Stress and de-stress

I am feeling much, much better and less stressed today than I have in a long time. So now I'm ready to talk about the stressful stuff that's been going on:

1. My sister is going through a divorce. I haven't mentioned this on my blog at all because I don't really feel like it's my place to be sharing details of her personal life, but she told me that she doesn't have a problem with me talking about it here. I won't get into all of the details, but suffice it to say that it's been really difficult. And that she's been turning to me a lot for support, which I'm glad that I can offer her, but which is also emotionally draining for me. Plus, it's hard for the family when someone gets divorced, because suddenly, someone whom you considered a part of your family gets taken away from you.

2. My father had an abnormal mole removed from his face and was told by the doctor that it was potentially cancerous, although more likely not. He was told that it would be two weeks until the biopsy results were back.

3. You already know that Cava died. That's been hard for me, but much harder for my mother, who was especially attached to him.

4. I have had a huge client deliverable stressing me out at work for the last couple of months. It had to be done before the holidays, which did not make this holiday season less stressful for me.

5. I went to the doctor right after that Zipcar incident, when I was still freaking out, and for the first time in my life, I had high blood pressure. Needless to say, finding that out probably raised my blood pressure even more. However, he said that since I've always had perfect blood pressure, even before losing 48 pounds, that it was most likely due to stress. Still, I have to go back in a couple weeks for some tests to make sure nothing is really wrong.

Now let's discuss the reasons why I'm feeling less stressed:

1. My sister has been feeling much better over the last few days, which means she isn't leaning on me for support as much, and also that I'm not as worried about her.

2. My father got his biopsy results back early, and the mole was benign.

3. I finished my big work project ahead of schedule.

4. I measured my blood pressure using the machine at the nearby Rite Aid after I had calmed down over the Zipcar thing, and it was back to normal.

5. I finished all my Christmas shopping and have even wrapped everything.

6. I know I need a vacation, and I'm actually getting one: Torsten and I are going to Miami for five days before Christmas. We leave on Wednesday. I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am about spending five days, just the two of us, lying on the beach with no family or work pressures.

7. Today is our holiday party at work, my first one with this company. It involves an open bar, a raffle with prizes like round-the-world plane tickets, and a sushi bar. It's legendary. I'm excited.

8. It's Friday!

Now tell me... what are you stressed about? Or what recently has happened to help relieve your stress?