Tag Archives: stress

Feeling Froggy?

See this oil painting of a tree frog come to life in about 1 minute (time lapse)

‘Tis the season- the tree frogs are back! I’d seen a few earlier, but they were hiding in the drawer of my potting bench or otherwise hunkered down. Tonight one has appeared as if anchored by suction cups to the patio glass door, which is what frequently happens during tree frog season. Lizards by day, tree frogs by night. The patio door is a happening place!

Are you feeling froggy? The music for this painting video gives off the vibe I’m talking about- just hanging out, being cool. Nothing gets us in a panic. That’s the attitude I’m taking tonight as I know we have to move somewhere fast, and we don’t yet know where that will be, or how much it will cost- only that it will cost a lot more than we’re currently paying because the housing market has spiked (both for buying and for renting).

I found a house today that is the most reasonable I’ve found yet (still about $200 more per month, but that looks good compared to the $500+ per month I’ve been finding!). It’s in the right location and it seems like it could be a good fit for our family. Since it’s hopefully only for a year, we can manage a bit of misery, so it doesn’t have to be a perfect fit- not that anything is ever perfect, but on the sliding scale of “almost” dream house to House of Horrors, I’m fine with it being in the middle. But the catch is that the house won’t be ready until June 21, and we must vacate the end of May.

So, I’ve asked the property management if they could please ask this home owner (where we are currently living) if we could extend our lease until end of June so we have a place to stay until the other rental opens up. She asked, but the owner wants to talk it over with her spouse, and will get back to us “asap”. Apparently ASAP means tomorrow or later because it’s now bedtime and there was no update. I must have refreshed my emails dozens of times today.

If we get permission to stay here for an extra month, the next step is to secure the new rental. So it’s not a done deal even if the home owner of this house says yes. Someone else may have already gotten the rental contract today while we are stuck waiting. I’ll hear about it soon, one way or another.

Meanwhile, I could fret or I could be like a tree frog. Sure, I don’t know where I’m going, or when, but I’m hanging out with my little green friend. I’m sitting here clacking away on the keyboard, talking to you from my computer chair that is close enough to the patio doors that I can almost reach out and touch the glass, while he’s suctioned to the other side. I wonder if he’s listening to me type.

I’ve chosen to give myself a break from worry and I hope you will too. Whatever your source of stress today, put a pause on your anxious thoughts. Racing from one manic thought to another isn’t sustainable. In these challenging times we need to stay strong. I hope you’ll join me in feeling froggy- just hanging out, being cool.

Worry no More

See oil painting “Sparrows” come alive in 2 minutes (time lapse)

Today there were four little sparrows at the tower bird feeder at the same time. It was fun to watch them. They seemed so focused and organized, as if the flock of them had decided ahead of time where each should perch. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we humans were so relaxed and confident that our needs would be met? We could arrive at a dinner table provided for us- just sitting there for us to help ourselves- and we would then all harmoniously take up a chair. We’d eat peacefully, calmly, without a care in the world. And then we’d all go off together. Spiritually, life can feel like this.

I was able to let go of yesterday’s aggressive dogs incident. The trespassers didn’t return. I don’t think they will stay away for long, but it was a nice break from them. Today was cold and overcast with some light rain. I wasn’t outside much today anyway. But even so, I wasn’t tightly wound about the idea of seeing them. I’ve chosen to simply go back inside if they come around. There is nothing so urgent that I have to be out there when there’s a group of people who are so disrespectful of others, who arrive with dangerous large animals. It’s really that simple.

No, it’s not OK that their behavior restricts my freedom, but I can choose to ignore all of it if I don’t want this stress in my life. However, if there’s another bad incident concerning the unleashed dogs I will feel compelled to report it, if for no other reason than to be a responsible citizen. Heaven forbid they go after a child! So, I’ll get involved if I have to.

But, since they leashed the dogs after I screamed at them to do so, they corrected the problem. I’ve decided that this can end right now if I choose (unless there is further incident, and there may never be). Refusing to engage is nearly always a choice we can make, and it’s often the right one. What was just one bad incident could turn into many bad incidents, unnecessarily.

Sometimes we worry about things that may never happen, and in the fretting and imagining, we cause the escalation. My neighbors have already taken care of this problem by building a fence. We can’t do that because we don’t own this property, but I don’t have to let this situation rile me up. So my next best move is to avoid them.

There are so many things I enjoy doing (or work that needs to be done), so when they decide to squat here for the afternoon or evening, I’ll do other things indoors. Their decisions and presence are only a problem for me if I choose for it to be. The fear I had that this would escalate is likely overblown, especially if I don’t keep the confrontation going. They will probably hang out near our patio as usual and I’ll avoid them. That’s it. No drama. I have heavy curtains and I can close them.

I’ll be like the sparrows, unconcerned and happy to go where I’m fed, with my family who loves me. There is no reason to fight my way to other spaces, even if I legally have the right to those spaces while the intruders do not. I have decided that it’s not worth the stress, and that I am worth more than sparrows. Besides, our situation is temporary. Soon we’ll be ready to go house hunting and we’ll find someplace where we belong. I happen to notice that most of the properties we’ve window shopped for have a FENCE!

Subscribe to this blog (get email notifications when there’s a new post), you control how often to receive emails, cancel any time.