Undone

When it’s late at night (and FYI it’s late at night) I like to write, and I like to pick little niggly things apart.

I like to read Fanfiction. I like to lose myself in someone else’s imagination. I like to be overwhelmed with emotion, I prefer it to be happy, but it’s like being adrift in a sea of emotion. letting things buoy you up and drag you down.

There’s a line from a movie, that I didn’t love, it didn’t do GREAT, it’s the last movie I think I saw Meg Ryan in, and frankly I think she’s kind of… DONE. You know? but that’s what happens when your whole acting career is based on the fact that you’re “adorable” and then you get botchy plastic surgery …. While Kate and Leopold is cute (it’s the movie I”m referencing here) it’s not either of their characters I like, pretty much at all.

The lovable character… the character that makes me cry when he says this line is her ex boyfriend stuart. You may not know the actor (Liev Schreiber ) he’s not been in a terribly large amount of things, but the quote that I adore is this:

It is no more crazy than a dog finding a rainbow. Dogs are colourblind, Gretchen. They don’t see colour. Just like we don’t see time. We can feel it, we can feel it passing, but we can’t see it. It’s just like a blur. It’s like we’re riding in a supersonic train and the world is just blowing by, but imagine if we could stop that train, eh, Gretchen? Imagine if we could stop that train, get out, look around, and see time for what it really is? A universe, a world, a thing as unimaginable as colour to a dog, and as real, as tangible as that chair you’re sitting in. Now if we could see it like that, really look at it, then maybe we could see the flaws as well as the form. And that’s it; it’s that simple. That’s all I discovered. I’m just a… a guy who saw a crack in a chair that no one else could see. I’m that dog who saw a rainbow, only none of the other dogs believed me.

While he’s talking about time (obviously) since the movie relates to time travel, I feel this way with things on occasion. We live such fast paced lives that sometimes we don’t pay attention to what we’re feeling. We just box it away deep in our stomach and shove some fast food on top of it and let our guts hang over our waist bands (not that I’m any different as far as the fatness goes, I’m just saying).  I soak it all in. I think about what I’m feeling, a lot. Some people say i’m over dramatic… when I say some people, I mean EVERY PERSON WHO HAS EVER TALKED TO ME…. See what I mean? I don’t just look at how I’m feeling and say “yep that’s it” and toss it aside. I crawl down deep inside it. I live in it. I explore it. Like a great big ocean with caves that are so dark and deep. I want to see every part. I want to feel it wash against me.

I feel sad, a lot (alot, cause it makes me think of Allie Brosh when I smoosh it all together). Sometimes I don’t feel like getting out of bed. Sometimes, I don’t feel like there are words to describe it. There is no picture to paint, no story to tell. I’m just lost and trapped, and scared and alone. It makes my chest tight, and my heart heavy. It makes me wish for simpler days. It makes me wish that I wasn’t terrified of tomorrow. (I shouldn’t borrow worry from tomorrow, as tomorrow has it’s own worries and troubles ;))

Hope, it’s what I need. Hope that something will change, something will be better.

I am struggling with the thought of getting medication again. Medication and I don’t have a great history. the last meds I took left me more depressed and unsure than I was before I had them. So i always think twice now when I’m down. I think “Can I get through this? Do I really need it.” I feel like a cloud has been hanging over me for a month. if so not more. I am trying. I am trying. What else can I ask for? to focus on trying not to be smothered and drowned in my own depression is about all I can manage right now.

I should probably go see a therapist. But how do I randomly pick one of those off of a website? Sheesh.

Look for upcoming changes to the blog. nothing massive, just little changes (they’ve started happening already ;))

Derringer Meryl [ a little unwell] Out

Voting. Every year I think about how I can recall for my entire life a few weeks before Election day, the Bishop in our ward would stand up and read the same letter to us from the First Presidency encouraging us (those who could) to vote and be educated on the matters on the ballot in our area. I believe our government (as it was set forth in the beginning) was a plan, and was given to us as a blessing by God. In a lot of ways, The government is a lot like modern day religion. Some things about it are true, and we should respect those things (like freedom of speech, religion, etc etc) but other things are a bastardization of the truth, that has been warped and twisted to suit someone’s needs. (C’mon. Don’t look at me like that. Have you ever looked into Catholicism? Cause honestly, you could buy your way into Heaven for a chunk of time there! I don’t think that was something God signed off on.) I think our government (even in the very beginnings) was as good as we could make it. Unfortunately, it’s gone down hill, and we (as a nation in entirety) has lost sight of what it’s like to not have our freedoms, and lost respect for what it is we have.

