[wi_fighter]

You know in cartoons when you see one character grab another by the tail and repeatedly throw it back and forth over it's head into the ground? That's what I feel like I just did.


I had to call to request court-ordered mediation but had to leave voice mail. Then I was anxious because I had to wait for them to call back. But I dealt with it.

Why? Because the longer I have to wait, the longer before I have to actually GO to mediation (which is the thing I dread the most). So waiting in this case was actually a good thing.

Then I was told it would take 7-10 days to even get the papers that I have to fill out. After that, I have up to 20 days to return them. So, I'm sitting here starting to worry about "do I return them right away and get it over with, or do I give myself the full 20 days to put mediation on hold as long as possible? Because I don't want to deal with the ex for a while if I don't have to, but I also want to get these concerns addressed." And on and on and on. OK, Shirl, stop right there. You have 7-10 days before you really even have to think about this again, and you have a couple of weeks after that to take your time, and by then you'll have talked to more people who can help you and will have gained more personal power. So just wipe those worries right out of your mind.

This time I have people on my side and I'm going to talk to even more people to learn how to get through this and what I do and don't have to accept. I'll have the power to put my foot down this time and not give in to unreasonable demands, because I've been told by those with more knowledge of the system than my ex that I don't have to give in. No more being bullied to agree to something I don't agree with.



OK, done patting my back. I just had to let someone else know that I effectively dealt with the anxiety demon this morning so it's NOT going to screw up my day.