The Elf on the Shelf Brought the Plague

Christmas is falling apart. One of the kids has mono, one has the flu, and one is placed in a residential treatment facility for ODD.

I started writing a daily note that I update and publish throughout the day. You can follow along with it here. I also have a link to it on my webpage and in my Substack profile.

I guess this week was a good time to start that because it has been eventful so far.

• We spent Monday night in the ER because we thought one of the kid's spleen burst
• Our daughter got told she would be in the facility longer
• Our youngest son got the flu
• Our power at our house went out this afternoon

I honestly don't know what else could go wrong this week to make Christmas even worse, but I have a feeling I am going to find out tomorrow. I imagine my wife and I will catch the flu at some point in the next couple of days. I have had a cold all week already.

I'm not surprised by much anymore. So many stupid things keep happening in my life that I just expect the worst to happen. When my wife told me she was taking him to the ER yesterday, I didn't even flinch. In the past, I probably would have tried to rush and get there, forgetting things I needed to bring with me for a potential ER stay. Now it's like second nature. We have had so many issues the last year or so that a trip to the ER is routine. I grab my bag, throw a few extra things in it and head up there. I know what to expect when I'm there, sitting, waiting around in uncomfortable chairs all night.

One thing I've learned is that my wife gets a little too worked up when we are in the hospital, she starts to nitpick at little things that they do. I have to usually tell her to sit down and let the people work.

I can't really pinpoint when I went from being someone that over thinks and worries, to someone that just lets things flow. I used to worry and stress about every little thing, I still sometimes do, but not as bad. At some point I learned to just stop, I just let happen what's going to happen and don't try to fight it. I just work through things in the moment. It seems like a crazy way to deal with problems, but it actually works really well for me. I work better under pressure, and nothing can really be solved until it's happening anyway. So there's no reason to worry about it so much beforehand.

My wife gets so frustrated with me because she stresses out about everything, and I just sit back and wait for things to happen before I start reacting. Keeping my head clear and calm lets me actually deal with a stressful situation in a way that I wouldn't be able to do if I was always stressed and panicking.

Also, writing has really helped me keep my head clear. Getting everything out of my head and being able to read it back to myself has really changed how I think about everything I do. As things happen I think, how can I write about this when it's over, and what might the outcome of it be. This process slows my brain down a little and makes me really think about what I'm doing.

I'm going to go to bed tonight with a rare sense of optimism. Maybe it's the Christmas magic in the air, but I think everyone will be better tomorrow.