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06322

 

I was in contemplative mood yesterday.  Today felt like a ‘work’ day — so much accomplished but exhausted and with an empty brain.  I figured I’d share my IG story.

I have ups and downs on the journey of self-discovery.  But the days I feel completely at ease in the skin I’m in … those aren’t such bad days.

Xox, g

05322

As I waited for this page to open up and finally allow me to type, a million things flew through my brain.  How much I just wanted to sleep, how dedicated I am to blogging even when I have nothing to say — most importantly that I have nothing to say and no direction —what the actual point of this blind determination is in the grand scheme of things ….

I thought about our afternoon and how as humans, we all choose who we spend time with in odd ways — but shouldn’t we choose other people who bring us joy?  Who light up at the same things as us — good conversation, debate, laughter …. Or whatever floats each person’s boat.  Shouldn’t we spend time with people we trust?

If I am devoted to coming to this space every day (ahem, night) shouldn’t I at least have a hazy outline of an idea?  Because just coming here and verbally vomiting on the page doesn’t serve anyone very much.  Am I serving myself?  In any other way than proving I don’t always quit?  I’m not sure.  Am I serving anyone who actually commits to reading?  I’d say no, as my posts are as random as a moment in anyone’s brain – disjointed, short, long, rambling … but mostly seemingly pointless.

Anyway.  I couldn’t go to sleep without blogging.  And somehow, I feel as though that’s a win.

Xox, g

04322

A few infusions ago, a man came into our room to tout the benefits of reiki.  He explained that many people have found great relief through reiki.  And then he paused and looked conspiratorially at us both.  “And, I don’t want to — well, three nurses who were all trying to get pregnant had one session each and they all got pregnant!“. He smiled widely.  My eyes slid to the side as I smiled weakly.

I’m not sad that women who wanted children were able to have them.  I wasn’t sad that I don’t have children.  I even believe in reiki and think it’s fantastic that UPenn has a program for patients.  I was slightly annoyed by his pitch.

“Wrong audience,” I said to John as he left, leaning my head back to check my meds level.

Here’s my thing – we are all living on this Earth for our one life.  Even if we get more, even if reincarnation is a real thing and we keep coming back again and again we won’t know because very few people remember their former lives and anyway, that’s beside the point right now.  We get this life.  This one, beautiful, precious, difficult, challenging, confusing life.  What a cool miracle.

And so many of us just … live in a lane and a belief system and impose it on everyone else as though it’s the rightest of right ways to exist.  As though I should want children, don’t I want children, isn’t it so sad that I don’t have children?

Not really.

I mean, for me, not really.  I don’t hate kids – in fact, I adore my goddaughter and her brother and so many little humans that I’ve known across the years.  But I don’t want my own.  And even when – momentarily – I did think having kids would be excellent, I was never devastated when it didn’t happen.

This is just one example of society telling me – both loudly and subtly – what I should be doing and wanting in my one precious life.  And I’m kind of over it.

I’d be fairly narcissistic to believe that my legacy will live on forever after I’m gone.  So why shouldn’t I just embrace this time, this ride, and really enjoy as much of it as I can?

I think about this a lot when I’m hooked up to meds.  Because every four weeks we schlep into the city so I can have drugs pumped into my veins in order to be able to live my one precious life the best way I can.

And that’s kind of what I want to do.

Xox, g

 

03322

We went to see ‘The Batman’ tonight and it was very good.  I wanted to write ‘surprisingly’ or ‘actually’ before good but neither are necessary.  There was no indication that it wouldn’t be good and the trailers were cleverly deceptive.  The mood was noir and it was incredibly well cast, beautifully shot and had an intriguing story.  We both enjoyed it immensely.

My headache is receding and medicine is tomorrow.  We’ve decided to stay home next week instead of going to Bellefonte and while it’s a relief I also feel sad that John isn’t going to get to do as much fishing as I know he wants to do in the new streams.

I have some things I’m working on and I’m excited about them.  As I get into them I’m sure I’ll write about them here.  But for now, life feels okay at home and I am going to sleep without searing pain.  So I am grateful for that.

Xox, g

02322

There are days when I truly wish that I could look as awful as I feel.  Because then maybe people would pay attention and have some grace.

I work hard to appear as healthy as possible – hydration and skincare and exercise (and a smallish shopping addiction haha).  But today – feeling utterly horrible and wanting to just completely die – I wished that people could understand.  And I knew – I always know – that they can’t.  Healthy people cannot understand the Herculean effort that goes into existing in the world while constantly struggling with pain.  It’s just not possible.  Imagination can only go so far.

