Carmex, my Drug of Choice
Today's lesson is a tiny one, but it's about crutches/perceived needs/ and my level of stress or happiness pertaining to them. In short, I forgot to bring my purse with me when I left the house this morning. UGH. Since I typically keep my keys in my purse, and I wear my purse cross-body, it has been decades since I have forgotten to bring my purse with me. I noticed it when I got to work with a few minutes to spare and was going to send my husband a message.
My first response was to be frustrated. Now my kids wouldn't be able to get ahold of me, I don't have my gum and my Carmex, two of my most needed bare essentials, and of course I can't check my phone for emails and facebook notifications 100 times a day. Probably the most inconvenient part about it is that I keep my badge for work in there. My badge has a chip inside that opens locked doors to the clinic where I work, and also logs me in and out of my computers. Every time I need to use the computer I just tap my badge on a device and it logs me in; every time I step away from the computer I am supposed to tap the badge on the device and it locks my computer to protect HIPAA information. I badge in and out of my computer dozens of times a day. Not having my badge means I have to physically log in and out not just of my computer, but also a handful of other programs I use throughout the day. Luckily, I remember my passwords but its still pretty inconvenient.
At the early part of my day, I was considering taking a long lunch to go get my purse. I was miserable without my gum and Carmex. Then I discovered some pina colada flavored Tic Tacs that I had stashed in my drawer for a rainy day and they work pretty well for keeping my mouth from feeling constantly dry. Yes, I do drink a ton of water all day at work, but the diuretic I am on is not helping matters so I usually chew gum so I don't drink so much that it makes my stomach feel awful. Next, what to do about the Carmex. I was desperate. My lips were already dry and cracked and I have been licking them. Thankfully I did bring my messenger bag with me, that is where I keep my lunch, some snacks, some paperwork and some various teas and medicines. Creature comforts, if you will. In my bag I happened to have some Neosporin. I Googled if it is safe to put on lips (it is petroleum based, or at least it feels that way) and to my delight the first article I found said it is good for lips and actually helps heal dry, cracked lips. It felt like a huge deal to me. Yeah, not as soothing as Carmex is, but at least it saved me from constantly trying to lick my lips to moisten them.
I could have let this all ruin my day or obsessed over it, I have been known to do both, but I am actually in a pretty good mood today because I realize that I really don't need all that stuff I cart around with me every day, but I did pretty well for myself solving those physical needs with what I had on hand. Now, I'm not going to say I felt like a survivor, but I pulled it off and it feels good. I didn't even take that extra long break to go get my purse because I feel just fine without it. My lips are still crying for Carmex, but I'M OK.
It really makes me think about all the things I think I can't do without or think I would be bothered by giving up. I don't spend a lot of time on my phone at work; I do check my phone many times throughout the day because I am the admin for my family and things crop up all the time. But when I do go to my phone, I typically do a quick check of my email to make sure nothing needs my immediate attention, then I check my text messages and a few times a day I check my Facebook notifications. We are allowed to be on our phones a little each day because we are supposed to be getting 2-10 minute paid breaks each day and we typically never get them, so it is more relaxed in other areas. This is all off the sales floor where no one can see me, and I have a buzzer that alerts me when someone walks in. So in my mind, I figured I would feel horrible without my phone today, but in reality that is not even on my mind. I did log into my email at lunch just to see if I had anything important and guess what? Nothing pressing. I'm not missing out on anything. I am doing just fine and I would even say that I am peaceful without my phone today. I could learn to live without gum if I had to but I sure love to chew it all day. Carmex, however, is non-negotiable!
My first response was to be frustrated. Now my kids wouldn't be able to get ahold of me, I don't have my gum and my Carmex, two of my most needed bare essentials, and of course I can't check my phone for emails and facebook notifications 100 times a day. Probably the most inconvenient part about it is that I keep my badge for work in there. My badge has a chip inside that opens locked doors to the clinic where I work, and also logs me in and out of my computers. Every time I need to use the computer I just tap my badge on a device and it logs me in; every time I step away from the computer I am supposed to tap the badge on the device and it locks my computer to protect HIPAA information. I badge in and out of my computer dozens of times a day. Not having my badge means I have to physically log in and out not just of my computer, but also a handful of other programs I use throughout the day. Luckily, I remember my passwords but its still pretty inconvenient.
At the early part of my day, I was considering taking a long lunch to go get my purse. I was miserable without my gum and Carmex. Then I discovered some pina colada flavored Tic Tacs that I had stashed in my drawer for a rainy day and they work pretty well for keeping my mouth from feeling constantly dry. Yes, I do drink a ton of water all day at work, but the diuretic I am on is not helping matters so I usually chew gum so I don't drink so much that it makes my stomach feel awful. Next, what to do about the Carmex. I was desperate. My lips were already dry and cracked and I have been licking them. Thankfully I did bring my messenger bag with me, that is where I keep my lunch, some snacks, some paperwork and some various teas and medicines. Creature comforts, if you will. In my bag I happened to have some Neosporin. I Googled if it is safe to put on lips (it is petroleum based, or at least it feels that way) and to my delight the first article I found said it is good for lips and actually helps heal dry, cracked lips. It felt like a huge deal to me. Yeah, not as soothing as Carmex is, but at least it saved me from constantly trying to lick my lips to moisten them.
I could have let this all ruin my day or obsessed over it, I have been known to do both, but I am actually in a pretty good mood today because I realize that I really don't need all that stuff I cart around with me every day, but I did pretty well for myself solving those physical needs with what I had on hand. Now, I'm not going to say I felt like a survivor, but I pulled it off and it feels good. I didn't even take that extra long break to go get my purse because I feel just fine without it. My lips are still crying for Carmex, but I'M OK.
It really makes me think about all the things I think I can't do without or think I would be bothered by giving up. I don't spend a lot of time on my phone at work; I do check my phone many times throughout the day because I am the admin for my family and things crop up all the time. But when I do go to my phone, I typically do a quick check of my email to make sure nothing needs my immediate attention, then I check my text messages and a few times a day I check my Facebook notifications. We are allowed to be on our phones a little each day because we are supposed to be getting 2-10 minute paid breaks each day and we typically never get them, so it is more relaxed in other areas. This is all off the sales floor where no one can see me, and I have a buzzer that alerts me when someone walks in. So in my mind, I figured I would feel horrible without my phone today, but in reality that is not even on my mind. I did log into my email at lunch just to see if I had anything important and guess what? Nothing pressing. I'm not missing out on anything. I am doing just fine and I would even say that I am peaceful without my phone today. I could learn to live without gum if I had to but I sure love to chew it all day. Carmex, however, is non-negotiable!
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