Mental Health | Family | Self-Care | Eclipse 2024
I Did A Thing Today
I Protected My Peace
I did a thing today. I protected my peace. During the last solar eclipse, in the US, my mother and I decided we were going wherever we could to see the total eclipse. Mom is an astronomy fan, she's 80, and a total eclipse is on her bucket list. We ended up not making plans. I tried a few times over the last few months, but she was noncommittal. I figured she changed her mind.
It turns out she made plans with my niece. Now, my niece is lovely. I love her, I do. However, all of us traveled overseas last fall. At one point, I considered flying home after a few days because she was making me so miserable. There was no way I was going to be trapped in a car with her all day, again. Especially not with the reports I was hearing of eclipse traffic.
So, I had a choice: Don't go, and miss what is probably my last chance to see a total solar eclipse (any solar eclipse) with my mother, or go and almost certainly spend a chunk of the day angry and hurt. It was too soon to have another experience like I had last fall.
My mother was disappointed. Me, too. She couldn't say no to my niece. She has a problem saying no. She chooses not to work on that. It has been something I've worked on, though.
I said no. I protected my peace. The result was a low stress day with my nephew, who also opted to stay home, in the backyard. Eclipse, Party of Two!
Soon, we'll talk about why this publication about mental health is eclipse themed. But not tonight. I'm beat.
Welcome to Moon Shadowed,
Callie
