Chapters
August 21st, 2008
I’ve been keeping my food diary very faithfully now for a few weeks, and that is the only way I can remember what I’ve been eating. I’m in a bit of a funk, and my sustenance has been of either the feast or the famine sort. Case in point: two nights ago, I chowed down on macaroni and cheese (at least I worked out that afternoon); last night, I just didn’t eat. The hunger in my stomach feels somehow more appropriate to my mood, and I’ve no desire to feel full. I know skipping meals is unhealthy, so I basically forced myself to have breakfast and lunch today. I’m supposed to bring dinner to my grandmother this evening, yet absolutely nothing sounds good to me. I usually love food - eating it, cooking it, talking about it, reading about it - so I’m disturbed by this total lack of desire to eat.
It’s very rare for me to go through an experience like this. The last time I can remember feeling the way I feel now was when I was trying to get over a heartbreak. I’m not heartbroken now; I have a very lovely man who pledges always to be in my life. Yet, we are in a period of transition as he prepares to move across the country and we prepare to get married. Can someone experience grief over ending a chapter in her life? That’s what I feel I’m going through now. I’m closing the chapter on an old, deeply rooted set of hopes and dreams, yet the new chapter hasn’t quite started. I’m foundering in this uncertainty but recognize that I can’t continue with the emotional achy-ness that I’ve become immersed in for the past few days.
There are a lot of things I don’t have control over in my life these days, but I refuse to lose control of my own happiness. Ignoring my friends, eating boxed meals, and climbing into bed at 8:30pm certainly aren’t good remedies for staying happy, are they? I need better remedies. I need to be with friends right now. I need to rest. I need to cook. I need to eat. No one else is going to take care of me, as much as I’d like them to, so I need to be sure that I’m taking care of myself as I close one chapter and start working on another.
August 24th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Oh, Angel, I started to read your latest posts and respoind yesterday, but I thought that such a thoughtful post deserved better than a quick off-the-cuff response. So her I am today. You are young, but wiser than many. I recognize a lot of my own past emotions in what you’re writing about. What you have that I didn’t at your point in life, is a much clearer view of who you are, what you need and what you want. That is to be commended, congratulated , cheered and encouraged. Yay you.
Your insight on mourning one phase of your life sounds ’spot on’ to me. I would only add that becuase the new phase hasn’t started quite yet, don’t underestimate the impact that the “not yet” is having on your emotions. It’s like having a rug pulled out from under you, and you’re not quite on firm ground.
Yes, be with your friends, cook healthily, avoid that boxed food. Your certainly know what to do. I am here cheering you on from the sidelines!
RubyJean
September 1st, 2008 at 6:25 am
moving and getting married are both top-level life-stress events, even though they can be positive.
I totally get what you say about grief for a period of your life, even if it’s changed in a good way. Change is hard, and we often don’t give ourselves the time to acknowledge the difficulty of the change.
Keep up the food diary, that really helps!