I want…

by Veronica on January 17, 2010

in Cancer, Grief, Headfuck

I want to run myself a bath.

Slip under the water and feel it swirl around me.

I want to lay there, in the warmth and day dream, imaginary conversations between me and people I’ll never meet. I want to let my imagination run wild and emerge, warmed through and ready to write something, anything.

But, it’s the middle of the day and Isaac has just woken from a nap. Amy is asking for food and Isaac is laughing at me.

There is no peace, not for baths. Not for daydreaming or imaginary conversations.

***

Everyone is talking about Haiti.

And I want to ignore it.

Because after getting emotionally involved with Black Saturday, with Hurricane Katrina, with the Tsunamis, with everything, I just can’t.

It comes on the news and I purposely zone out.

I can’t think about it, I just can’t.

I need to protect my emotional integrity, in order to have enough for myself.

I can’t take on board the suffering of hundreds of thousands of strangers.

Not this time.

***

It’s been almost 7 months since Nan died and I miss her more every day.

But it’s been 7 months and it’s harder to say that I miss her when I’m having a bad day.

It’s not an excuse.

It just is.

It’s also the reason I can’t look too hard at the eyes of the Haiti victims.

Because I need my emotions for myself.

And I’m sorry.

***

I thought I was over the bitterness that trying and failing to conceive brought out in me.

I thought I had lanced that wound with the successful birth of a healthy baby boy, who seems to have made it unscathed to his first birthday (more on that tomorrow).

I’m not though.

The announcement of a pregnancy this last week, from a girl who I will say should not be pregnant again, has me bitter all over again.

That poor child.

The mother, and the baby to be.

She sounds pleased about it.

I can think of people who would better deserve a child.

And I’m a bitch to think that, I know.

Who am I to say that she shouldn’t have a baby? Who I am to judge?

I’m no one.

I don’t get a say.

But I still think it.

And I discovered, from this, that having trouble conceiving a baby leaves wounds.

It leaves wounds, that while they might disappear under the surface, they never really heal.

So I can safely say, that while I am happy now, I can still be bitter.

I want to not be bitter.

I want to read her pregnancy announcement and be simply happy for her and not terrified about what it means for everyone else. About what it means for a system already clogged with women like her, babies like hers.

It’s a horrible thing to admit.

***

I want to curl into a ball, and hibernate for a while. I want time to be sad, to be bitter, to ignore the world for a while.

There is no time, not for me.

Eventually.

Maybe.

I’ll be less busy.

I’ll have more time.

***

There will be a doctors appointment soon, where I discuss my panic attacks and hopefully, get something done about them.

Because they’re crippling.

And horrible.

But I have a tendency to be matter of fact about things.

And doctors don’t take matter of fact seriously.

‘Oh that? I just dislocated my shoulder. I’ll be okay.’

‘It’s just my knee. Hang on, I’ll put it right.’

‘Meh, it will be okay.’

I want to say –

I hurt and

I keep panicking

and I’m not sure it’s normal to wake up at 3am and not be able to breathe because you have something sitting on your chest.

But meh.

I’ll be okay.

I just won’t look the Haiti victims in the eyes.

At least,

not until I’ve got my head back together.

***

Isaac turns ONE tomorrow and I will certainly have a post celebrating that. We had a good day today, with my parents coming over to visit and gift him with a wooden train. It was a good afternoon. I’m just a little flat this evening.

If you want to donate to Haiti you can click here to donate through the Red Cross. Just because I can’t watch them, doesn’t mean they don’t need helping.

frogponsdrock January 17, 2010 at 6:14 pm

Oh Baby girl.I wish that I could just wave a magic wand and make things better for you.

Cat Connor January 17, 2010 at 6:53 pm

I wish I could say I don’t know what you’re going through. But I do. What I can tell you from (years of experience in mothering) is that you MUST make the time for you to dream. It’s vital (especially with little people around you) to snatch those dreams and imaginary conversations to re-charge.

My Nan died 7 months ago too.

Haiti exhausts me in ways I can’t really explain (so much for being a writer), I find myself changing the channel a lot at the moment.

