Monday, April 25, 2011

Under Pressure

Before I undertook this A-Z Challenge, I battled with myself over whether or not I wanted to join it. Having to commit to a writing challenge for which I was expected to produce something EVERY DAY was not something that fit well with my lifestyle. My grandchildren interrupted every word I wrote with things like, "Grandma, it's freezing out here with no coat on. Please let us back into the house!"

OK, I'm kidding – about letting them back into the house – not about them interrupting me while I tried to complete a sentence.

But seriously I felt as if I had suddenly become a tea kettle and somebody had poured a very tiny amount of water inside of me. With the burner turned to high, and within a very short period of time I was, in two words, under pressure!

Factor in that I'm tired – a lot – add all of my physical problems (bad back, asthma, cancer, migraines), consider the hours I care for my grandchildren – from early morning to late night – every day from Monday through Friday, and I had to ask myself, "Should I commit?"

I definitely felt under pressure, unbearably so! I bit the skin around my fingernails (never the nails themselves – ewww), got migraines, paced back and forth (in my head), and finally decided that for some insane reason, I had to pour out even more water from the kettle. As my insides boiled and spurt forth from inside me, I took that as a genuine sign from God to commit myself – to a hospital. I mean, to the A-Z Challenge.

Reminiscent of my high school years when my shorthand teacher, on Fridays, would give the class homework for the following week – one assignment due for each day of the week – I rushed home to complete all of the assignments that Friday night. So, yes, under pressure of not being able to complete my blog assignments, I took it upon myself to complete all of my blogs at once, too.

So here I was just days prior to April, stressing out, when I decided that I had to come up with ideas for all of them RIGHT NOW or I couldn't commit! I wrote down several ideas (about 20 of the 26), signed up, and over the next few days, completed all of the blogs except one.

The ONLY one that stumped me, the only one that caused extreme pressure was this one, the letter U. Unique? Unorthodox? Unusual? What should I write about? SO MUCH PRESSURE!

And then the light bulb in my head went off. At first it flickered, and then as I heard the tea kettle whistle, it came to me – Under Pressure.

And that completes Day #21 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, U. 


Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook



The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Reading Les Miserable
  

Sense and Nonsense

The Traumatization of a Third Grader

 

6 comments:

  1. Wow! I can feel the pressure through your words. And, I an totally relate, for different reasons, but totally. I also used to come home Fridays and do all my homework at once, mainly because I liked working on it, but I couldn't parse it out, either.

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  2. Too funny! I can't believe you did all of these posts so early on! I took a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach (so not like me) and have been having fun with it. I've tried to look a little ahead as far as topic ideas, but mostly took it kind of day by day.

    I'm absolutely clueless about what to write for "X." Yikes.

    My A-Z Blogging “U” Post

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  3. Great post with funny insights. I've questioned my sanity several times throughout the challenge as well. At least you were smarter about it and came up with ideas before committing.

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  4. I didn't write anything down before April 1 though I did intend to. I've wondered what I was going to post more than a few times, but something always shakes loose from the old grey matter.

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  5. Good for you for committing and making it through. I think some pressure is not only good for us, but essential for good health. I think of it as good stress. If we don't push ourselves sometimes I think we become weakened and unable to cope when bad stress comes our way.

    Hope you join us in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge Reflections Mega Post on Monday May 2nd.
    Lee

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  6. It's amazing you can have clear thoughts with all that is going on for you. Kudos for accepting the challenge and hanging with it.

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