Waiting for the other shoe to drop is excruciating. It's hard to enjoy the peaceful times when there's a sense that more overwhelming crises could be just around the corner.
I know what you mean about desensitizing yourself. For a few years I thought we were finally past the kids demanding to go back to their mom's house on our weekends. Nope, that started popping back up last winter. But it's unpredictable. So sometimes I just start to prep myself ahead of time that maybe this is yet another weekend of traumatic demands.
It was the worst a couple weeks ago when we made it to Sunday afternoon and that's when SD13 lost it. It was like, we were on the home stretch, and I was not prepared for this.
If the chaos were predictable and on a schedule, it might be easier. Then at least we could be doing something else at the time.
How do you do self care when you feel this way?
I post here, or watch dumb stuff on YouTube, or weed the garden, or have a stiff drink or two
Sometimes I just leave the kids with DH and take a loonngggg (like multiple hours) walk.