Yesterday was one of those super stressful days, but not for anything huge. I got to the end of the day and realized there was just annoyance piled on annoyance and I was mentally exhausted.
My friends are faring far worse than I am these days, which stresses me out, because I hate to see folks I love suffering. For privacy reasons I can't mention names or anything too specific but here are their woes. If you want to pray for them, please do:
- a dear friend is facing a job loss;
- another one is facing a huge increase in her rent, that she can't pay;
- one friend is dealing with a pregnant teenage daughter;
- another friend is dealing with chronic debilitating medical conditions and is in tremendous physical pain;
- another friend has a child who is constantly screaming at her that she's never done anything for him -- and she has done EVERYTHING for him...
I believe in the power of prayer. It's what makes life bearable.
All morning long I was trying to work and Lola kept barking to go out. I'd bring her in, wait 2 minutes, and the barking would commence again. This is unusual. Drove me nuts.
Michael is a sweetie 99% of the time but he can also be a typical teen. Yesterday afternoon I asked Michael to go to Walmart and pick up a prescription for Mother and he gave me attitude. This was after I had asked him to vacuum the family room and walk Lola -- two of his regular chores. He was not home for dinner and spent the entire evening hanging out with friends.
Thank goodness for friends who will let me call and vent. Those friends are a huge blessing.
Thank goodness for Mother, who knew I didn't feel like cooking and handed me some money and said "go pick up something for dinner."
Thank goodness for my wonderful neighbors. I took Lola to walk and had good chats with three of my neighbors. Living somewhere for 10 years and having wonderful neighbors is a huge gift from God.
Thank goodness for YouTube. Sometimes when I am stressed out I just think of old songs I like and I sit and listen and sing along. I don't watch the videos. I just sing, which soothes my soul. I know every word to the song below by one of my very favorite singers, Mary Chapin Carpenter..
