Tag Archives: chemicals

My weekend

Posted on by Sherri
3

The in-laws drove up from Alabama for a visit this weekend. It’s always fun catching up with my husband’s family, but it is also exhausting, trying to get the little kids to interact with their grandparents after months apart. Everybody was great about the fragrance thing, of course–don’t know why I always worry about offending someone. During the family gathering on Saturday my teenage step-daughter Z told me something wonderful: Her headaches went away after she stopped using body spray and smelly detergent. She’s had unexplained headaches for years, so this is great. I can’t recommend enough taking a look at the chemicals in your life if you have a chronic, unexplained condition. It can’t hurt.

My book life just got a little busier. I’ve been working on my own writing stuff, then yesterday my brother sent me a new short story of his to critique, and this morning got my next editing assignment. Now, my former MO is to work on one thing frantically, to the exclusion of everything else. However, I’ve learned a couple of things about that method, and those are:

  1. The piece I’m working on suffers because I get brain-fatigue but push through anyway.
  2. My writing is always the last thing I work on. There’s always something else to work on.
  3. I’m more stressed.

Conventional wisdom says to complete one task before moving on to another. I have to modify that to fit this crazy artistic business, and say that I must complete one mini-task before moving on to the next. Think of it more like a rotating to-do list.

Hope your Monday is good.

Don’t be playin’ no pranks on me.

Posted on by Sherri
3

I’m in no mood.

Totally hung over from all the fragrance I inhaled yesterday on the field trip to the children’s museum.  I rode the bus to and from the museum, and that was by far the hardest part. All those parents with perfume and aftershave, and all those clothes washed in detergent with renewing scent beads or whatever they call them, and all those kids freshly washed with poison-er, I mean scented soap… I want to be supportive of my children, so I won’t complain about it in front of them. They might wonder why Mommy needs to close her eyes all the time, or why she doesn’t notice them talking to her, or why she can’t sit with the other mommies, but damn it, I WILL be there for my kids. I just have to modify my there-ness. I’m physically present at school functions, but I may not be totally mentally there. Hopefully I can make up for that by being fully present at home. As I always say, at least I know what’s causing it, thereby making it easier to reduce the impact.

Apparently Jenny McCarthy has a new book out about a link between environmental chemical exposure, like to mercury in fish and VOCs in carpet (and if anyone would like me to expand on those or provide links, just holla), and autism. She’s paired with a doctor to write this book, so maybe it will be taken more seriously than if it was just Bulldog McCarthy on her own, with her crazy eyes and sharp tongue. If I felt better I’d do the linking and all that, but right now I’ll just say I think there probably IS a link, and it makes me angry that scientists aren’t really considering that as a possibility. As a person with a near-debilitating problem with environmental chemicals, it makes perfect sense to me. I think the research WILL eventually be done, and in 20 years it’ll be, “Remember when we didn’t understand the link between all those chemicals and illness? Ha ha ha, we were so naive back then. Good thing we know EVERYTHING now.” (right).

Despite the fragrance, I was glad to have gone, and my daughter enjoyed having me there.

I dreamed about books and writing and publishing all night. I wish I could remember more than random details. Some of you know I’ve been going through some internal turmoil about my writing career (or lack thereof). You know how when you need to pee, trying to put it out of your mind just makes you need to pee worse? That’s me.

You guys have a great April Fool’s Day, hope all the pranks are harmless, and I’ll see you on the flip side.