Becoz I am shortening Posts and being more Editorial, in a rather successful way, which Surprised even me, I'm now 8 Unpublished finished Posts ahead!!! Can I get a Whoop Whoop?! With my short Attention Span, condensing things has been beneficial actually, and I'm always working towards being Editorial and attaining Just Enough rather than Too Much, sometimes, like this Goal of Less in my Posts, I even Succeed! *LOL* That's actually Encouraging to me, to know I CAN do it if I keep Practicing. Blogs are better Practice since I will Blog Daily without becoming overwhelmed by what I'm doing here. Lately I overwhelm easily when tackling the House/Property Downsize and Decluttering. The Great Edit and Purge stalled considerably and I wasn't too bothered it had. It was just a lot of Work and I kept Backsliding constantly.
It's also my Distraction Coping Technique to Collect nice things, so I'm not constantly fixated or focused on what isn't going Well in Life, in the Country, in General. Right now I don't have another Coping Mechanism I can replace it with, and, well, I've HAVE to, wouldn't I? Otherwise, as Nurse Remi reminded me just Yesterday, most people would completely give up, give in, or give out and not Survive all of this with their Psyche Intact. She could be Right. She told me she enjoys coming here, becoz tho' she's seen a lot of Misery, Suffering, and Major Life or Client Challenges in her Career and Lifetime, she's impressed with the Good Humor and Grace we handle ours with. We make her Laugh, we Laugh a lot, we make her more Grateful, we cause her to Cope better with her own Problems and Issues of Life, becoz she feels hers pale by comparison to what we are up against. Wow, knowing some of what she's Shared of her own Life Story, that was a huge Compliment and Encouragement to ME!!!
Like many folks she told me I could Write a Book about it all, I told her I Blog instead. *Ha ha ha* A Book, and Deadlines, just would not be something I could get thru or finish. It would be as difficult for me as Editing and Purging has been. And I don't need One more difficult thing to take on. Life is handing me enough of that without voluntarily taking any on. Plus, that Book would be as long as "War And Peace", wouldn't it? It would be a never ending Book, or a Series of never ending Books. It would go on longer than "M*A*S*H" did on TV, which ended up being longer running than the Korean War it was depicting and set in!!! *Bwahahahaha* The Korean War lasted just over 3 Years... the TV Show lasted for 11 Seasons!!! People literally Aged more than a Decade on that Show during their Tour of Duty, which would have been about a Single Year for most GI's Rotation to a War Zone, unless they did multiple Tours there. The Man always had to do multiple Tours to War Zones coz of his areas of Expertise and how good he was at it.
Anyway, no Book will be forthcoming, but the Blog I enjoy enuf I'll keep cranking out Posts, shorter ones now Hopefully will be my New Normal, we'll see? *Winks* And I still continue with Editing and Purging, just at a much slower pace and not so anxious to attain the Goal, which was lofty, of ever being Done in this Lifetime. It takes the Pressure off actually, coz, I'd have to Live several Lifetimes to attain it, and I have no Plans to become an Immortal too. *Winks* That would be not only a loftier Goal, but I wouldn't wanna Outlast everyone either, the Losses keep piling up and my Dear Mom was absolutely Right, it's the hardest part of getting Old, the Outliving of everyone else. At some point she just didn't wanna Lose yet another Person who meant something to her. Not another Friend, extended Family Member {she just had an older Brother who outlived her}, and she definitely didn't wanna Lose a Child, Grandchild or Great-Grandchild. My Welsh Uncle attained 90 in remarkable Shape, but had told me, that was Life Enough.
I don't know yet when I'll consider it Life Enough? I see my Vibrant Next Door Neighbors in their 80's, and some of you Dear Blog Friend Octogenarians who are equally Inspiring to me. I would Aspire to get there and be as Inspirational and Vibrant, but, nobody has Guarantees. Could I still be maintaining and responsible for all that I'm required to do now for a Decade or more still? I doubt it, I seriously doubt it, and that troubles me, of coarse it does. But, it's always troubled me. When I was Raising The G-Kid Force I only asked for enough Grace and Mercies to LAST until they were Grown. They're all Grown. But, of coarse, due to extent of Disabling Factors, nobody is Living Independently that I'm the Caregiver of, nor will some of them ever be able to. That's just factual. I'm trying to arrange things in a way they could, as a Collective, manage when I can't anymore, or am gone. I require Distractions from that precarious Future they all have too, so I don't dwell upon it and have my Joy Stolen by Life or by the Devils in Life. Of which we have many these days.
