Just to show you how scattered I’ve been lately, I almost didn’t do a post for today- but then I remembered I’M ONE OF THE HOSTS for Tuesday Topics! I mean, I can barely remember that it’s Tuesday, much less that I host a link-up.
Anyway. Here I am! Here’s the thing- I’m currently not running because of a hip/hamstring issue, and whenever I can’t run, it feels like my whole life falls apart. Which is interesting, because I’m pretty sure my life is working about as well as it normally does, so it’s obviously my attitude that’s making things hard.
I’m sure this is a great chance for me to learn valuable lessons, but I’m tired of learning. Why can’t my life just be a series of one pleasant experience after another? Sheesh.
Other than the fact that I’ve been spending way more time than I would like on the StairMaster, here’s what’s going on…
The wedding!!! One week from today I will be on my way to Indiana!!! I’ll get there several days early to help out. Bridal shower is on Thursday, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Friday, wedding is Saturday (the 25th).
Right now my husband and I have one job, which is to organize the rehearsal dinner. I created an evite, which was vetoed by the bride-to-be (I guess dancing tacos were too casual, HRUMPH!) That’s okay though, because I still haven’t been given the list of names and email addresses so I can’t send anything out yet anyway. Also, they just changed the venue yesterday.
To be clear, I know no one is purposely thwarting me. They are BUSY and probably pretty stressed out at this point. I can feel myself becoming inappropriately frustrated by these events.
Last night I COULD NOT SLEEP. I kept thinking of all the little details, such as- I’m flying up by myself on Tuesday morning. My husband, daughter, and her boyfriend are coming Thursday night. Right now the plan is for me to check a suitcase which contains all our formalwear, allowing the rest of the family to travel light with only a carryon.
Is this really a good idea? The more I think about it, the less I like it. Will the clothes travel well that way? Will we all look wrinkled and disheveled? What if the suitcase gets LOST? GAHHHHH! Can I fit all the clothes in one garment bag that I carry on the plane with me?
At least my daughter’s hair came out well! By that I mean, she’s happy with it. It’s not too neon, and anyway, she’s not a bridesmaid so it really doesn’t matter.
Okay, it’s just about time for bed, aka time for me to take an Advil pm so I’m not tossing and turning all night.
Link Up With Tuesday Topics
Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts!
Top photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
31 Responses
I guess it makes sense for you to take the formal things, so that if they DO come out crumpled, there is time to get them steamed or something. I wish you could off load some of your stuff though, so you’re not stuck with a super heavy bag. What a busy time you are going to have! I’m so excited for you! I hope it’s all AMAZING, and that you get a good night of sleep tonight. I just took a melatonin, I haven’t slept great for a few nights. I blame wine mostly, because I never sleep great when I drink it, but then I never learn. Boo! Anyway, tonight, no wine, yes melatonin, and hopefully no sore legs waking me up. Fingers crossed.
Oh, melatonin- I should try that. I try not to take Advil too often and I probably need something else. Yes, this morning (I did sleep well, thanks for asking!) I’m thinking again that I WILL take all the formalwear. You’re right, there will be time to get everything sorted out before we actually need to wear them.
I hope you slept well!!!
Uff, that would stress me out, too! And then not being able to run to run off all the stress! Oh my goodness, Jenny, that’s a double-whammy.
You could put an Airtag in the suitcase so if it DOES get lost, at least you know where it is – and at least, it gives you a little bit of peace of mind.
And wow, that’s a bright pink! On the plus side, your daughter will be very easy to spot in all the photos! 😊
GREAT idea- we’ll do an airtag. And yes, my daughter is usually easy to spot ; )
Oh, her hair looks great. I wish I had had the confidence to carry off a look like that whenI was a teen.
I’d make everyone carry their own formal wear in a carryon of some type- I’m paranoid about losing luggage. But if you can fit it all in one garment bag, and maybe roll it up like a yoga mat, would it fit as a carry on? ( I know nothing about formal wear or weddings or air travel- I’d give up at this point and drive. )
How can they change the rehearsal dinner venue now? Geez, that’s crazy. At least it’s elites and not paper. You’re kind to grant them some grace at this time.
This is when I thank the heavens above that my daughter’s took care of their weddings and I just had to show up.
