I have a group of friends, we call ourselves the Quad Squad. We don’t see one another daily, but we text daily and share whatever we need to. Some days those texts are funny, some days needed encouragement, some days a needed rant about life, politics, or whatever. All are accepted. It is so ok to feel crabby! Do what you need to do!
Supportive friends are so important aren’t they! I seem to have found some on Substack as well. Thanks for being encouraging - appreciate it more than you know!! ✌️❤️
I loved your third thing....I too can't believe all the hate spewing and complete incivility from our "former President". His presence in our world gives me a constant dull background buzz of anxiety as much as I try to ignore it. The sad thing is even if/when he is defeated in November it won't stop. He has opened Pandora's box. How do we put the hate back in? Kindness and love to everyone we interact with to contract all the poison.
Honestly, I really had to reassess the whole, "everything happens for a reason", especially after my husband died and senseless folks would say it to me. I just wanted to stuff them in a barrel and toss them over Victoria Falls.
People, even well meaning ones, say the stupidest stuff. UGH. My sweetheart, Tim, passed from colon cancer at age 59, 3 years after I met him. I KNOW the reason... he never had a colonoscopy. 🤦♀️ I dont think people know how to deal with someone's passing. We need to do better. HUGS to you Rena. 😘
Beautiful. "In the end, it's our stories that echo in the halls of immortality—tales of hell endured, for the sweet embrace of calm." ❤️❤️ You're such a boost. Love to you, Gloria!
Sorry to hear about all your woes, Susan. I have heard most of my life that things happen in threes, so maybe you'll be good for a while. Sending you good vibes and a big hug. Hope things turn around for you.
It’s ok to be crabby sometimes, as long as you don’t make a habit of it. I had a day last week where everything I did went wrong, everything has now worked itself out.
Physical therapy is the best thing you can do for your knee. My daughter had a meniscus tear, had surgery, but it really never got better. She had the knee replaced two years ago, and it’s fine. Now her other knee needs to be replaced, but she’ll get that done in the fall.
I hope you’re feeling better , I’m keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
I'm already feeling better, Sharon! You're so right... you cant say in perpetual crabbiness. HAHA! Talking it out helps immensely and I dont have any family here to take it out on. 😂 Thank you for being a good friend.
Susan, fwiw I have a torn meniscus in my left knee. Had the Baker's cyst too at first - OMG yes, SO painful. Doctor said he could do surgery to "rip off the torn piece" but I opted for physical therapy. It took awhile for the cyst, swelling, and inflammation to go down, and by then my muscles were so weak I could barely do stairs and forget all about walking on ice. PT is helping immensely!
Yes, he said they can't repair it but the torn flap can catch on things and cause inflammation. And yes, my daughter-in-law is an occupational therapist and she's the one who told me I needed physical therapy.
You're allowed to be crabby. Sometimes shit happens in clusters. (Threes, fours, etc.) But somehow we endure. Go easy on that bad wheel. The business stuff will work itself out. As for our national crisis, the enemy has a delightful habit of stepping on rakes and shooting themselves in the foot.😂 Hang in there!😘
Susan Niemann: All bad comes in three, you said. In German, "Aller guten Dinge sind drei" -- All good comes in threes.
"But, I’d really like to know which of the gods is responsible for us having to go through hell to get to the sweet side of reason and calm!"
Your thinking here is much more traditional.
This "it will end soon . . ." is, I believe, from our simplistic, theocratic Christian heritage. Or, it is simply the other not caring about it and not wanting to hear the natural human groan under the grindstone. John doesn't want to hear Jane complain of her meniscus tear (O-U-C-H!!) -- of course it would be different if it were JOHN's meniscus tear!! -- so, he passes her off, "Oh, well, this TOO shall pass!"
As if, "God will take care of it."
I was born a little short of three years after WWII and my Mom is Walloon Belgian, from whom I learned about occupation under the Third Reich. The occupation cost Mom HER dear, well-loved, life-loving and happy mom!
Growing up in this teaching, and in love of the arts (from my wonderful, beautiful, full-spirited Mom), I am more attracted to the teaching of the Greeks than the Christian, Catholic though I am.
Aeschylus painted tragedy poignantly and nobly in his Oresteia (the only surviving trilogy of the Periclean time) and his quite moving Prometheus Bound.
Aeschylus, through great poetry, explored fate, human freedom, the cost of Hybris in human suffering, or even the frivolity and whimsy of the gods.
In the wake of the Shoah, no Christian theology explains human suffering -- NONE -- and I read the greats (Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich, Thomas Forsythe Torrance, Eberhard Busch, Emil Brunner, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Karl Barth).
