Whether this is your first time reading my blog, or you’ve followed along since the very beginning- thank you!
I look forward to posting Rags to Riches: Part 22 on Saturday, September 22, 2018.
Give your life the green light. It’s A Go!
Amber Green
Saturday Story
Part 21:
***Part 21 discusses Franca’s sister, Priscilla’s ongoing (hidden) issues with anxiety. The story below does not require that you read from the beginning, but if you’re interested in how this plot twist began, here’s a link to part 12.***
To Riches:
Therapy. Like so many topics, when it comes to seeking assistance from a therapist, there are people with strong opinions on opposite ends of the spectrum; depending upon your perspective, the very thought of seeing a therapist may seem like the best investment you could make in yourself, or you may believe that it’s a waste of money and time.
Priscilla and her two siblings came from a working-class family. Her parents were educated and loving. They valued hard work and respected professionals of all kinds, including mental health professionals. Yet, to the best of Priscilla’s knowledge, no one in her family had ever sought the assistance of a therapist. Still, Priscilla was surprised at her own hesitation to seek the assistance of a therapist when she first contemplated it a couple of months ago. She hadn’t consciously thought herself a failure to need help, but she hesitated to tell her family (not out of shame, but rather to refrain from causing them to worry). It was during this contemplation that she realized that she had her own biases towards therapy that she had not ever considered before. Though Priscilla considered herself very open and resilient to changing circumstances, she had some “old school” values that meant she regularly kept many things to herself.
Having only had a handful of appointments thus far, Priscilla was surprised to learn that she had always valued her ability to “power through” the hard times as a special kind of strength- she was able to ignore the anxiety and sadness she felt so well that it no longer showed on her face. (Even her husband, Luke, had no idea what she went through during the rough times.) What she had considered a strength even a couple of months ago was really the same trait that seemed to tear her down every now and again, as running on empty was unsustainable and never any fun.
When Franca announced her windfall of riches, Priscilla thought that her anxiety would wane (what do you have to worry about if you have all the money you could ever want, right?); this wasn’t the case. The things that Priscilla worried about changed over the years, but anxiety and her self-imposed need to be perfect (or nearly perfect) still existed. Fortunately, Priscilla’s friends were surprising transparent when speaking about mental health and the value of their therapy sessions. Through their referrals, Priscilla found a professional she liked.
It’s true that Priscilla and Luke paid Priscilla’s therapist per hour what each of them used to make in a week (and this was when they had good jobs!). Fortunately, they could afford it and it was worth it. (The money Franca gave them came in handy when it was time to pay the bill!)
Sitting in the posh office, beautifully decorated and inviting, Priscilla considered how she wanted to feel and act in the coming year, and how these sessions would help her let go of the anxiety and some of her need to be perfect, which (she hoped) would allow her to be a better mother, wife, sister and friend.
Life really is a journey, Priscilla thought. Instead of worrying about the future (which had long been her default setting), she contemplated: I wonder what life has in store for me tomorrow?
From Rags:
“Don’t worry about it, Franca,” Priscilla told her sister. “I’ll go over to your place and make sure that Anna and Kevin aren’t there.”
God help my former friend/roommate and philandering ex if they are, I thought. Big-sister-Priscilla would go off on both of them. “Thanks, P, but Anna’s text said that she would move out by the end of the week. She won’t be there,” I said, confidently.
“If you’re sure,” Priscilla said. “I can always come with you, if you’d like?”
I was secretly hoping she would offer to join me. “That would be awesome, if you can…” My voice trailed off as I looked around the living room. All three boys were home- two of them had friends over- our brother was still staying in Priscilla and Luke’s basement, I was staying on the couch, and Luke was leaving town for a few days with a couple of his fishing buddies. Priscilla had worked all day, visited our mother, picked things up for Luke’s trip and was cleaning the kitchen after ordering pizza for dinner.
“Yeah, no sweat,” Priscilla answered with a smile.
…………
*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
© 2018-2020 Amber Green
If you liked the above, you would really enjoy:
A work of art narrates its journey through time in this short story.
In the centuries since its creation, it has witnessed the joy of love and companionship, the heartache of loss, and hardship. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but what if the masterpiece you so admire silently muses at the countless wonders of humanity?
🇺🇸: Amazon.com users, click here.
🇬🇧: Amazon.co.uk users, click here.
Amber Green is a self-published Canadian author and freelance writer. Her short stories can be found here: www.amazon.com/author/ambergreen