No one gets outta here alive..............

That is a quote from my friend Amy L., but she might have lifted it from Jim Morrison of The Doors...and not sure if he made it up or not or lifted it from someone else.

What a week it has been...I showed my husband THE book (Passages for Caregivers) because I have all of the Caregiver Burnout symptoms. I shared this list with my husband and he has been a sweet support...suggesting that I get a massage and I will... soon, I promise, I know I will...soon. I have done a few things though: signed up for a painting class on a caregiver day,"looking for delight in things I used to love". I am taking a 2 week class about the Soul's Transition in an attempt for spiritual experience. I went to the skin doctor to have him look at a "suspicious skin lesion".

So yes I am trying, but the thing that is sad on many levels is what is happening around me while I am too busy to really acknowledge it. Everyone else is getting older and having their own issues. My life is so wrapped up in Mom that it is kind of a shock. I did mention my concerns about wanting some quality of life with my husband in my last post. We are trying for a few minutes here and there.

Other things are happening though: I have 2 friends with breast cancer;my sister's health is declining and she may have to leave a 48 year career that she has loved; my cousin was telling me about some of her health concerns; my best friends husband is having health issues in addition to her own severe back pain;I was surprised to find that 2 other acquaintances have pacemakers and another has a defibrillator. I mean come on all ready! And last night I had to sleep sitting up because I ate fried food for dinner.

Is it really Uranus in Aries? Or 2012 roaring in? Is it really happening that I am getting older? And that my friends are joining along with me? One of my dearest friends gave me a beautiful bracelet that has the Serenity Prayer engraved in it:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
The Courage to change the things I can.
And the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.