(For that matter, the BEST theology convinces me there is no afterlife -- or at least none in the traditional sense.)
How refreshing to go pre-Christian to the Greeks where we are left in the face of no God or a plenitude of gods with their foibles and competition and what we are left with is not answers but great questions.
Questions are, in my view, immeasurably more interesting in their continuous, unceasing quest than any answers.
"...it would be different if it were JOHN's meniscus tear!!" Ha! That's true. You're such a well-read man, and I always walk away with more when we converse. Thanks, Armand. We all have our "stuff", and just talking about it really helps! ✌️💙
Susan Niemann: With a number of us, definitely including me, share at will, because we are richer for our friendship with you (albeit through the virtual medium of Substack).
Especially my clean house 😒
Thank you for this post and do take it easy... I was reminded of a related quote among my favorites: "Relax, nothing is under control." Wow!
OMG! That’s brilliant- and I shall steal it! 😂. Thank you!
I have a group of friends, we call ourselves the Quad Squad. We don’t see one another daily, but we text daily and share whatever we need to. Some days those texts are funny, some days needed encouragement, some days a needed rant about life, politics, or whatever. All are accepted. It is so ok to feel crabby! Do what you need to do!
Supportive friends are so important aren’t they! I seem to have found some on Substack as well. Thanks for being encouraging - appreciate it more than you know!! ✌️❤️
I loved your third thing....I too can't believe all the hate spewing and complete incivility from our "former President". His presence in our world gives me a constant dull background buzz of anxiety as much as I try to ignore it. The sad thing is even if/when he is defeated in November it won't stop. He has opened Pandora's box. How do we put the hate back in? Kindness and love to everyone we interact with to contract all the poison.
Good description Karen... "a constant dull background buzz of anxiety". I feel that! Here's to kindness and love everyday. I'm a believer. ❤️✌️
I’m sorry you’re feeling so cranky. I hope tomorrow is better for you.
Oh, I'm mentally better now...I guess I feel confident enough with the "friends I've never met" to whine a little. HAHA. THANK YOU! ❤️
Knee niggles suck! Im working through mine. Take care.
Friday he will tell me what we're doing...and it cant come soon enough. Sitting around is HORRIBLE! You know what I mean, too! 😂✌️
I am gradually coming back but it's like playing snakes and ladders with my body. Push but don't overdo or you will slide backwards.
Honestly, I really had to reassess the whole, "everything happens for a reason", especially after my husband died and senseless folks would say it to me. I just wanted to stuff them in a barrel and toss them over Victoria Falls.
People, even well meaning ones, say the stupidest stuff. UGH. My sweetheart, Tim, passed from colon cancer at age 59, 3 years after I met him. I KNOW the reason... he never had a colonoscopy. 🤦♀️ I dont think people know how to deal with someone's passing. We need to do better. HUGS to you Rena. 😘
And hugs to you. Now, I mostly look back and chuckle. I have survived and thrived.
We stand together.. we walk in Love.. ❤️Thank you for your words
NancyAnne... indeed we do. Thank YOU for reading. ✌️❤️
23 January 2022
To Whom It May Concern in the Pantheon
Who among you,
gods cloaked in myths and smoky Olympus lounges,
drafted the blueprint—where hell is a prerequisite to the sweet, reasoned calm?
Is it easy, from your vantage, to watch us scurry,
cheer on lips, despair in heart? Change, the only constant,
a mantra we chant as the ground shifts.
Zeus, perhaps, hurling bolts of chaos,
a smirk hidden in thunderclouds.
Or Athena, wisdom born from a headache,
knows too well the price of peace.
"We navigate storms," I whisper, "to cherish the stillness."
But oh, to not always learn the hard way— Is that too much to ask,
or just human?
Everything, indeed, could plummet further.
A comforting thought, strangely.
Does Hades laugh at our fear of depth,
or pity our ignorance of the darkness that cradles light?
So I address you, assembly of the divine, not in accusation,
but in curiosity:
Is our suffering your design,
a flawed feature or a bug?
Yet, amidst turmoil, we find
seeds of joy, sprouting— unexpectedly.
Does this, too, amuse you?
In the end, it's our stories that echo in the halls of immortality—
tales of hell endured,
for the sweet embrace
of calm.
My father in law had been in ICU with Covid for weeks and we did not know if he would survive.
Life is hard.
He is fine.
Bless you, Susan.
Beautiful. "In the end, it's our stories that echo in the halls of immortality—tales of hell endured, for the sweet embrace of calm." ❤️❤️ You're such a boost. Love to you, Gloria!
