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Our basement is finished (done by a previous owner), and we
use it extensively. It's like a second
floor, but underground. So when I open
the door to the basement, and see water covering much of the main room, some of
it about an inch deep, it's not good. I
see furniture reflected in the water, a plastic cat toy floating like a little
buoy, and Ron is barefoot in the laundry room, using our wet vac to suck up
gallons and gallons of water. Ugh...
this seepage problem really sucks. I
feel tension rise in me, worrying about how bad our seepage problem will get,
before it gets fixed.
Dealing with stress has been on my mind a lot
lately. We're starting to put into
motion what needs to happen in order to deal with our problem. I feel tension about the whole situation: how everything will come together to fix the
problem, and what I don't have control over (rain, and that it's coming into
our basement). So I ask myself how I can
deal with all of this.
I have to make taking care of myself even more of a
priority. This means pacing myself,
trying not to plug too much into any given day or week, AND means taking
breaks. I need to do things that make me
feel better, like listening to music. When I take breaks, calming breathing is
a priority, so I can release some of the tension.
I can't think about what's going on ALL the time. It won't help the situation, and only makes
me feel, well, stressed out. I need to
do what I can to feel some control. I
will do my best to expedite getting the necessary permit. Our handyman contractor, whom we've used
before, said that all the prep and post project work was doable. I will stay in touch with him, and use him as
a resource. There are a lot of pieces to
this whole process. We're more
experienced homeowners than we used to be, but we've never dealt with a
homeowner's project of this magnitude before.
He, on the other hand, has a lot of experience. I can ask him questions, and get some
guidance regarding the timeline.
As we move along, and I get a better idea of what needs
to be done, and when what needs to happen, we can talk as a family about who
pitches in where. Delegation of
responsibility can really help. For now,
using the wet vac is more difficult for me than Ron or the girls, so it's not a
good use of my energy. But I can deal
with some of the clearing out and sorting, as long as I pace myself.
I need to take to heart the idea of taking things one
step at a time. In that way, it's like
doing rehab; I can't get ahead of myself, and worrying about everything ahead
of time won't do me any good. I have to
let some of it go - it's going to rain, and we're going to have a lot of
seepage, and for now I need to live with that.
Worrying about a worst case scenario isn't going to help.
I can get more info about the Residence Inn where we'll
be staying. I will write down, as I
think of them, the different pieces involved for me in staying someplace
else. One by one, I'll figure out how to
deal with them. I can get ideas from
Joyce and Ann, since they both have a good understanding of my disorders, and
challenges. I'll talk with my daughters
so they can figure out how to make temporarily living someplace else as
manageable as possible.
I will remind myself that as obnoxious, complex and
stressful as it may be, the problem IS fixable.
We can do our best to put
everything back together in better shape than it is now. We'll get a new - long overdue - kitchen
floor. Since we'll be out of the house
anyway, and spending a significant chunk of change on the basement, we figured
why not get it done.
Some of what we have to do is no different than any other
family dealing with a major homeowners problem/project. I will, however, deal with challenges that
are unique to me because of my vestibular and vision disorders, challenges that
feel very big to me. Our house already
feels different because of the seepage, so my environment is already different,
and there will probably begin to be disruption to my routines. That makes me
anxious and uncomfortable. So I keep
breathing, and keep moving. I'll attempt
to keep my sense of humor, and tell myself, "We'll get through this, and
I'll get through this."