People say that you should get Educated and Vote. I have no time to get to the real and honest truth of politics. that would be like swimming to the bottom of the ocean just to find out that, guess what, it’s rock and in some portions lava and vents… and OH guess what you’re dead. It’s just a big waste of time. Voting is great. If I knew anything about what was going on, or had time to really pay attention to it, i would. I guess I should say then, the Idea of Voting Is great. Having each person’s vote heard and aired .. that’s a plan man! But it’s not how it is. Honestly, I dont’ have time to educate myself, then go vote, only to find out that If i were to hold contradictory believes to the state I live in, It wouldn’t even count for everything, especially in matters of the President. I have NO time for that. {hyperbole} But right now i’m kind of focusing on not screwing up my kids, not getting myself tossed out on my butt from my job… and overall just doing my best to hold it all together.{/hyperbole} So voting kind of goes into this nice little folder of “things I probably should do at some point in my life” Not unlike Visiting teaching, fulfilling my callings (or getting one, since I don’t think I have one) mowing my lawn regularly, doing laundry every day, making a sit down meal with my family, and about 2 million other things that fall under that heading.

Sorry If I sound a little bitter, but I’ve recently discovered after coming to the absolute brink of losing my mind that if you tote around a bag of “I should be doing this….” you’ll go mad. And I don’t mean the fun kind of mad that you can take to Thanksgiving dinner and have your grandchildren play practical jokes on your mind being lost… it’s the kind of mad where your outer shell goes hard, and you don’t feel anything anymore, and all you wish for is … to feel again. *sigh* It’s no good. I guess what I’m saying, in the long and short of it, is that voting just isn’t for me. I’m never going to feel satisfactorily educated on the matter. I cannot know the absolute truth on any issue, and so anything I do know would be, in some form or another, a lie.

—————-

Did I mention I never went back to therapy. It was costly. Also, I never felt like I got on the same wave length as my therapist. I felt like… Like he looked down on me? I guess? I don’t like when people assume they know me better than myself. I appreciate a new perspective on life and things, but just because you’ve gone to college doesn’t mean you know me better than I do. I’ve lived in my head for years now. I know what bugs me. I know what makes me tick. I absolutely LOATHE feeling controlled. there are people in my life whom I have yielded control and input on my actions to. Like my parents, my siblings, my friends and my husband. People whom I am close to. If I pay you to talk to me, you can RECOMMEND what I should do, you cannot TELL me what to do. I can tell YOU what I’ll do. I’ll tell you to jump in a lake. Jerk. Or I’ll passive aggressively not come back to therapy anymore. He had been warned though, I stopped going to my prior therapist because of her attempt to control me. I’ll admit I’ve made some STUNNINGLY stupid decisions in my life. But, they were my choices, and my mistakes to make. *yawn Yawn Yawn*

Christmas is coming. which means I need to crush and stifle my urges to be a bossy person. I am a bit of a control freak, it helps me maintain my sanity. Katie is enthralled with Christmas already. I hope she has a great time. i cannot wait for our Christmas traditions. I’m looking forward to having Christmas Eve off this year, and how relaxing that will be. I am lost on what to get the girls, and what to ask for myself. I am not good at thinking of what *I* may need, or want. I’m lost. I don’t think of myself often. If everyone wanted to pitch in together, and work out babysitting for me, 😉 that’d be great. haahah. It’d be fabulous to have my girls in day care or something. hopefully I can work out taking the girls to some place at somepoint this next year. They are getting too old and mischievous to be at home with Scott when he’s soooo tired! The only other things I w ant are: a membership to a gym (and my self control back) and another trip to Disneyland. I think people are baffled at my love for DL when there is WDW I could go to, but you can’t beat the original!! Plus I think I wouldn’t be happy in WDW, the humidity is too much!!

