Please pray/god thoughts/suggestions -Totally set up for steroid/seretonin crash (like after TDay, etc) due to weather catastrophe/etc

[TravelingChris]

Quick summary

I am supremely sleep drived, exhausted, after unexpected few inch snow fall,black ice, etc with 8 extra family members (including toddler) here plus 3 dogs I desperately need to lie down and also take shower but dh is more sleep deprived than probably all the others. DD1and Dsil1 are downstairs with 2 dogs; DD2, dsil2 and dog are in health/craft/clothing storing/nature room; and ds, ddil and dgs (who is 14 months old) are sleeping in my dining room, my brother in guest room.  So far no clearing of mountain roads or lots of roads. Lots of abandoned and wrecked cars too. I am going flying to MAyo Scottsdale  w/DD2 in less than a week and paperwork not done, etc. etc.

As some of you know, I am a "complicated case' as most doctors say.  This Xmas was supposed to be calm and low key.  Well it hasn't been.  Like I said about my HI vacation- Heaven and hell (both HI, and my trip)/ - Started w cold snap and kid visits where I to bring lots of plants in,, and I actually had a great visit at ds house, with all three grands, but still overdoing it afterwards.  Then why trying to casually do things, my super annoying, OCD, spectrum brother shows up earlier than I expected but it was okay since he couldn't check in early to his hotel which is over a mountain, as is ds and family.  Christmas eve stressful but pretty good (dd2 family, dd1 family, my brother,). Christmas Day- much worse=French toast, bacons (my son has alpha gal allergy so turkey bacon for him), fruit smoothie, fruit salad breakfast for ds entire family,plus dd1 family, and my brother.  I was initially stressed because the girls were supposed to originally be turned back to their dad by 13:00 in a at least 30 minute drive, dh just insisted I calm down, etc but didn't tell my the drop off time was changed. Then a few hours of sort of rest, then back to Christmas day dinner where by this time, dh has been drinking as have some others. The drumsticks took longer so he carved the rest and we put the turkey legs into back into the convection oven.  I got it out and was starting to separate the legs when Dh announced, Why are you doing that? Just put on serving platter.  I announced all too loudly, because the three people who will be eating them are on one side of the table, and if we put them out, dd1 will grab one of the legs, and not enough dark meat turkey for the three of us (none of us were eating the ham-ds and me for health reasons, and my brother for nutty reasons):  My brother went off to his hotel. We ended up playing a game that was okay and kind of fun- but also not since both dsil and I were not to happy-vulgar, potty humor, etc, etc but also normal funny stuff too. I ended up sleeping very little because of gastro problems and mouth problems and lots of pain too.

We weren't supposed to anything (Christmas night forecast), .  Everyone except dgd's were going to have a relaxing good day.  I had done an instacart order so we had a number of food items we got including 3 more bottles of purified water. All three kid's families arrived at round noon.  We are having steady snow while forecasts keep saying little accumulation, etc.   As they were coming in, dd2 family and ds family are both realizing they may have to stay here along with m brother/  Then d1 and family, went home to pack up stuff, cages, etc, etc,  shop for requests- like we needed onions cause we only had one, etc. All the mountain are officially closed., as are highways, etc., etc/  We were watching our tv but even before they left for supplies, etc, tv in main living room had been off for a long time because db (s) had to have dh and dsil 1 figure out for over an hour how to show slides on tv.   DH checks outs to pursue hobbies, etc (He is a bigger introvert than I am but I felt compelled to help everyone). We havr 3 dogs  , one who shouldn't be around children or the other 2, a toddler who needs constant supervision because the holding pen ddil and I picked out on Amazon had 40 or more screws and was absolutely no way to supervise a almost walking toddler), an austistic brother who I just asked to strip bed (his plane out of Nashville- is at 6pm. fortunately, so hopefully the mountain roads will be cleared by then and all the kids and spouses too. I am totally exhausted.  My friendly Carolina Wren has been flying in and out of the house, because he was demanding food and I opened the window to feed him and the other birds, but can;t go downstairs to get WD40/
.Then  came TDay and another elaborate mutitiday affair where I was doing most of the work, dh doing next most work, dsil1 doing some but greatly adding to my stress by showing up w gigantic loads of food, etc./   That ended up w me surviving on cookies, ice cream. nuts, milk, etc and a few meals dd2 and ds, ddil, and my gs brought when dh went to Boston for 5 or so days of work, dsil1 had work he needed to do somewhere and they went off, wouldn't leave me my dog that they wrongly confiscated a few years ago.

 

[ScoutTN]

So sorry, Christina! I hope they are all headed home so you can just rest. 

[Pam in CT]

Awww (( honey )).  Hoping the storms, inside and out of the house, subside soon and you can get some rest.

[catz]

Have you been treated for anxiety?  Hope your weather is better soon.  Things are finally breaking up here the last 24 hours.

[prairiewindmomma]

Go nap. Your kids are all adults who are aware of your complicated health history and can manage without you for 4-5 hours. You may want and feel compelled to help everyone, but put on your oxygen mask and go rest. They have all somehow managed to stay alive as adults and can like muster on for a bit. You need to be in good enough shape to travel and what you are doing now shapes your functioning in a week.

Just say, “love you all—my body needs a bit of rest. See you in several hours!”
 

Hugs!!

[Jaybee]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Go nap. Your kids are all adults who are aware of your complicated health history and can manage without you for 4-5 hours. You may want and feel compelled to help everyone, but put on your oxygen mask and go rest. They have all somehow managed to stay alive as adults and can like muster on for a bit. You need to be in good enough shape to travel and what you are doing now shapes your functioning in a week.

Just say, “love you all—my body needs a bit of rest. See you in several hours!”
 

Hugs!!

Yes! I do not have the kinds of health issues you have, but when we have our kids and grandkids here, or when we are all together wherever we are, I usually take some time every afternoon to go rest or nap in my room, and I may also go to bed early (or at least retire to the bedroom). I love them all dearly, but I need some introvert and "off" time if I am going to be kind and gracious the whole visit (or even sane).

[momto3innc]

Go upstairs and sleep or read for the afternoon. Put on some sort of background noise so you hear less of what’s going on. Everyone else will manage without you.

Bring a dog with you if they’ll be quiet and that would calm the chaos. But mostly, just get alone and recharge for as long as you need.

 

[TravelingChris]

Fortunately, I hardly needed to do anything today.  I told my brother to strip the bed as if in a b&b or regular rental. Everyone else was tired, too.  Dh handled lots, others handled other things.  

Called pharmacy, primary care, Mayo neurology clin8c who are calling me back about which meds I need to stop when, and I need to call the medical supply place and pay up, etc. Then nap and dinner and hopefully sleep a normal amount of time.

[TravelingChris]

nm