Deep Breaths

I can't remember a time in recent memory when I've been this stressed.  I've been through health problems, job changes, deaths in the family, becoming a parent, etc, over the past couple of years, and yet none of that has compared to what I've felt over the past week.  This isn't easy for me to even say because I hate coming across as anything less than strong, and I hate pity party posts.  Yes, everybody has bad days at work.  Yes, every mom thinks she has reached her wit's end.  Yes, everybody gets sick every now and then.  I know this.  I'm not unique.  But, when it all happens at once, there just comes a point where you're like, "Seriously?  How is a normal person supposed to handle all of this?"

I was supposed to have a closing for one of my buyers on either Monday or Wednesday.  So, I signed Dutch up to be in daycare Monday through Wednesday so that I'd have ample time to iron out any last-minute issues and attend the closing.  He's on a 3 day a week program, and I have to tell them the last week of the month what those 3 days a week will be for the following month.  At the end of January, everything looked to be on track, so he went to daycare those 3 days.  Of course, the closing didn't happen as planned.  Lots of issues arose, and ish hit the fan on Thursday.  Dutch was at home with me that day, so I had to juggle phone calls and emails from my client, the title company, and the lender, while also taking care of an 11-month old.  As of late Thursday night, all the details still weren't ironed out, so Friday was no different.  I called daycare trying to see if I could do drop-in that day, by paying extra, and they didn't have room.  Stress. 

On Monday, I had an appointment with a back specialist to address my slipped disc.  They put me on a steroid pack, which I will follow up with anti-inflammatories, while doing some physical therapy.  I'll go back next month to see if there has been any improvement.  On Tuesday, I had an ultrasound to see if they could figure out what the cyst was that was found under my right kidney during the MRI.  Waiting to hear the results of that.  On Thursday, I went in for another blood draw to see if my hcg level has dropped to zero yet after the ectopic pregnancy.  Waiting to hear the results of that.  Stress.

We're looking at buying another house and putting ours on the market.  We've been getting it ready the past couple of months, and I had a sprinkler company come out on Wednesday to address broken sprinkler heads and a suspected leak.  As luck would have it, when we got our fancy fence installed a few years ago, they put it directly over a line of sprinkler heads in our backyard.  Previously, there was just a singular fence between our yard and our neighbor's, that we shared.  It was falling apart, so we decided to just install a new one.  At the same time, our neighbor decided he wanted to do the same, but he wanted a vinyl fence.  No.  Ours would look much nicer, so he put his up, and we put ours up right next to it.  That meant the new fence line was moved over from where it had been before, alas our sprinkler heads were now covered up.  Maybe that's when the leak also materialized, but who knows.  (We just turned those zones off and haven't watered that area in a while since we knew there was an issue).  Result?  $2K in repairs needed.  Stress.

We have 5 rental properties.  Many of them are in West Texas, so we don't manage them personally.  Over the past few months, there has been some turnover in a couple of them, and major repairs needed, so our property manager (my awesome mother-in-law), handles all of that and then submits the receipts to us for reimbursement.  What we owe for all of that made my jaw drop.  Let's just say it was substantially more than what the sprinkler repairs are costing us.  :(  Stress.  

I have a listing in Decatur and sometimes people call me from my number on the sign, looking for information about the house.  Most buyers have their own Realtor, but sometimes I get asked to show a house to a potential buyer (even though I'm the seller's agent).  I got one such request today, a day where Dutch is home from daycare.  So, I am having to scramble to arrange childcare, then drive an hour to Decatur to show a house, then drive an hour back, then drive 45 minutes south to Oak Cliff for my closing that is finally happening.  Stress.

While I was putting Dutch to bed last night, Riley jumped up and grabbed my Michael Kors purse off the counter.  He ate through one of the leather straps.  He also jumped up and grabbed a tub of formula off the counter and ate it.  Stress.

When does it end?  Any one of these things is stressful enough, but put them all together and I literally feel like my body and mind can't take anymore, or I will snap.  Just a short couple of weeks ago, I was helping a close friend through a very difficult time.  She felt very depressed and pessimistic about her future.  I remember telling her, "I just want you to remember that there will be a better time after all this has passed.  It's bad right now, and it might be for a while longer, but it won't always be."  I really, really need to repeat that over and over again.  It's going to get better.