Welcome to the Only Child Diaries podcast. I'm your host, Tracy Wallace. Have you ever felt like you didn't receive the how-to brochure on life, that you didn't get enough guidance about major life issues? So did I. You don't have to be an only child to feel this way. In my podcast, we'll explore some of the best ways to better navigate adulting, while doing so with humor and light. Welcome everyone to the Only Child Diaries podcast.

Today, I'm going to talk about holiday weeks. Holiday weekends this week is the 4th of July, Independence Day, if you're listening in the United States. What's your favorite holiday? Well, I admit I do like the summer holidays Memorial Day, which is kind of the kickoff to summer. Then there's 4th of July and the end of summer Labor Day, weekend, holiday weekends or holiday weeks because 4th of July falls on a Thursday this year give me kind of a special joy, right. Kind of a special joy, right. It's a day off, a day to rest, a day to recreate, a day to have fun or a day to catch up on things that maybe you need to do.

Recently I've been very busy. I took on an additional remote job and I find myself just trying to organize my time. It's a good thing. Overall it is and I enjoy it. But I feel a little scattered this week and I've been doing a lot of work overall. I mean, don't tell anyone but I've been working seven days a week. So I've planned that 4th of July I'm not going to do any work. Well, not work work. I'm going to work in the yard because I haven't had much time to really dedicate to my garden. It's still going to be work and the weather forecast is such that it's going to be hot. So I'm going to have to take precautions so that I don't faint or pass out or feel sick. I could start early when it's cool, but then I won't be able to sleep, although I guess I could get up early and work when it's cool and then come in turn on the air conditioning and take a nap. Right, I could do that. So that's what I might do. Or I might just sit here and binge streaming shows all day.

Who knows, fourth of July it's always been kind of a weird day. I mean, it's all about the fireworks and the firework shows, and I remember when I used to try to go out and do something like with my friend Gina, we would be, or we would feel really challenged to find things to do. Did we want to go to a firework show? What kind of extra entertainment activities did they provide music or other entertainment? It would be fun to go to an amusement park, but that seems like a lot of trouble. It would be fun to go to an amusement park, but that seems like a lot of trouble. I just want to rest. And then there's the fireworks in the neighborhood.

Fourth of July means that our dog is going to be upset. Last year I guess I made the mistake of not really preparing her appropriately for this and she was shaking the whole time. There's not necessarily fireworks or planned fireworks directly in our neighborhood, but you can hear them in the neighboring communities. And then there's always people, I guess, who are neighbors or people that come into the neighborhood and set off their own individual fireworks and that creates kind of a big problem individual fireworks and that creates kind of a big problem. So this year I think I'm going to do her and ourselves a favor and give her some easy sedation, a tranquilizer. I wish I could tranquilize myself because I think it's kinder for her and it makes it easier on her health as well. It's really hard to watch your dog shake for six or seven hours. And while I'm at it, I might give the cat something as well.

Bobby, our cat has been kind of challenging lately. When we had our plumbing work done he seemed to really enjoy meeting and spending time with our plumber, but then he would get upset. He suffers, the vet says, from anxiety. Why not right? It sounds like a California thing to do. My cat has anxiety so he would end up maybe not being able to pee and he'd cry a lot. It's not a good thing. But he's not very good at taking medication. So after several stops and starts I ended up getting some gabapentin that I could put on him transdermally or by his skin. At first he didn't really like me touching his ear, but I'm happy to say we're over that and he lets me rub the medication on his ear quite easily and then he's just kind of chill.

I wish I could say the same thing about myself. Wouldn't it be great if I could just rub it on my ear and be chill? Anyway, I hope whatever you do for the holiday week or weekend, whether you travel or stay home, you get to have some fun and relaxation time and, by the way, it does have some special meaning for us here in the United States because it's Independence Day, it's the birth of our nation, and that's something to be grateful for. Well, folks, that's all I've got today. I've got to get back to work now. Next week we'll tackle another topic together. I hope you'll join me. If you like this episode, please follow the Only Child Diaries podcast on Apple Podcasts or other platforms you might listen on and consider rating Only Child Diaries and writing a review. It helps others to find us. Please share it with a friend you think might like it as well. Visit my Instagram page Only Child Diaries or Facebook Only Child Diaries Podcast. Thanks for listening. I'm Tracy Wallace and these are the Only Child Diaries.