Congrats on Isaac’s FIRST birthday -that’s a huge milestone. You have so much fun ahead of you. From one mother to another – don’t take life too seriously. Kids are for enjoying, life is for laughter.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Cat xx

Jeanette January 17, 2010 at 9:01 pm

(((HUGS)))
congrats on Isaac’s birthday

Brenda January 17, 2010 at 9:04 pm

Oh V, I wish I was there to give you the biggest hug. Hang in there my friend.xxxxxxx

Laura January 18, 2010 at 1:01 am

I want to run a bath too and escape reality for a bit.

But we do what we must to keep the wheels of life turning!

Robin January 18, 2010 at 1:08 am

Don’t ever feel bad for the things you need to do to keep yourself sane. And hang in there. 😉

Marylin January 18, 2010 at 4:43 am

Oh honey, *huge hugs*. You know where I am if you want to talk ok? xxx

Kristin January 18, 2010 at 5:32 am

Are you a bitch for speaking your truth? I doubt it. I don’t know of whom you speak, but it’s too easy to conceive a child for all the wrong reasons (or no reason) and forgo the tremendous responsibility that come with parenthood, and in doing so forever damage a soul. To look at that and understand it and say Jesus fuck instead of congratulations makes you a humanitarian, not a bitch.

As for Haiti, I read the headlines, don’t look at the pictures. What does looking upon them help anyone?

Don’t stop dreaming. Dreams are our lifelines. Without mine I’d be lost.

achelois January 18, 2010 at 11:17 am

Haiti. Me in floods of tears – helps no-one. Me talking about how it makes me feel makes me feel selfish. So that doesn’t help either. I gave money and that made me feel guilty because I felt I should give more. I force myself to watch the News or read the paper once a day. More means I sink into a self loathing type of state that means I become a bad mother and wife. I think its something to do with the chaos theory. At least you blogged about how you felt I just stared at the blank page and nothing happened.

The rest I can’t change no matter how much I would like to be able to. I can send a great big virtual hug & suggest raising a large glass of wine or whatever is your favoured tipple in honour of Isaac’s Birthday.

Happy Birthday Isaac.

Sass January 18, 2010 at 11:43 am

GP, my Gramma Paula, died three months and two weeks ago. I remember her every day. We’re all just human.

river January 18, 2010 at 3:07 pm

Print this out and take it with you. Then when the doctor says how are you just hand it to him. Then he can read for himself about your panic attacks and stuff while you sit there going “meh, I’m okay”. He needs to know. It’s a long way off right now, but time to yourself is coming. The kids will be in school, you’ll have hours each day, until they get home again.

Sharon January 18, 2010 at 5:19 pm

All that river said!

I had one of those ‘meh, I’m ok’ conversations with my GP and she said, ‘and now tell me how you really feel!’ So I did and now I have different meds and another session booked with a physio. Also some more tests to be run. As she said ‘If you don’t tell me there’s no way I can do much to help you’. So, please Veronica tell your Doctors what is happening with you.

xox

MissyBoo January 19, 2010 at 12:31 am

At the time of the tsunamis, I was deeply grieving, like you with Haiti – I needed to shut it out. I needed to conserve the little emotional strength I had for myself just to make it through the day. I totally understand the need for you to do that now.

And if it makes you feel any better, I often feel bitter when there are people that don’t seem to deserve babies. I work in a tertiary maternity hospital, I meet them all the time. Most days its a dull, almost not there thought, and other days it’s a fully in your face emotion, even 5 years after the loss of my son.

I hope your grief begins to fade soon, and the panic that arises in you is quickly brought under control.

Ali January 19, 2010 at 11:46 pm

You know, you have a LOT on your plate at the moment. No matter how well you seem to take your pain and continual trauma in your stride (and you do, amazingly so) it is taking a massive toll. You’re allowed to feel fed up. Caring for kids while your body continually betrays you is sooooo hard. This isn’t a very helpful comment is it? I’m so sorry that it’s so hard at the moment. If there were a way for you to get someone to talk to, someone you could really unload to, without fear of burdening them, maybe that would help? You need to be totally selfish sometimes, you just do.

Barbara January 21, 2010 at 8:46 am

Yet again, there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said already but I’m here, reading, thinking of you.

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