When Things That Are Supposed To Be Fun Become Stressful

When Things That Are Supposed To Be Fun Become Stressful

This coming week begins the extravaganza of the 150^th commemoration of the Battle of Gettysburg. I plan to attend both reenactments as a period photographer with Harrington Traveling Photographic Artists and have been looking forward to this event since the beginning of the 150^th anniversary cycle.

But getting prepared for the events while trying to excel at my day job has been challenging and stressful. Unlike my spouse, I am not one who enjoys working on projects constantly. I need my downtime, yoga, a few hours lounging on the deck reading a book, my weekends and evening digging in the garden pulling weeds and encouraging the development of my plants.

The preparation has also resulted in our living environment being cluttered to the point where we might qualify as subjects for an episode of “Hoarders”. I am not comfortably with disarray, clutter, piles of paper, bits of projects scattered about, a feeling of chaos. . I crave order, neatness, and organization. I haven’t seen the top of my kitchen table for more than two weeks. I am so far outside my comfort zone that my reflux, which has been dormant for 10 years, has resurfaced.  My hot flashes have returned with a vengeance; my skin is erupting in anger; and I lie awake, sleepless for hours thinking of all the things I need to do.

But I know, once the preparation is completed and we are enjoying the excitement of the first event, which is the Blue Gray Alliance Gettysburg, and we are visiting with friends and taking photos that all of the angst will be a blurry faded memory.

Oh! My husband just called me a skunk! Fie on him!