Honestly, everything other than the rehearsal dinner is being taken care of by someone else, so I shouldn’t complain. And the venue is very informal (not at a restaurant) so it doesn’t matter if it’s one place or another. Except that I need the correct address to put on the evites!
i also would rather drive, and we did consider driving. But it just didn’t work out with everyone’s schedules. It would have been a LONG drive (two days each way) and we just didn’t have that much time. It would have been a fun road trip though.
Ugh. I totally the injury thing. What happened?
Not running affects your whole world.
At least you have the wedding and i bet it goes perfectly.
Thanks Darlene. I hurt it doing lunges, @#$%*. I’m really, really annoyed. Anyway… things could be worse. At least it doesn’t affect the wedding in any way!
I would be stressed about the wedding stuff too, especially having to be responsible for all the formalwear! For my sister’s wedding, we were able to drive to the venue so there was less concern about things getting lost but we were worried there was gonna be a wildfire on the drive up since the road is notorious for closing for fires. Luckily that didn’t happen! I hope the wedding and all the festivities go smoothly!
Thank you Ashley! Yes, I wish we could drive. Although I guess there’s always something to worry about. The car could break down or there could be fires. Glad everything worked out!
OMG IT’S SO SOON!!! I’m so excited for you! I am with J – take the clothes in a big suitcase, and then steam them if they are crumpled. I would immediately unpack them when you get there and then see what needs to be done. Eeeeee this is all so exciting!!!
Your daughter’s hair looks good! It’s so nice and curly.
Sorry about your hip and hamstring, what bad timing. Lol “Why can’t my life just be a series of one pleasant experience after another?” – I mean, this would be the dream!
I know Nicole, I’m so envious of her curls. She wishes she had straight hair! She’s obviously insane.
Yes, big suitcase. I’ve decided that’s what I’m doing. It’s not like we’re arriving the night before the wedding- I’ll have several days to sort things out if things are wrinkled.
Well, I would have been thrilled to get an invitation that had dancing tacos on it, but to each their own! The clothes will work out – if they get wrinkled there is plenty of time to deal with it.
I hope the hammie gets back in line soon so that you can run. Not because you “need” to but because it’s something that you love. I’m all for “summer break” from Life Lessons and having the summer at least be one season of pleasant experiences after another.
Hmm. It does seem like summer is a season for my life lessons. I’m thinking of a majoy calf issue I had two summers ago, and then there was last summer with the pinkeye and then jury duty. But at least I was running!
Now I feel like I have to host a party so I can use the dancing taco invitation.
I think if the bride had strong opinions about the evite she should have possibly made them herself? But I say this as a bride that did have strong opinions but handled all the invites and such. The rehearsal dinner is so soon so hopefully you can get the invites out, although I suppose everyone who is going to be at the rehearsal dinner already knows they’ll be there? We had a slightly bigger rehearsal dinner guest list because I included some aunts and uncles that traveled a long way for our wedding so I’d get extra time with them. But that is a last minute change in venue. I think it was going to be in the bride’s parents’ backyard initially?
I think putting them in your suitcase and steaming them when you arrive makes sense. You could always go to a dry cleaner and have them steam out wrinkles if you won’t have access to a steamer (that is what I would do because how would you get access to a steamer otherwise)? Alternatively, each person could carry their formal wear in a garment bag and kindly ask the flight attendant to hang it in first class. That is what I did when I flew to weddings. Or you could do that with your and Angie’s dresses and let your husband fend for himself?
I hear you on the desire for life to be a series of pleasant experiences – or at least not a series of unpleasant experiences? This has not been my favorite week between Will’s fall and his CRANKY behavior in the mornings! He is just so so so so so so so so so so so not a morning person but we have to be morning people or fake it since we have to leave the house at 7. And this is not going to change as long as both parents are working.
Yes- it was going to be Isabel’s parents’ backyard- but they realized all their tables were already going to be at the reception venue (oops- but this was a great time to realize that) so luckily the reception venue said they could also do the dinner there. So, no one is being unreasonable, including Isabel. It was my choice to run the evite past her, and she was very tactful in her objections. It’s her big day, and I want everything to be the way she wants it. My husband is getting very stressed that we haven’t gotten the evites out yet, but as you said- I’m pretty sure everyone knows there’s going to be a rehearsal dinner. It’s not like they’ll have other things planned, and they just need the time and place. So it should be fine. Still- I’d like to get it done.
Yes, I’m sure at this point you’d settle for “not unpleasant.” Poor Will, and poor you. That is SO hard to deal with. One thing I’m grateful for- for all my complaints about my daughter- is that she’s not hard to get up and going in the morning. I know other moms who can’t get their teenagers up and to school on time, and that would be horrible.
