring. If I did, it wouldn’t be nearly as cute as this…