Hoo boy.
So my therapist managed to convince me to go to the store for myself by putting forth a brilliant suggestion: go at night, when no one is there. I compromised by going around sunset so it's not dark and dangerous yet but still late so hardly anyone is there. It's gone well so far, I've done it two weeks in a row, both on Thursday because that seems like a less busy day and also it's not a day where I really want to stay home and have fun.
And then last Thursday 2024-08-08, I got home from a triumphant trip to the store, and an hour later a tree fell on my place and pierced the roof in one spot. I was in the path of Hurricane Debby and it must have been weakened by the storms a few days prior. So for the past 3 days I have been dealing with that. (It's only been 3 days? Christ alive.) I've had to make a ton of phone calls and let many strangers into my abode. Poor Mochi is terrorized by all the people simply being there. She hides behind the TV and doesn't come out until they're all gone. I'm worried about her when the eventual contruction begins, because that's going to be a bunch of people all day for probably days or weeks on end. She'll only get to relax at night.
So far the worst part of this has been the dozens of mosquito bites I suffered on the night of the tree fall. I went outside to evaluate the damage and night was encroaching, so the beasts were out in horrible force, and they descended upon us all like hungry wolves. I've been so itchy that I couldn't sleep for two nights - only last night did I manage to get a good night's rest. Calamine lotion works for about an hour and I have to keep reapplying it. Cortizone hardly works at all. The only relief I feel is when I run my limbs under scalding hot water (such as when I take a shower), and THAT lasts for about an hour, so it's a race to sleep once I do that.
What a mess and a nightmare. I'm about to regret every single purchase I have made in the past 4 years. I'm in a good situation to deal with it, so I should count my blessings carefully, but at the same time... damn.
That's the looming Life Situation at the moment. If you're the praying type, I wouldn't mind one or two.