That’s a lotta stress! I’d be nervous traveling with all the wedding attire in one single suitcase as well. Bummer the running is on sabbatical (for stress-relieving purposes). I think your daughter’s bright purple hair is SO fun, and creative 🙂
Yes, she’s definitely creative with her hair! I’m definitely still nervous about the wedding attire, but I’m going with the suitcase. What are the odds that it will get lost forever??? Pretty slim, and I’ll be there four days before the wedding (omg can you imagine me frantically shopping for a new dress? Shudder…)
“Why can’t my life just be a series of one pleasant experience after another?”
THIS THIS THIS THIS.
At what point can we merely Rest On Our Laurels and consider our character done building?
YES. I mean I’m old enough, I should be able to consider myself “finished” by now.
I have trouble with lunges because of my bad leg. I keep thinking I can improve mobility in that ankle, but the reality is that there are limitations based on hardware. Dang it all. Anyway, I’ve recently been doing videos with Kaleigh Cohen and she always suggests staggered squats and replacements for lunges. Still hard, but requires less mobility and I have found leads to less back pain for me. Maybe my form in lunges isn’t good?
We had our rehearsal dinner and this super nice restaurant. It was so very luxe. They had matchboxes with our names on it. One of the servers was one of my husband’s students! It was just such a lovely time. I am so excited for you and can’t wait to hear all about how it goes!
HA! Your rehearsal dinner sounds much more upscale than ours will be- but this is the way the kids wanted it. I twill be fun
I say- no one needs to be doing lunges. That’s my new opinion, and I’m standing by it. There are other ways to make your legs strong.
Oh I completely don’t blame you for being down about not being able to run. I know for myself if I couldn’t lift weights I’d be a miserable mess! Is there a PT you could see about the hip to get a clue and maybe some help?
I’m not joining this week and not the rundown on Sunday either because we’re busy finishing jobs in the garden while the weather is good and because we start working again next week, and we’re also prepping for the trip to Donegal (and will be in the car all day on Sunday). I understand your head is elsewhere, with the wedding coming up! So much to think of.
I have a sports chiropractor I can go to- I was just hoping it wouldn’t get to that point because it’s a hassle to make and get to an appointment, and expensive. But I will go if this doesn’t clear up SOON.
Dancing tacos sounds SO fun. But I’m glad that Isabel felt confident in speaking up nicely; I feel like that bodes so well for your relationship!!!
Get a travel steamer, Jenny. Steamers are the best. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate ironing and steamers work so well! It’s what I use on my husband’s sports coat that he wears most of the time for work. He wears it on the plane and it gets wrinkly and the streamer is the best.
Yes- I was actually really happy she felt comfortable enough to tell me her honest opinion! I agree- we’re going to get along well.
I’ll be staying with my sister for the first couple nights (they’re about an hour from Valparaiso) before moving to the airbnb on Thursday. I’m wondering if she has a steamer!
So sorry about the leg injury/lack of your normal and much loved outlet especially as you enter prime wedding stress time! It’s so exciting though that the wedding is so soon! Dancing tacos sounds like a fun invite, too bad it was vetoed!
Thank you Maria! In spite of all my griping, I am very excited. Now I feel like I have to throw a taco party of my own to use those evites.
oh my gosh! Weddings are so stressful! And last minute changes happen (look at my nephew’s wedding, where the rehearsal dinner lost power and they had to find a new venue in the span of a few hours!).
Get an Airtag for your formalwear suitcase. And when you get to the hotel or wherever you’re staying, pull everything out immediately and hang it up. Do you have a travel steamer? That might be something to get. Ohhh! It’s so close! How exciting!
I am so sorry your hamstring is still causing you trouble. I hate when you can’t do the things you want to do… I hope it behaves soon. Meanwhile, you’ll be busy with the upcoming wedding. What an exciting distraction.
I would also put an airtag in the baggage with the formal wear. Gives you peace of mind!
I can’t believe the wedding is so soon! NEXT WEEKEND AHHHH. I am so excited for you guys and I hope everything goes well with the rehearsal dinner. I agree with everyone else to hang up the formalwear immediately when you arrive and get anything wrinkled steamed. Maybe even putting them in a bathroom with the shower on? That’s how I get wrinkles out sometimes since I do NOT have any sort of steamer.