Don't forget, I need those worry strategies! :0

Happy Thursday everybody! I'm having a good day, but to the surprise of absolutely no one, I remain very worried about many things. ;-) And as the title of this post indicates, I would love your suggestions for managing worry. I can use all the help I can get!

I promised in the video that I would elaborate a bit more today, and so here I am, reporting in for duty. :) This blog has always been, and remains, an online journal of sorts for me. It's also a creative outlet for my love of writing, but mostly it's a journal of the things in my life that are most important to me. As all bloggers know, that does not mean that I discuss absolutely everything on here. I remain a cagey woman of mystery behind the scenes. ;-) But to the extent that I'm comfortable sharing things, I go to town here on this blog.

So, what's going on with me, you are probably wondering? Well, lots of things. :) I've mentioned a health situation with someone in my family, and it appears that I will have to remain cagey about that, because the person in question wants it to remain private. Obviously, I am respecting that, but I can say this: it's not a pleasant thing, nor an entirely easy course of treatment, but things are looking good. In fact, the long term prognosis is extremely good, and we're all very grateful for that. Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers in this regard. Keep them coming.

In other, much less important, matters, there is a smattering of little things. Work has been very busy for me this semester. I'm teaching a credit-bearing course, and thus the preparatory work is a lot greater than usual as compared to the type of teaching I usually do. It's going very well, thankfully, but it's more work. As well, a short article that I wrote and submitted to a Catholic library journal has been accepted, pending revisions. Good news, yes? But I have a deadline that is, well, SOON :0 and that has me feeling just the weensiest bit stressed out.

All of this has meant that in the midst of fun and productive podcast planning, I had to put the brakes on that for a few weeks. Bummer? Yes, bummer. And when it comes to podcasting, I don't exactly know what I'm doing, so the process isn't a short one. ;-) The Chaplets audio endeavor has given me a great head start, but there's still all kinds of stuff about adding in intros and sound effects and hosting that I'm figuring out. The article revisions will be done by the end of October, and after that I should be able to go back to podcast stuff, so here's hoping.

And then there's the dance thing. :0 I'll go into more detail next week when the scariest of these upcoming performances is behind me (I'm certain that amusement will abound), but to sum up, I have a gig this weekend that is just a hair intimidating to me because I've never danced in this setting before. It'll be fine, Claire assures me that I'm ready and that I'll do great, but you know, SCARY. After all these years, performing is still incredibly intimidating to me. Performing generally, whether it be dancing or another one of the arts, means really putting yourself out there and making yourself vulnerable. That is never an easy thing. You leave yourself open to criticism, and when you care about something very deeply, this can lead to very wounded feelings. When you have an ambivalent, or worse, audience, that can feel downright lousy.

In terms of ethnic dance, this usually comes into play more at public performances in which people were not necessarily expecting to see dancing. What I mean is that at haflas (recitals) or festivals, people expect dancing and seek it out specifically because they know one of the performers, or are very interested in watching dance. These are friendly audiences. :) In contrast, let's say a dancer is at a restaurant or at a birthday party; the attendees did not come to see dancing. They came to eat and socialize. If a dancer(s) is there as a hired entertainer, the crowd may or may not be receptive and/or kind. This can be tough to deal with, especially for those of us with meeker personalities. :) I have danced at public events like these before, but I don't have an abundance of experience in this regard.  And I'm usually with other dancers. This weekend, I'll be by myself and I'm, well, terrified. :0 Granted, important clarification: I won't be alone, because Mike is coming with me for technical and moral support. I do so love that man. But I won't have any of my troupemates with me. For those present who want to watch the dancing, they'll have no one to watch but me. This is an introvert's worst nightmare. Why did I sign up for this dancing thing again?! Please God that I do not accidentally flick my veil into somebody's plate of hummus or injure myself with Sword. Oh yeah, he's coming along too, by special request. Joy.

I will report in early next week with the amusing details. In the mean time, write in and instruct me in how to not freak out so much about things, K?! :0 Life is short, we need to seek enjoyment wherever we can, right? Right.

I am awaiting your suggestions with much happy expectation. ;-)