November is usually a pretty tough month for me to go through. It's like the weather can't decide if it wants to still be automn-esque, or if it wants to be winter so usually it's rainy AND snowy, dark and damp, and just generally grey. It can be taxing emotionally, and also physically as all I really want to do is hybernate. However, this November has been quite different for me.
First of all, this November marks the 1 year anniversary of my living alone as a (mostly) functional single adult. I love it. It's liberating, confidence boosting, and great for me as an introvert to recharge at the end of a day talking and working with people. It's a total breath of fresh air. Some may wonder why I chose this particular November to be the Most Awesome instead of last November. Well, last November was the start of my transition into this new life, and so was fairly chaotic, and liberating though it was, there was still a significant amount of stress and adaptation that was required. Now I'm settled, I'm comfortable, and I'm happy. Living alone is definitely an art form, but it's one that I'm enjoying learning about and constantly adjusting to.
Other awesome things about this particular November:
I've seen a great many friends this month. At the beginning of the month one of my best friends came up from southern Ontario to visit. I hadn't seen her in months, and we had a grand time! It was fairly low key, we ate lots of good food, and we reconnected. We had both been feeling a little disconnected and were a little concerned about how it would be for her to have a weekend up here, but when we got together, it was like we'd never been apart.
The week afterwards I hosted a pot-luck dinner in my apartment, which is something I've never done before. I'd have to say it was a success and I had a blast. Having people over at my place sometimes causes me a bit of anxiety (maybe it's an introvert thing?), so seeing my plans actually pan out made me incredibly happy. The group of people that came over for the pot luck are some of the loveliest people I know and I truly enjoy the time I spend with them.
This past weekend one of my other best friends came to spend the weekend with me. She lives in Yellowknife and she was doing her Ontario tour of family and close friends. I feel incredibly blessed that she was able to take time out of her schedule and spend a few days with this kid. We had a lovely time reconnecting even though we text almost every day, and talk on the phone usually a couple of times per month. It was like we'd never been apart, which is the same as it was last year when she came to visit for the same kind of trip.
To cap this weekend off, I had a lovely chick-date with one of my co-workers doing some grocery shopping and we went out for lunch. Might seem low key, and maybe even slightly lame to some, but I valued the day and the time I got to spent with her outside of work as she has been a rock for me when times have been tough in both work life and personal life. She's seen me cry, lose my marbles, has listened to me when I was going through my rough patches and helped me with my insomnia issues by recommending a naturalpathic doctor to me.
Finally, I'm re-learning how to sleep. I've been dealing with insomnia off and on for 15 years, and the past couple of years it has gotten significantly worse. The past half-year has been awful. It goes through cycles where I will get a couple of weeks of reasonably decent sleep (comparatively speaking), and then I'll go through weeks where I'm averaging 2-4 hours of sleep/night and that's not all in one shot. That's broken up through the course of the night. It has been taking a serious toll on me and have officially gotten to a point where I cannot deal with it anymore. So I started seeing the naturalpath that my friend recommended. He specialize in neurological, and mental health problems, and since insomnia, stress, anxiety and depression all fall into those categories, I felt like this is a pretty solid option since I was getting nothing from my GP. The regime of supplements that the naturalpath has set me on are simple, non-addictive, non-habit forming and fairly "natural" as far as supplements go. And they work. The past few night have been complete and utter bliss. I'm falling asleep very relaxed, both physically and mentally. I'm waking up only a couple of times during the night instead of every 20-30 minutes. My muscles aren't tense when I'm waking up. I'm not groggy anymore when I wake up in the morning. My stress levels are decreasing with the increased quality of sleep. At last!!! A light at the end of the tunnel!! I am finally on the path to being a much more functional human being!!! Huzzah!!!
So, to you it may seem that maybe this isn't all that exciting, and maybe these are things that may be taken for granted by some, but for me, these are all things that rank extremely high on my "To be Thankful For" list. And these are the reasons why this is The Most Awesome November. :)
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