@kellye5 , I agree, we all need peace. With all that is going on in our world, it sure seems hard to come by. .

Certainly this is the time of year when we begin to think more about peace in our homes, peace in our communities , but perhaps most importantly peace in our hearts.

Maybe this won't apply to anyone on here but me. But it took a long time for me to be ready to acknowledge the presence of anxiety in myself. I don't know if it was pride, shame, or a general distaste of adding another diagnosis to my laundry list of diseases and conditions I would much rather be without.

Yesterday I realized again that my jaw was clinched, I was grinding my teeth, and the muscles in my left shoulder were twitching. My cannister of Anxiety Begone spray was out. Not a single drop left. So I whipped out my one remaining magic trick: Boundaries Body Balm. As I drove crosstown dealing with an actual crisis in real time, I explained to my passenger who insisted I pull into a drive thru poste haste, that my Social Work case at hand trumped her need for fast food any day.

I am a mandated reporter of neglect amongst other things, and had come across a situation involving a small child in great need. Multiple phone calls, treks through Smallmart with iffy phone in hand, dropped calls, and convincing a faceless social worker in another county that the reporter was indeed onto something, was the greatest blessing I have received in a very long time. All I could see was a cold, hungry child in need of hope. Before the end of the day, I believe that gift of hope was granted. At least, it is on the way.

Boundaries. It felt good yesterday to say "No, I'm not giving you what you want right now." It felt good to know I was using the principle of self care. Protecting my space, so to speak.

Sorry this is so long! I do tend to get long winded from time to time. But here's the bottom line: you do well to save space for yourself. Good on you!

Mamacita