As I was filling out The Grandson's long Application for SSI Disability Benefits, which had to assess level of Disability they will now Review, as told in our Words, I'm glad we could Laugh about what was not Funny. Nurse Remi said she doesn't know how we CAN, but that in the telling of it, in the way that we just do, she was Laughing so hard she was Crying Tears of... well... Laughter Tears, not Sorrowful Tears... there's a difference. With her Nephew's Situation ongoing she had been having it be a heavy Weight and Burden upon her Soul. He's a Schizophrenic in Trouble now, his Future uncertain, her Family distraught and not knowing what to do. And I've been there and done that, it's a tough Row to Hoe for any Family and I have the utmost compassion and empathy, we've Lived it too. We find ways to Laugh about it in the retelling of the outrageous Stories now, coz you can't make this shit up!!! *Winks* And the Sharing of our Intimate Experiences can be Cathartic... and Healing. I never take it for Granted or lightly that we are entrusted with Sad Truths about the Lives of others and that someone Shared something deeply Personal and hard they are going thru.
So, The Schizophrenic Daughter Shared some of her Stories to Cheer Nurse Remi up about her Schizophrenic Nephew's Situation, and her Schizophrenic Son's Stories {The Young Prince}. All very similar versions to Nurse Remi's Nephew's, but told in Dark Gallow's Humor. That Nurse Remi could Laugh at 'til her Sides hurt and Tears were streaming down her Face. I mean, her Dear Nephew was Arrested at the Airport when he had a Psychotic Episode... so we could only Imagine how that Story could be told in a way that would be Amusing in the Retelling of a Tragic Situation for a Family Traveling with an SMI Loved One, and the complexities of taking that Show on the Road!!! *Smiles* The Daughter tells her after each Story, see... your Nephew is gonna be Okay, I've been Locked Up many times in the United States AND Mexico for being Crazy in Public. It's gonna be Okay, it happens. Sometimes The System gets tired of the hassle and expense of Locking us Crazy Folks up, they'll usually just let him out so the Family has to Deal with it. And here we now are, I'm not Locked Up NOW and I'm still as Crazy as I ever was! And we're sitting here Laughing and finding the Humor about it, aren't we? *LOL*
Even tho' none of it IS Funny, if you tell it in the Right Spirit of Humor and Grace, are a good Storyteller of Truths that are Stranger than Fiction, it's not Wrong to Laugh about it!!! It's like a Good Medicine to your Soul. You won't go to Hell for Laughing at Life's Ironies and Tragedies told in a Comedic way. Many Famous Comedians have done it. Many had the most Tragic of Stories to tell, they choose to do so in Humor, to Laugh about it and have others be able to Laugh in the Telling of it. Sometimes we Laugh so hard about inappropriate things that The Man gets a little bit concerned we took it too far... but, can you? Really? Take Humor and Laughter too far? Would Tears of Sorrow be better? I think not, I'll choose Laughter every single time. I can't always change what was a Tragedy, what I experienced, saw, endured, just IS the way things ARE that I have no Control over. So, Why NOT find the Humor in it, even if a little Morbid, Sic and Twisted.
I STILL break out in hysterical Laughter with Insider Joke Phrases our Family has about things NOT Funny but have given us tons of Laughter all the same. If I happen to just say, "And he still had his Little Vest on...", Princess T and I will roar with Laughter and 'til we Cry and our Sides hurt. The Man knows the Reason, he thought it totally inappropriate and NOT Funny, we go into Hysterics about it, STILL Funny to us... tho' NOT REALLY Funny. The Musings about it still Amuse us no End. Why? New Readers may wanna get in on the Insider Joke to the Phrase, Okay then: We're driving down the busy Freeway in the Express Lane, pretty fast, coz in Metro Phoenix most in that Lane are going 80 so you better be too. Well, out my Driver Window, off on the Side where you'd pull off if you had Vehicle Trouble, was a completely Stiff Dead White Chihuahua Service Animal, and he still had his Little Vest on...!!! Now, my warped Mind instantly conjured up, how the Hell did THAT happen?! In the most morbidly hilarious ways of coarse!!! *LMAOROTF* And Princess T Shared my Dark Gallow's Humor about the Strange and Mysterious Incident.
