Crazy Week
Posted on December 18, 2008
On Monday I went to the doctor because I had these weird pulsating migraine type pains on the side of my head. They continued even with Tylenol or Motrin. They hurt like hell and all I could do to make them better was lay on my right side. So Monday I venture into the doctor and she takes some notes, looks at my face and tells me I have shingles. My first question, “How in the world did I get shingles?” She mentions that you don’t get shingles from anyone, as they are not contagious unless passed along via skin-to-skin contact. After doing some research they can appear due to stress and other factors. I guess I was stressed, but I didn’t know it. It’s been interesting adjusting to the medication because it makes you dizzy, which makes it hard to read and work on the computer.
I think I know what caused me to get sick – I’m harboring negativity. One of my clients is 60+ days late on paying his invoice. He keeps calling with promises of payment, but no check. He called about 3 weeks ago to tell me he was going to get me paid. No check. He called this Tuesday and said he was paying half and he verified with his bank the check had been mailed. Still no check. I’m irritated with myself because I normally collect a retainer and I didn’t for this project because it was a quick turnaround. And I’m irritated with him for lack of payment. It’s totally disrespectful and bad business practices.
The other reason is because I hired someone to provide a service and they did a poor job. When I confronted them about it they made a bunch of excuses. Although I wasn’t surprised at their approach, I was disappointed because I had such high expectations about the services.
My body is telling me I need to process these two events and these two people out of my mind and my life. I’m hearing my body real clear. At the beginning of the year I’ll turn my client over to a collection agent – I know a good one. I will no longer be a participant in the collections and this will clear my mind for other things. Before the weekend, I plan on writing my final response to my service provider and move on.
Then yesterday my mom calls to tell me a family friend passed away. He was in his car driving to work. He was aware enough to pull off the road and into a parking lot. He had a massive heart attack and was found by the police. It’s so very sad. He was a young 60 and the partner of my mom’s best friend. I think I do a good job of letting my family and friends know how much they mean to me, but if something was to happen, would they really know? Today I called my husband for no reason and told him I loved him.
I hope you can take a leap and share honestly with your family and friends the struggles you’re facing. Even if they don’t reach out and support you, you’ve done your part in opening the door. You never know if you’ll get a second chance.
Keep in mind my story – horrible relationship with the in-laws just 4 short years ago. But now this is what our relationship is like: We had one of the best Thanksgiving holidays as a family last month. It was very enjoyable and everyone got along seamlessly. I’m hoping for the same next week. I’ve made so much progress with my in-laws. I would have never thought we would get to this place. But communicating with them over the years, openly, has worked to my benefit. It’s not their style, they prefer to keep everything bottled inside, but they’re listening to me and adapting well.
P.S. Book give-a-way ends tomorrow, Dec. 19th. Leave a comment to enter to win hope for the flowers by Trina Paulus.
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Darn – stress can give you shingles (in addition to the whole host of other issues that stress brings along). Hope it clears up quickly for you – what kind of treatment does it take? Can it be recurrent?
Glad to hear your Thanksgiving went really well. I remember from your book and previous posts that get togethers and holidays tended to be quite miserable in the past. Progress is good. :0)
Shingles… yuck! Hope they go away quickly for you.
Good luck with the work stuff!
So sorry about the shingles. Stress is so bad for the body. I’m glad you are taking steps to deal with it – waiting for a check that never comes is the worst. Hang in there.