Derringer meryl [You could call me afro minnie] out

With my thoughts of a 30 day optimism challenge, my job decided, “Why don’t I make things interesting” and I have never been this busy at a job, EVER. I seriously mean it. I have had back to back calls, yes. Undoubtedly. I’ve experienced that almost my whole call center career (haha, career) but when it’s slow, I’m busier than when I have calls. Following up on forms, closing out cases, calling people back, etc etc. It’s BUSY. I am open to close jam packed busy. (for that matter, i don’t think I even had time for an afternoon break) In any case, Busy busy busy. THEN i had some lady rip me a new one, and after 6 years in the biz, you’d think I’d be fine with that. I’ve had single moms tell me their sob stories about how I was stealing food out of their kid’s mouths, I’ve had old people tell me that I was robbing them. There are stories from my jobs that STILL haunt me, and have made me bitter against our government and the way they treat our Veterans, etc. I should probably let go….

In any case, she ripped me a new one, and for the first time in a long time (since 2007) my job made me cry.Don’t get me wrong. I have cried at work, A LOT. I was pregnant at work, and cried A LOT, so there you go. But crying nonsensically about work issues, haven’t done that in a while. It wasn’t that she got to me, it was that she made me feel like I was bad at my job. And damnit, I’m pretty fabulous for being there only 4 weeks or so. She can eat it, because it turned out to be HER fault not ours.

Anyway, I have been continuously debating whether I should go back to therapy. I say to myself “Was it helping?” and the answer was “Yes” but then i ask “was it creating more problems?” and the answer is also yes. So it leaves me in a dilemma. Should I seek help again somewhere else? Should I just stop all together? Should I just go back to the same therapist. Messy. Annoying. STRESSFUL.

I like to think that I’m a person who has their head on straight, and is thinking clearly, but the truth is, not always. I try to fact check as much as possible. I like to talk to other people to make sure I’m not… fabricating things.

I know I tend to err on the side of the dramatic. I’m not trying to make a fuss, drama is me. It’s how I feel. it’s in my heart, in my head. It makes me broken.

Derringer Meryl {uh oh, it’s getting late} out

AKA: the one where I discuss why I work Customer Service.

Most people don’t say “OH I LOVE to work Customer Service!” Because we can all admit, people can be big fat jerky jerks sometimes, which sucks. No one wants to deal with someone who is angry. I don’t like angry people, and while there are people who do, they are probably some sort of masochist and have jobs doing something else that is kind of kinky.

*ahem*

anyway. I work it because I need to. Not like it fulfills me in a way that nothing else can (which again, kinky sounding?) It just is something I need to do, because, well we all do what we need to survive.

I just wonder sometimes if those people who call someone in a call center realize that talking on the phone isn’t these people’s passion. It’s a job. They do the best they can, and then they go home. No one in a call center (save supervisors maybe) go home thinking “how can I make my job better?” Nope. You go home and you try not to think about the fact you’re going back tomorrow. Typically anyway.

If you’re lucky like me, you work in a marvelous wonderland of free diet coke (you should be hearing angels singing at this point) and nice coworkers, a super CEO/CFO who just make you want to come to work. It’s still hard. VERY HARD for me to not just stay at home (though I know it’d be bad for us) but, it’s nice that if I HAVE to work, to work some place where people are funny and joke, like I do, and they understand you’re a human, and that you have needs. and the phones are so nice (that is the people on the phones, that you talk to) that you don’t mind that your break is only 10 minutes. You know that the office functions like a well oiled machine, and everyone is happy and willing to help…

it’s amazing.

