Mama Jo takes on PEI: Mental Health Weekend

I don’t have much to say about my week. It consisted of work much of that included vacuuming up more cheese mites and by the end of the week I was back to the chocolate shop rolling creams and baking cookies. I have also officially booked my train ticket home and will roll into the Kitchener train station on October 4th at 7:18pm. That reality of actually coming home, having a date set, and a span of time to plan my departure and pack once again has made me excited and sick to my stomach. I look forward to coming home and to see where God takes me next but I am heart broken about leaving my Island. But enough about that, I will save that sad blog for another day.

I was glad to be done with cheese mites by Tuesday and dropped off a parting gift of banana bread to solidify my resignation. Vacuuming cheese mites is a hard job. First of all you are in a fridge the size of a house that stays at a constant temperature of 10 degrees. I am in cover alls and moving often so the core of my body and my arms and hands remain warm but my feet and toes become chilled. It is an intense arm work out and I am constantly moving, lifting, and shifting wheels of cheese that weigh around 30 pounds. But the biggest toll it takes on my body is the mental affects. Every night since working with the cheese I have had the same recurring nightmare of a million droves of cheese mites crawling in through my bedroom window and attacking me in my bed. I jolt awake, leap out of bed, turn on the light and tear my bed apart looking for them. When I finally realize it was a dream I hesitantly go back to bed, but sleep doesn’t come quickly and I wake up the next morning exhausted.

I am sure you are wondering why I stayed in the job so long, why didn’t I just quit? I was taught to see a job through, to pull up my socks, keep my head down, and power through, and that no job is beneath me and to always help out in anyway you could. So I did, because I am that kind of gal, hard working, able, and helpful. When I finished the job Armen was very grateful and I was too, nightmares aside it was nice to work alone for a few days with nothing but my thoughts and the hit songs on the radio to keep me company, plus it was a great arm work out.

I went back to work in the chocolate shop and found that by Thursday the labour from the cheese factory, the continuing nightmares, and the anticipation of moving home had caught up with me and I was in desperate need of a break. I took the day off work on Friday and focused on relaxing my mind and body. I didn’t do anything on that delicious Friday but sleep in, read, write a few letters by candle light, and watch funny movies. I slept well that night and my nightmares were replaced with dreams of Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand, to some of you that sounds more like a nightmare than the cheese mites.

Saturday was a lazy day as well but I turned my energy toward baking with my roommates. Nathan was eager to learn how to make gluten free desserts and Lindsay was busy with making supper. So the three of us crammed into the kitchen and made hay stack cookies, mint chocolate pudding, and beef stew. Lindsay made a wonderful mouth watering stew and Nathan got the Mama Jo approval on his mint chocolate pudding, the hay stacks were a bit crumbly but that remains the recipes fault. The fun thing was I played supervisor and instructed them, gave them advise, and every so often stepped in to help stir or measure out sugar. We had a grand time with lots of laughter, jokes, and roommate building chatter. In the afternoon we took the dogs Angus and Rory to the dog beach and spent a couple hours playing fetch and strolling the sand. A perfect way to revitalize your mental health.

But Sunday was the crown of the weekend. Right after church my dear friend Natalie and I grabbed our beach gear and headed for the west. There was a collection of rock formations and cliffs I was dying to see and climb. It was a very windy and chilly day at the beach but beautiful all the same. Natalie’s joy and enthusiasm for an afternoon adventure with no time tied to it was infectious. I adore her giddy squeal and laugh and the skip in her step as we park the care and made our way down to the beach. As strolled the sand Natalie and I talked and talked and talked about everything! I honestly believe the ability to talk all day about every subject under the sun and still have something to talk about at the end of it all is a super power us women are born with. Amen to that! No one can do conversation quite like a woman can. We found the rocks and cliffs right away and I was climbing them in a heart beat. Scaly the eroding crimson cliffs with the salty fresh wind whistling in my ears and hurling my hair about my face. It was wonderful! Natalie and I explored, climbed, and walked, taking advantage of great photo opportunities and giggling the whole time like a pair of school girls. As the afternoon flowed on so to did the surf of the ocean grow. As the tide came tumbling in it brought with it a fury of zealous waves and I had the brilliant idea to stand on the edge of a rock looking out into the ocean fearlessly. The first picture turned out great, a sizable wave came crashing against the rock but defused before it reached me. But the following wave mischievously built up steam and before I could jump away I was soaked! I supposed I deserved it for being so vain.

We had a lovely dinner at a local dairy bar in Kennsingtong of poutine and ice cream. Yum! After that our adventure led us to Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage and then to the quaint town of Summerside, where Natalie showed me all her old haunts before she moved to Charlottetown. I thoroughly enjoyed the drive and as we pointed the car home to Charlottetown the most vibrant red sunset glowed behind us blessing our day. It was a perfectly divine afternoon of two good friends frolicking by the ocean and fearlessly going wherever our feet took us.

I am pleased to report that after a mental health weekend I am back in high spirits, singing anthems, and ready for my last week of work at the chocolate factory. It is amazing what a little R&R can do for the soul, mind, and heart. So the next time you are tormented by cheese mites or the stresses of work or life disappear for a few days, but don’t stay under the covers. Hop out of bed, slip on a good pair of shoes and get some fresh air with a friend. If you’re lucky, which I know you are, you’ll get washed out to an ocean of blessing.