Big LOVE back
Hang In there my friend
This Too Shall Pass ❤️
Sorry to hear about all your woes, Susan. I have heard most of my life that things happen in threes, so maybe you'll be good for a while. Sending you good vibes and a big hug. Hope things turn around for you.
I will be ... it's temporary! 👍 I just needed to whine a little today! 😂
Hey, you're entitled to. When something is shit, we need to say so.
It’s ok to be crabby sometimes, as long as you don’t make a habit of it. I had a day last week where everything I did went wrong, everything has now worked itself out.
Physical therapy is the best thing you can do for your knee. My daughter had a meniscus tear, had surgery, but it really never got better. She had the knee replaced two years ago, and it’s fine. Now her other knee needs to be replaced, but she’ll get that done in the fall.
I hope you’re feeling better , I’m keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
I'm already feeling better, Sharon! You're so right... you cant say in perpetual crabbiness. HAHA! Talking it out helps immensely and I dont have any family here to take it out on. 😂 Thank you for being a good friend.
You can talk it out with me anytime.
Susan, fwiw I have a torn meniscus in my left knee. Had the Baker's cyst too at first - OMG yes, SO painful. Doctor said he could do surgery to "rip off the torn piece" but I opted for physical therapy. It took awhile for the cyst, swelling, and inflammation to go down, and by then my muscles were so weak I could barely do stairs and forget all about walking on ice. PT is helping immensely!
"rip off the torn piece"??? OMG! I think PT sounds more appetizing! 😂 I swear, Physical Therapists can work miracles!
Yes, he said they can't repair it but the torn flap can catch on things and cause inflammation. And yes, my daughter-in-law is an occupational therapist and she's the one who told me I needed physical therapy.
It's good to have an occupational therapist in the family!
You're allowed to be crabby. Sometimes shit happens in clusters. (Threes, fours, etc.) But somehow we endure. Go easy on that bad wheel. The business stuff will work itself out. As for our national crisis, the enemy has a delightful habit of stepping on rakes and shooting themselves in the foot.😂 Hang in there!😘
You're the best! Thanks Charlie! Venting a bit helps!
You gotta blow off steam every now and then. Back to the mulch. See ya!😘
Susan Niemann: All bad comes in three, you said. In German, "Aller guten Dinge sind drei" -- All good comes in threes.
"But, I’d really like to know which of the gods is responsible for us having to go through hell to get to the sweet side of reason and calm!"
Your thinking here is much more traditional.
This "it will end soon . . ." is, I believe, from our simplistic, theocratic Christian heritage. Or, it is simply the other not caring about it and not wanting to hear the natural human groan under the grindstone. John doesn't want to hear Jane complain of her meniscus tear (O-U-C-H!!) -- of course it would be different if it were JOHN's meniscus tear!! -- so, he passes her off, "Oh, well, this TOO shall pass!"
As if, "God will take care of it."
I was born a little short of three years after WWII and my Mom is Walloon Belgian, from whom I learned about occupation under the Third Reich. The occupation cost Mom HER dear, well-loved, life-loving and happy mom!
Growing up in this teaching, and in love of the arts (from my wonderful, beautiful, full-spirited Mom), I am more attracted to the teaching of the Greeks than the Christian, Catholic though I am.
Aeschylus painted tragedy poignantly and nobly in his Oresteia (the only surviving trilogy of the Periclean time) and his quite moving Prometheus Bound.
Aeschylus, through great poetry, explored fate, human freedom, the cost of Hybris in human suffering, or even the frivolity and whimsy of the gods.
In the wake of the Shoah, no Christian theology explains human suffering -- NONE -- and I read the greats (Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich, Thomas Forsythe Torrance, Eberhard Busch, Emil Brunner, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Karl Barth).
(For that matter, the BEST theology convinces me there is no afterlife -- or at least none in the traditional sense.)
How refreshing to go pre-Christian to the Greeks where we are left in the face of no God or a plenitude of gods with their foibles and competition and what we are left with is not answers but great questions.
Questions are, in my view, immeasurably more interesting in their continuous, unceasing quest than any answers.
Wow, this is why I am on substack, to take thought tours like this. Thank you.
Thank you for being here. Support for each other is such a gift. ✌️❤️
"...it would be different if it were JOHN's meniscus tear!!" Ha! That's true. You're such a well-read man, and I always walk away with more when we converse. Thanks, Armand. We all have our "stuff", and just talking about it really helps! ✌️💙
Susan Niemann: With a number of us, definitely including me, share at will, because we are richer for our friendship with you (albeit through the virtual medium of Substack).
Right this minute, that means more than you know!! ❤️
Those “this too will pass” cliches are not pain killers. Too. Often they seem to overlook the anguish of fighting pain.