I feel bad for my former Verio Co-workers. They lost some of their pay, and their differential is completely gone. How sad. 🙁 No commentary on the company’s choice, i don’t want to get in any sort of trouble for that. It’s just unfortunate for my friends.
In any case…

I am happy. Which feels odd. After being 7 different shades of miserable for over two years, it feels good, and scary to be happy. Which I realize is stupid. (HAHA) but I have been trying to eliminate a lot of my negative self talk, and remove my ideals. Not like Ideals like being a good person and what good people do. But I seem to think that my house needs to be spotless and that my kids should always be clean and dinner should be cooked and kids should be happy, etc etc…

I can’t force things to be perfect. I feel like I’ve been trying to shove a square peg into a round hole for 2 years. I’ve been trying to balance things out. Trying to make things like they were before. Before we had kids, and it’s been frustrating me that I can’t make it that way. But that’s just how it is. I can’t be the mother my mom was, because quite frankly, I’m not my mother. I can’t be the perfect wife, but I can be a pretty damn good one 😉

Like Mal says:

Mercy is the mark of a great man.
(stabs Atherton)
Guess I’m just a good man.
(stabs Atherton again)
Well, I’m alright.

I guess I’m just a good wife, good mom, and good person. That’s ok, and sometimes I’m great, sometimes I feel PERFECT (or as perfect as I can be) and I am happy, that’s great. But– I can’t be like that all the time. It’s not possible. Not even if I stayed at home. Not even if I cloned myself. I’m not lazy, I’m not stupid, I’m not anything but Imperfect. And Scott Loves me that way.

I need to love me and my imperfections too.

Derringer Meryl [BREAKTHROUGH] Out

So we have been, over the past year, trying to potty train Kate. There hasn’t been a great opportunity because Audrey was still pretty little and was clingy. Overall, I was just at work and busy feeding Audrey and just generally tired. Well, the time has come (the walrus said) to potty train Kate. She had, up to this point, been spotty about going potty (I rhymed) she would, on occasion sit on it and potty. Finally Kate and I went out and got a BUNCH of undies. I let her pick out most of them. Pretty much pull ups weren’t cutting it. We started thursday and something just clicked. she’s doing AMAZING at staying dry at night (which is awesome IMO!!) and has only had 2-3 accidents, mostly relating to poop. Which I’m fine with. It takes time. I mean, it’s not FUN, but its’ great what she’s achieving.

Other things about Kate, we got her a chapter book today for the first time. We’re reading Matilda, by Roald Dahl. It’s one of Scott’s favorites (Roald Dahl is a great author for kids) I’ve never read any Roald Dahl Before, so it’s fun to read with her. Also it’s immensely entertaining so far.

Kate has also fallen in love with Futurama. It all started when Scott and I were trying to watch some of the new episodes, and Scott mentioned to Katie that it’s from the creator of the Simpsons. Ever since then, Fry and Leela have become staples at our house. Thanks to Netflix, we have all the episodes. we have been enjoying a lot of media lately, thanks to netflix.

Bed time though, oh my, has become a battle of “i so scared” Which frankly is  hooey. I know it is, because she just has been using it to stall bedtime as well as using “I can’t sleep” which is also hooey. very frustrating. I’m sure I’m just getting back what I gave… 😛 Oh well!! Maybe that’s why I have two girls, to give back all the drama I created HAHA.

My therapy has been going well. We are really trying to get to the root of my issues. Which is great. Previous therapists have given me what I like to think of as “mental bandaids” and this therapist really seems to want to know why I work the way I do, which seems to be important to fixing the fundamental problem. IE: are we fixing the root of the issue or just the surface? So i’m happy and excited about that. We have been discussing in depth that I need to value and prize myself enough to do the things it takes to be happy. To take care of myself. Which is a challenge for me. Somewhere in my brain I have it ingrained that to be a stellar mom, and wife, that I need to take a perma-backseat to everyone else. Which may, for some people, work well. BUT I have, with the people in my life, re-enforced a standard that I am not important and don’t need to be taken care of. Which is BS. Doesn’t everyone need someone to look out for them? I do, that’s for damn sure. I appreciate the people who see the weakness in me, and strive for me to draw it out. It’s hard to be the person to force someone to look at themselves, very carefully– but I appreciate the people who do!

Derringer Meryl [I do what I want!] Out