Dear Stressed Ladies,
I have done it. I have reached a mental plateau which is the result of too much stress in one’s life. This plateau invokes feelings of laziness, tiredness, hunger, and a looming lack of motivation. Unfortunately said plateau does little to reduce the stress, but it does allow me to somewhat rejeuvenate and thereby be better able to tackle the stress.
I assume you are wondering why all the stress. The top six stressor areas in life are generally considered to be: relationships, finances, health, career, safety, and home. I have at least one major event in almost each of these areas. However, before I elaborate, I feel inclined to remind you that stress is not always negative. Much of the current stress in my life is actually quite positive, there’s just a lot of it.
Relationships: For the first part of the year, I was planning my wedding and was married just three months ago, so we continue to try andcombine two separate and different lives into one new one. I also live close to my family, who had another wedding to plan, organize, and execute in a short time of three months. Thankfully all went off beautifully yesterday.
Finances: In conjuction with my recent marriage came the chore of combining finances, budgeting, and consulting with a partner on most purchases. We will also be doubling our income shortly, but will be tight on cash until the new paychecks start flowing (a month away).
Career: I recently obtained a new position teaching third grade. The school is great and the people I work with are an amazing help. But there was a classroom to set up, procedures to implement, students to get to know, and daily lesson planning to complete.
Home: Three months of marriage and we have already moved. I had just finished decorating our apartment and unpacking all of my belongings, when I was offered the new job. Because I don’t enjoy commuting, we quickly began seraching for a new place near my school. We found one and moved in a few weeks ago, but there are still boxes to unpack, curtains to hang, and pictures to place. Not to mention trying to re-figure all of the household duties (like cooking and cleaning) that still need to be accomplished despite both parties working full-time during the day.
Health: This past week my husband came down with a terrible cold and I was terrified of catching it. Since it was the first week of school, I could not afford to get sick. Thankfully I seem to have avoided this particular bug, but still had to nurse him back to health as much as I could. Besides, first year teachers are known for always being sick due to the large number of illnesses and bacteria they are exposed to each day. Something to look forward to.
Safety: I think I’m actually doing okay in this particular area. Perhaps I just have so much else going on that I don’t have time to worry about my husband commuting to work each day (this may change once snow begins to fall) or the interesting people I am bound to meet as I begin busing home from work.
As I said, all of this stress is the result of good things happening in my life. I have just gone from being an independent, single, young woman with a boring, part-time job to being a full-time, salaried employee and housewife in a new area within the last three months. I am looking forward to finding my routine and being able to breathe once more!
Stressfully,
Mrs. Tilney
Letters of a Lady 