Carolyn Hax: Struggling with business as usual after ‘the scariest moment of my life’

Blurb: After witnessing their mother's stroke, everything seems meaningless except health, happiness and spending time with family. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Advice to help you tackle life's problems.     (Nick Galifianakis for The Post) Struggling with business as usual after 'the scariest moment of my life' Adapted from an online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I was having a hard time with work recently, and a hard time in my relationship, when my mother had a stroke in my presence. She is fine now — fully recovered. It was the scariest moment of my life. I rushed her to the hospital thinking I was going to lose her. Now, she is (thank God) okay. I am not. I feel so much whiplash. It is so hard to focus on work — it seems meaningless in the scheme of things. I had been so focused on my problems with work and my relationship that the week before her stroke I was stressed, preoccupied, and sad. If the stroke had been worse, that might have been my last week with her. I don't really know what I am saying — or asking — I am just having a hard time dealing right now. Nothing seems important except health and happiness, and spending quality time with friends and family. My thoughts aren't coherent, my head hurts, and I am tired. I don't feel like I can dig back in and fight another day for the things I was pursuing before the stroke. — Spinning Read Carolyn's Response     ADVERTISEMENT   Classic Hootenanny of Holiday Horrors stories We're counting down the days until the 2021 Hoot with some of our favorite stories from over the years.  The exploding ham (2016) "Let this be a cautionary tale for all the cooks out there. I shared a recipe with my sister for a ham that I had made that had a glaze created by combining the heavy syrup from canned peaches, brown sugar, and rum. It made for a very tasty ham and a gravy that was out of this world. Imagine my surprise when she called me on Christmas and accused me of trying to kill her. She had the ham in cooking and had all the family there visiting and suddenly there was an explosion! The door of the oven blew open and the ham came partway out – nearly fell onto the floor. It really shook everyone up. After some discussion, I figured out what had happened. Turns out she used Bacardi 151 Rum! That is 75% alcohol! No wonder it blew! The good news is that no one got hurt and the even better news is that I will never let her forget the year of the exploding ham. :o)" The 2021 Holiday Hootenanny is coming Dec. 10. Submit your stories here. Perspective ●  By Carolyn Hax ●  Read more »     Want more? Carolyn's been writing her advice column for two decades. Explore the archives below. Readers' wisdom on self-esteem, parenting and smoking Read more »   Boyfriend has a heart of gold, but how practical is a heart of gold? Read more »   Doing the right thing is hard to figure out, hard to do — but worth it Read more »     We think you'll like this newsletter Check out A Better Week for a 7-day email course that will help you conquer your calendar, get more done and find time for the things you care about. Sign up »

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