Wellness Activity: Crying

I've been in dental "hell" since last Thursday, and while it abated yesterday, all the pain pills have wreaked havoc with my system. I've had stomach problems for days (even though I took the pills with food), and today I felt really depressed for the first time in months. And because of the effect of the pain pills, I had no energy.

Luckily, my husband went to the DVD store on the corner and got me the perfect film, Young at Heart, and I cried on and off during the entire film. It's a documentary about a group of seniors who've sung throughout the world, and are preparing for a concert. In case you haven't seen it, I won't include any spoilers, but it's a wonderful film.

Most importantly, it's guaranteed to make you cry. And today I realized that sometimes crying should be considered a wellness activity. In this case, it accomplished just what I needed, which was to release my frustrations after a lousy week.

For the last few days, I felt frustrated that despite my best efforts, my dental issues have continued. Despite my dental diligence (I even floss), we have to expend money for a new crown. Despite doing everything the dentist and periodontist recommended, the pain pills gave me a stomach ache, and caused a mini-depression. And despite trying hard to work with a few new people on writing projects, sometimes things don't work out, and it's important to know when to cut my losses.

All that tsoris (a Yiddish word meaning trouble and suffering) flooded out of my system with my tears. And once I was done crying, I could look at all the good things that have happened.

• First, I'm working on some really exciting freelance writing assignments.
  
• Second, I'm going to lead a terrific workshop at a wonderful conference in October (I'll be writing more about this).
  
• Third, my garden pruning class starts next week, and I'm really excited about it.
  
• Forth, other than my current dental issues, I'm feeling really well, and so is my husband and son.
  
• Fifth, once the pain pills are out of my system (I stopped taking them today), I'm sure my stomach problems and depression will evaporate.
  
• Sixth, my new dog Jack has been a terrific companion during this week-long period of dental "hell."
  
• Seventh, my son is liking his summer school class, and
  
• Eighth, my husband is loving his printmaking class.

So...all in all...things are really going well. And, despite a bad week, the good thing about dental issues is that they can be resolved. (At this point, if I were writing a play rather than a post, I would note that the actress playing me should take a big sigh!)

Having said all this, and since Saturday is the 4th of July, Independence Day in the United States, I'm going to take a long weekend, and I will be back posting on Monday. Have a nice weekend, and a lovely 4th of July.