After all, I can't bring the Little Guy Back, Dead. Gonna Be Dead, some folks might not even have bothered to acknowledge seeing the Tragic Outcome of that Little Guy's Sentient Life and ultimate demise. The Cleanup Crew on the Freeway might have their own Questions of WTF??? We keep Dead Vested Chihuahua's Memory Alive by our Humor of the Incident and Speculation on how the Hell did that even happen?!? Was his Caregiving of his Disabled Human just too much and he decided to end it all and just jump out the Window Kamikaze Style? Goodbye Cruel World, I can't do this or take this anymore! Was he catching a Breeze as his Disabled Owner/Driver sped down the Freeway at 80 mph and he just fell out the Window? A tragic Accident. Did his Disabled Human, however fucked up they might have been, decide they didn't need him after all or have a Psychotic Moment and out the Window he was tossed? A horrible Homicide Version, "48 Hours" Style and we should be finding that Sick or Insane Perp and Prosecuting them for Animal Abuse or being Criminally Insane?
Well, the possibilities of what might have happened are Endless, depending on your Imagination and how Fertile it is? And just saying randomly, if some of us are Down and Feeling Sad, "And he still had his Little Vest on...", well, now The Family, and YOU, will possibly have a hard time keeping a Straight Face no matter what you're going thru? And I'd rather have you Laughing with genuine Tears of Positive Energy streaming down your Face, however inappropriately Why, than having Tears of Sorrow or Emotional Turmoil Wrecking you instead. Another Comedic Phrase we pull out Often is, "Will you just Look at that! Just LOOK at it..." If you have not seen the TikTok Video of the Guy pretending to Buy someone's Old Hooptie Car and messing with the Seller, you simply MUST go take a Look... and that Phrase now will Forever make you roll with Hysterical Laughter if you find that kind of Humor hilariously Funny? Whenever Princess T is Mad at Eli The Cat, I'll walk in when I hear the Yelling... and say, while Looking at said Cat, "Will you just Look at that! Just LOOK at it..."
She'll then start Laughing, and Eli somehow finds that Phrase so Amusing or Complimentary, he will now quit misbehaving and Act Silly and The Fool, rolling over, exposing his Belly, making Facial Expressions that shows he's Happy to now be the Center of Attention and LOOKED at. And, would ya just LOOK at THAT, just LOOK AT IT!!! And you keep saying it until everyone is rolling with Laughter and the Cat is basking in it, not realizing he's the butt of an Insider Joke... or mebbe he does... who knows what Thoughts Cats have? But, he LIKES it, seems to LOVE Hearing it actually... and that's all that matters, and we're all Laughing no matter how many times it's done... coz it never gets Old... any more than the Dead Vested Chihuahua Memory does of that Day we're careening down the Black Canyon Highway at 80mph and see that most unexpected and Curious Tragic Sight! In extended Memory of Dead Vested Chihuahua, may he RIP.
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No Worries, no Animals were harmed in the making of this morbid Dark Humor Post... Dawn... The Bohemian
A former co-worker of mine always used to say, "You gotta laugh to keep from cryin'." I use that phrase all the time. We all really DO have to find the humor in hard things.
ReplyDeleteAll the same, that poor chihuahua! I guess you had to be there. :)
Yes, you did have to be there. *Winks* I felt bad for the little Dog, but how on Earth did something like that even happen? One has to Wonder and speculate... which led me to a dark Satirical Place on the Canvas of my Macabre Imagination. *LOL* We are all better off Laughing than Crying.
