Sunday, March 17, 2019
St. Patrick's Day! I wore my green Gap sweatshirt. We got up at 7, had breakfast, packed up the coffee table Alice wanted returned at IKEA, and headed to Emeryville at 9:15 a.m. IKEA opens at 10. We waited by the doors with about 10 other people. Alice returned the table and two rugs while I talked with Jill. Tom had run a marathon but only made it to mile 21. A hamstring injury he'd suffered a month ago had flared up and he couldn't continue. He was disappointed. We talked about that and also Gwen's re-entry into the family this past week. She called Nicole, Mathew, mom, and has called me a few times but I didn't pick up. We scheduled a call today at 3:30. It's very difficult talking with Gwen because we always end up debating who believes what, who doesn't believe what, and how Greg ruined her life. Nearly two years after their divorce and the conversation still hasn't changed. Frustrating. But I'll talk with her this afternoon and see where she's at. Nicole said she hasn't been drinking so that's encouraging. She also spoke with Mathew and apologized for her behavior at his wedding. That's also encouraging.
Alice bought a pillow at IKEA after returning her items and we headed back over the bridge to sunset. We hopped on our bicycles at home and rode around Golden Gate Park. We stopped at Stow Lake for lunch. It was so beautiful outside.
We rode for another hour inside Golden Gate Park, down to the ocean, then up Kirkham to 39th Ave.
I took a nap afterward, then got ready for my call to Gwen.
We hadn't talked since March of last year. She sounded the same. Still obsessed about her fears, ex-husband, life as a disconnected outsider. I reinforced the tools we had used at Resilience. We talked for 40 minutes, which was probably too long. At any rate, I got through it. There was little if any joy in talking with her. I've come to accept who she now is and what her significant limitations are. I'm so limited myself when talking to anyone with a mental illness.
The rest of the evening was quiet and uneventful. I was hoping to practice my Debussy, but ran out of time and energy. I'll save my practice session for tomorrow.
St. Patrick's Day! I wore my green Gap sweatshirt. We got up at 7, had breakfast, packed up the coffee table Alice wanted returned at IKEA, and headed to Emeryville at 9:15 a.m. IKEA opens at 10. We waited by the doors with about 10 other people. Alice returned the table and two rugs while I talked with Jill. Tom had run a marathon but only made it to mile 21. A hamstring injury he'd suffered a month ago had flared up and he couldn't continue. He was disappointed. We talked about that and also Gwen's re-entry into the family this past week. She called Nicole, Mathew, mom, and has called me a few times but I didn't pick up. We scheduled a call today at 3:30. It's very difficult talking with Gwen because we always end up debating who believes what, who doesn't believe what, and how Greg ruined her life. Nearly two years after their divorce and the conversation still hasn't changed. Frustrating. But I'll talk with her this afternoon and see where she's at. Nicole said she hasn't been drinking so that's encouraging. She also spoke with Mathew and apologized for her behavior at his wedding. That's also encouraging.
Alice bought a pillow at IKEA after returning her items and we headed back over the bridge to sunset. We hopped on our bicycles at home and rode around Golden Gate Park. We stopped at Stow Lake for lunch. It was so beautiful outside.
We rode for another hour inside Golden Gate Park, down to the ocean, then up Kirkham to 39th Ave.
I took a nap afterward, then got ready for my call to Gwen.
We hadn't talked since March of last year. She sounded the same. Still obsessed about her fears, ex-husband, life as a disconnected outsider. I reinforced the tools we had used at Resilience. We talked for 40 minutes, which was probably too long. At any rate, I got through it. There was little if any joy in talking with her. I've come to accept who she now is and what her significant limitations are. I'm so limited myself when talking to anyone with a mental illness.
The rest of the evening was quiet and uneventful. I was hoping to practice my Debussy, but ran out of time and energy. I'll save my practice session for tomorrow.
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