It’s another early night and I am vowing (once again) to start blogging earlier in the day.  I feel like the sky is crashing down.  I am so, so tired.  I am in such pain.

It sucks.

Xox, g

01322

 

Every month I choose a quote for our letter board.  I wanted something that was about having faith, keeping faith, the strength of faith.  The above quote was the first one that popped up when I googled.  I felt like it fit this month.

Xox, g

28222

It‘s funny to me that we are finished with two months of the ‘new’ year.

Two months.  One sixth.  Not an insignificant amount of time.

It makes me think about how we each choose to spend our time.  I was reading today about the wonder that comes back into your life after quitting drinking.  The wonder and excitement and fun of experiencing life – the things we all found interesting as children become interesting again.  Life seems miraculous and wondrous and beautiful and amazing and incredible.  Because we’re paying attention.  Because we aren’t clouding our thoughts with alcohol – numbing the pain and running from the truth.  We are, instead, marinating in it all.

It’s been nearly two years of a pandemic.  Several days ago the first ground war in nearly eighty years began in Europe.  Life feels heavy and very difficult to navigate and yet we MUST still exist and live.

Time is a funny, trippy thing.

Xo, g

27222

It feels strange and disconnected to go about life as though everything is fine.  As though a war isn’t happening on European soil for the first time in eighty years.  As though people aren’t fleeing for borders and huddled in makeshift bomb shelters.

It feels strange and wrong.

But what else can I do?  Can John do?  We can pay attention, obviously.  But I don’t know that there is anything actionable we can do right now besides donating money to organizations and efforts to help the Ukrainian people.

My exhaustion is so palpable it’s actually hard to describe.  Physically, mentally, emotionally.  Life feels so exceptionally difficult.  But we’re watching “Only Murders in the Building” …. Which both adds to the exhaustion (how is this what I’m doing while a country is being attacked?) and relieves the exhaustion (with escapism and a break from the constant scrolling).

We’re going to bed before eight pm again.  That’s where we’re at.

Xox, g

26222

I feel like the car that is sputtering on the side of the road – sputtering but not turning over.  Still trying, but too worn out to do much more than flail intermittently.

I’m not sure what triggered it but today I had a true moment of utter despair – a moment of terror and fear and defeat and desperation.  I am tired.  I cannot seem to get “un” tired no matter what I do.  And the fear within me to be viewed as lazy or privileged drives me every day to push myself past the capacity of my body.

Fear of not being able to walk.  Despair at becoming a person like my in-laws: completely uncaring about my environment or my health or the people I’m surrounded by.  Defeat at not being able to keep going, to do the things, live a normal life.  Terror at being directionless and lost forever.

What is rest?  What is good sleep?  What are the things I can do and keep existing without sputtering to a stop?

I am so tired.

Xox, g

25222

Something husby and I talked about today – but we talk about often in different ways – is how we are each given one life.  No do-overs, no seconds, no switching out. Just one.

You can think of it as a gift from God or biology or just the way things work.  But we each get one.  And when we die there isn’t a terribly long span of time before we are forgotten.  (Not to be morbid or tragic or sad – but unless you’re George Washington or Socrates, you probably won’t be remembered hundreds of years later).

That being said, how we each choose to spend the time we are given – which is not in any way guaranteed – should (hopefully) take on new meaning.  Why spend time doing hateful things, or terrible things, or being utterly miserable in life?  Why choose to spend your precious time that way?

My mother was sometimes referred to as a Pollyanna.  This is in reference to an old Disney movie of the same name about a young girl who was positive in the face of some devastating odds.  She always found the bright side.  That was my mother – always sunny and happy and enjoying her time.

I know it wasn’t always like that.  There were times when it got very dark for her.  I was young (and some of it happened before I was even thought of, let alone born) but I remember those times.  I also think my mother – who lost her first husband at the tender age of twenty-two – understood the profundity of the fleeting nature of life.

I’ve been thinking about it today because there is a war going on in our country against human rights.  And a war on European soil that America cannot get involved in for threat of nuclear war.  And these people – those perpetrating the erasure of human rights and the invasion of another people’s home are CHOOSING to spend their limited time on this Earth pursuing these goals.  For what?  To affect a generation or two of humans coming after — to create a world of hate and fear and angst and terror?  That’s a choice.  By another human being.

It weighs on me, it makes me profoundly sad.  As I feel the privilege of my life, it’s safety and comfort.

Xoxo, g