Panic, Panic, Panic, Panic....

Sooooo!!!!
This past week has been an eventful one for Padgetts.
Jeff had his first stay-away gig last week in Dubuque, he played a Patriotic kiddie concert and stayed overnight for the first time alone for work since having panic attacks. He didn't sleep well, but he didn't really have severe panic, either.
We've been trying to figure out how to deal with the general stress of life, in addition to the general stress of anxiety. Jeff is at the point where he feels fine calming himself down when he knows that he's experiencing panic, but he often doesn't know when he is panicky. So I have to tell him for example: "Jeff, it's normal to be tired if you only slept X amount, and I'm tired too." "Jeff, are you nervous because you don't like any of your reeds?" "Jeff, it's normal to feel tired if you haven't had something to drink for a few hours, here drink something, then you'll feel better."
Then he'll figure out most of the time that yes, he was starting to go down into the panic cycle concerning those things, and that he can get himself out of there. But first he still needs a little help figuring out that he's starting to go down that path.
He had his first meeting with the new counselor/psychologist today, mainly it was a "The history of Jeff: an abbreviated version". Sounds like they will be meeting on a weekly basis for now, we're going to try to incorporate some focused breathing/centering into Jeff's routine.

This week, we'll be asking for prayers for our parents, Jeff's dad is recovering from a minor stroke and my mom is at home sentenced to bed-rest after a successful surgery removing some skin around a melanoma and replacing that skin (no cancer has spread to outlying areas as far as we know). It's very scary for me to think about all these things, and it seems more real than ever, actually putting this into writing.

I have a new student (hurray!) and a trial lesson with another one this weekend. Slowly but surely, things are looking up a little for me in teaching land.

The crazy time in the orchestra library is over for me, now it's time to think ahead to winter quarter.

Also some quick advertising for a local business that's seen our sweet faces over the last few months: Gene's Sausage in Lincoln Square is amazing: I can go there and it takes me back to being a little kid. Recently, we went there as part of a date and I got some Gulasch (East German/European stew, almost like a curry in its own way) and some mulled wine. It tasted just like what I remember eating at the cafeteria in daycare or at our neighbors' or drinking at the neighborhood new year's celebration growing up in Glinzig. They make some authentic food there, and it's the only place I've found around here that makes some of the food I ate as a kid growing up, where the spices aren't dumbed down.