I was sitting here drinking the coffee that my roommate L has made for me and I realized that you don’t know what I actually do with my time while I’m demobilized. I’ve done a fair amount of complaining about things and I’ve certainly shared my (mis)adventures, but really life is pretty good and I want to share some of that.
I sleep most days until 9 or 10 in the morning. I usually wake up with my cats cuddled up to me, which makes me happy. If you have pets, you understand this. Or children, I suppose, though as a mother I dislike comparing pets and children.
I get up and check facebook and email and other online things I’m working on. I take my morning meds and eat some peanut butter toast. I like the way the hot toast melts the peanut butter. Usually by then L is up so there is coffee. Now you may ask why I don’t make my own coffee since I certainly know how. The truth is, we use a French press and the thing is just a pain to clean. I am lazy. That’s my big secret. If L makes the coffee, she cleans it up. Yup, that’s it, silly as it is.
Most days I go to a support group. I use a peer run support group cluster that is available through a local mental health facility. It’s free. Mondays is DBSA, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance and we are working out of a book about managing life while struggling with a behavioral health concern. Tuesday is Recovery International which has a very formal method. It does however teach you to deal with daily life, something I don’t always do very well. Wednesday is the PTSD group. I don’t have PTSD but nobody is without trauma. Thursday is a depression support group. Friday is ATTA, which stands for Achievement Through the Arts. It’s for artists with brain differences, so there is a mix of people with issues ranging from schizophrenia to injury. Most of these groups meet for 2 hours, so that gives me a whole lotta free time.
I have been writing letters. I have an extensive mailing list that I am trying to send everybody something and see who writes back. Then I’ll keep up with the respondents. I like getting mail and to get mail, one must send mail.
I also have been working on the 100 Hats project. I want to sell them but I suspect most of them will wind up donated. And that’s fine, for me the joy is in the making. Speaking of making, I am working on some art pieces as well. One of them is based on my friend K’s living room.
I stay up with my roommates until around 1 in the morning, then I lay in bed on the phone until 2 then I sleep. So 10 am is really 8 hours of sleep, which is good for me.
I do see friends and go out to eat and run errands. It makes for a pretty full life, but I would like to be deployed again. Not that I wish for bad things to happen, but when a disaster hits, I am ready.
August 13, 2018 at 11:08 pm
Would you be interested in going to Puerto Rico or St. John, USVI? Both of those Islands are still recovering after the 2 hurricanes slammed into them. Just a thought. XO