The Mental Debt Struggle...

Cherryfudge

That's a very sweet jar. I like bees. And wow, that's a fantastic amount to have saved, well done!

Waiting to return to work must be nerve-wracking. Sometimes the anticipation is worse than the event, though, and what's realistically the worst that can happen? If you get there and feel you can't cope, you can ask for further adjustments or go off sick again - but I'm not expecting that to happen because I suspect that you, like me, might suffer in advance then get through the event okay.

One thing that might help is to have in place your meals for the first week before you start, so if you are all-in, it just needs to be microwaved (or ordered). If it's planned, there's no guilt or pressure over the choice.

beanielou

That’s so cute. 🥰 

Keedie

I do love my jar. I was like a little kid impatiently waiting all day for the Amazon delivery 🤣. My mum said, “How many money tins do you need?!” Then I had to explain that the Poundland ones were a false economy and this one was £6.80 with my Christmas Amazon voucher and a better investment as it’s reusable. She was still a bit baffled but assumed that I knew what I was talking about 😬. 

I’d not thought ahead to food, but that’s really good advice @Cherryfudge, thank you. I need to do a declutter of the kitchen cupboard as I’ve got to get rid of some tins that I’m realistically not going to use and take them to the food bank collection at Tesco. Having food sorted will definitely make a difference. 

And yes, I think the anxiety and nerves about being off work for so long and facing everyone will be worse than the actual event itself. We have a wider team meeting at 10am and I start at 10. So straight into it! I told my manager I’m switching my camera on with these Teams meetings until I feel comfortable enough. So  just need to continue to be mindful of my boundaries and stick to them. 

Makingabobor2

Another vote for reusable savings jars. I have a lovely china one with an opening in the bottom and an old tin that is over 25 years old now and was bought on a visit to Disneyland Paris. It had sweets in it but is designed to be a savings tin as it has a slot in the top and lid comes off. Trouble is I don't use cash that often now so not got so much in it....lol. 

Keedie

Your savings jars sounds lovely @Makingabobor2! I really want to attend a kintsugi workshop so that I can learn more about the Japanese philosophy of turning broken things into more beautiful items and art work, by repairing the cracks. I'd like to repair/make a small little pot/bowl that I can put loose change and my dice in. I often feel rather broken, and so having something that I have restored, that is a visual reminder of the beauty amongst the destruction will keep pushing me to adapt and conquer. I've found an image on Google to explain what I mean. 


When Leftover Lenny is all full, I'll bank the coins and see how far I've got left to save for the workshop. It's £50 for the 2.5 hour workshop, with all materials provided and you depending on time, you can make one or two pieces. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll have enough within the next month or so, to attend a summer session. As the sessions often sell out quite quickly, as there's only 15 people per class. I've got a little stockpile of some £1 coins as well, so i might chuck them in there to get to my goal quicker.

I found a cheque from the car tax people for £7.50 that I had put on my desk to be organised, then the desk turned into a hot mess of papers... 😬. So I rocked up to the bank complete with rollator and ready to take out the cash I need for the week, only to realise I'd left the cheque on my bed and the lady had none of the notes that I needed 🤦🏾‍♀️. I think getting to the bank half an hour before it closes isn't the best time to do banking 😂. I have to go back next week at some point to sort out depositing the cheque anyways.

But I did get to deposit my coins in the coin machine at Natwest (absolutely love that machine!) and so I was able to withdraw that money to put in my 50 envelope challenge. So I've completed 3 envelopes, 1, 49 and 50 which comes up to £100. Yay, finally started.

Makingabobor2

I've read about this Japanese art. I think we could all learn a lot from the Japanese, such a polite, courteous people and such a good attitude to aging and staying healthy. Have you ever read the books about Ikigai?  Really intersting

Sun_Addict

Great news you have your driving licence back 🥳 The savings jar is fabulous. How lovely is your son saying that about you, bless him  he’s a real credit to you 🥰

Cherryfudge

How annoying that your trip to the bank didn't go to plan. I hope it didn't tire you out too much. At least you got to use the machine, and you have another £7.50 to look forward to!

Keedie

Thanks for the information about Ikigai @Makingabobor2, I found a few articles and infographics online that I will have look at. It looks really interesting and I agree, I think we can all learn a lot from the Japanese and their philosophy and outlook on life. 

Thank you for your kind words about my son, @Sun_Addict, that's really kind of you. I can see the young man that he's growing into and I am really proud of him. He's a lot more settled at college and he's been having fun and making friends. He went to football with his cousins and my brother, and was training in the football cage with them and he was really happy. He's not done anything like this for months, so it was so good to see the four teenage boys hanging out together again playing football again. 

I think if I had left the house earlier yesterday and the bank wasn't a great trip, I would have had time for the post office as a back up option @Cherryfudge. But there's always tomorrow and yes, I am looking forward to being £7.50 richer 😂.

My car tire has gone flat again and that bit underneath the car that was zip tied together has come apart again and split this time 😩😩😩. Not very happy. But all this car nonsense has forced me to make the most of my freedom pass and walking slowly to where I need to get to. I'm learning my limits of what wipes me out and getting more creative with the journeys I take so that I don't deal with too many steps or steep inclines. It's actually less stressful to get around as the cars just sit in traffic and I zip through the bus lane. And knowing that I've not lost my driving licence makes it easier to let go of driving for a while ironically. I'll sell my car and see what I can get for it, then next year get an automatic. I've had enough of driving manual as it's painful and tiring and my son said he'd rather learn to drive automatic as manual is just too much effort. I couldn't even disagree with him. It's like second nature changing the gears, but it's painful and draining.

FacelessNumber

Hi Keedie, just a quick one in case you didn't know but if you have a banking app you can normally deposit cheques by taking a pic in the app. Definitely quicker and easier than getting to the bank!