DeleteI think a lot of us could write a book but I blog instead too! lol
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you found a blogging way to help you. My daughter is thinking of signing up for ssi too. It's a long process. My brother finally got it after 10 years of trying.
It is a long Process for SSI and I think they initially tend to Deny Claims hoping folks won't Appeal and keep trying to Qualify. Many have to hire Legal Counsel and then pay a large Sum of their Settlement to the Attorneys... so it's a whole Racket exploiting the Disabled and most Vulnerable.
DeleteI know Nurse Remi was assigned to help The Man, but it sounds like she's getting as much out of the visits as he is.
ReplyDeleteShe said that she definitely is, and that warmed my Heart becoz she's such a Dear Person and I feel over this Time we established a Situational Friendship as well. She deeply Cares about all her Patients. She has Worked in the Nursing Field a long time and worked in Prisons, Mental Institutions, the VA, Nursing Homes, Slaughterhouses, and other Danger filled Jobs as the visiting Nurse, as well as doing Home Nursing like this. There are a lot of local Doctors and Nurses from various Countries in Africa who have Immigrated here and provide valuable Services filling positions that we don't have enough Americans to fill in those Fields. She actually had worked at the Slaughterhouse locally that Grandson's Husband Allen worked at, she said it is a highly dangerous Job and many Job related accidents happen all the time, requiring Medical Attention. Allen had told us that and why very few Americans actually worked there, he was one of the few, about 95% of the Workforce in that Industry are Immigrants from usually Africa, South America and Mexico. My Mom was saying, when she was still Alive, that almost all Nursing Home Staffing now were other Immigrants, she herself was an Immigrant. And she said a lot of the Medical Staff in Hospitals were too and had been recruited from Eastern Europe, the Philippines, Vietnam, Africa and Mexico/South America by American Scouts who'd go to their Countries and work to get them the Paperwork needed coz the vacancies in some of the Jobs stayed Open and they'd be short staffed otherwise if relying upon an exclusive American Workforce with the training and skills necessary.
DeleteI will admit - the still had his little vest on story was a lot less than I was afraid it was! What a mystery, poor little guy. Laughing is the same as putting one foot in front of the other. I know your nurse feels better after she visits your family. And I think she makes you all feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteThe reciprocity of Nurse Remi's visits had benefit our Family and hers, which is always the best way for any interactions to be. Yes, the Mystery of that poor lil Service Chihuahua was a puzzle for sure, how on Earth something like that even happened?! So, my Imagination tended to run Wild and go to the dark rather Macabre Humor Satirical places it just Naturally does. *Winks*
DeleteI bet I'm not the only fan of yours that appreciates this shorter post. I got to read every word instead of just skimming. Knowing we wouldn't have to set aside a good amount of time when we click on your posts, will probably get you more consistent readers.
ReplyDeleteThe first photo is not your hair is it? Now, that would be a lot of work!
I'm succeeding in shortening most Post and am sure Readership may be more consistent when it's made quicker and easier to get thru one. *LOL* It also means I get a lot of Unpublished Posts ahead too, which is nice. The 1st Photo isn't my Hair and that person has a lot of Weave in there, it's not their Real Hair and is mostly Extensions. I like the Colorful look of it but the Maintenance of a Weave and Synthetics would be difficult I would think and could also be damaging over time to your Real Hair. A lot of folks who've used a lot of Extensions/Weaves end up with serious Traction Alopecia and their own Hair never grows back. You can get that too with the sheer weight of your Real Dreadlocks as you Age and Hair just becomes thinner and more fragile with Hormonal shifts. But that might have happened anyway regardless of what Style you wore since a lot of Elderly folks suffer from Age Pattern Baldness, both Men and Women.
DeleteMy dad always used to recite -
ReplyDelete"Laugh and the world laughs with you
Weep and you weep alone
For this sad old earth
Has to borrow its mirth
It has troubles enough of its own."
Whatever you do, don't google the poem because the other verse is depressing as!!
I have heard that whole Saying and I think it was Lyrics to a Song, as I recall? And yeah, it has a heavy section of Lyrics. But it's so True, everyone can Laugh with you but it's a Rare Friend who will Weep with you, so mostly you do Weep Alone.
Delete