Post Vaccination Life

Post vaccine life has been harder than we thought…  needing boosters…  variants that evade our vaccines…  breakthrough infections…  more isolation than we ever dreamed would be necessary for this long…  long haulers syndrome…  hair loss…  lung damage…  brain fog…  and then the anti-vaxxers…  those who spread misinformation and cause folks to believe rumor and conjecture are true…  our lives are messy and divided… 

Politics is no better… fully one third of the country have become fear mongering white supremacists who are terrified of America becoming other than a white majority… something destined to happen in the next 20 years or so…

It’s all quite upsetting and leads to a kind of dystopian world view bringing melancholy with it

It’s become more important than ever to lean in to hobbies and avocations…  to learn that self care is more than just something to practice… but the key to survival in this pandemic fueled era… to find joy and hope in the little things… the value of family… the importance of relationships.. holding those we love and value as close as we can during this time of separation and isolation 

Received flowers from the realtors who sold Mom’s house in Tucson… closing was today… one of the toughest decisions ever… made with lots of regrets and tears… but the flowers are gorgeous… finding joy in small moments 😷💕

Spring Has Sprung Post Vaccine - Life Slowly Resumes

 Spring has sprung here in the Big Apple...   

time to get outside...  move...  

if your already vaccinated... 

begin to live life again...  

time for small groups of vaccinated folks to gather and celebrate being alive! 

Some photos to get your blood pumping again... 

Vent... Vaccines #GetYourJabOn

Hey there friends...  I need to vent tonite...  if you’re not in the mood... that’s okay...  just scroll on by...  sometimes we all need to vent a bit...  to let out the anger and rage...  to spew forth.  It’s important to find an appropriate time and place to do so.  If we are careless, we might inadvertently hurt the feelings of those we love.  That is something we try to avoid by practicing self care.  If we cannot find a safe place and time, we can use either our tool of writing to give voice to our feelings... or we can reach out for support.  We can journal...  blog...  write a letter we don’t intend to send...  we can call a trusted confidante with whom we can share intimate information...  or, we can call our counselor.  However we take care of ourselves... our mental health will benefit.

VENT... 

Last night on my news program I learned that 45 (he who shall remain nameless) and his crew all were vaccinated prior to leaving the White House...  I am so pissed off...  here we are trying like crazy to get folks to feel comfortable getting vaccinated...  sharing intimate stories of our experiences...  hoping to help folks feel more at ease.  Many of them fearful of the vaccine... responding to false narratives that covid is somehow nothing more than a cold...  that over 500,000 dead is fake news...  that the entire crisis is manufactured...  that somehow the vaccine will make women sterile...  or change our DNA...  absurdities not founded in science or fact.

And now we discover that this group of people...  who used their bully pulpit to dissuade people from following CDC recommended guidelines to prevent spreading the virus...  ALL GOT VACCINATED THEMSELVES!! 

I could use the word ironic... but callous and cruel seems more fitting.  Why not tell the American people???  Share the facts...  give others a reason to follow and feel encouraged...  feel like sharing...  please do...  okay...  I am done... thanks for listening! 

Chili night tonite!  Delicious...  ground turkey...  onion...  garlic...  crushed tomatoes...  spices and a beer!  Served alongside a Newcastle Ale for good measure ❤️

Covid 19 & Societal Trauma

 The staggering loss of life and the ensuing trauma to almost everyone in our society is mind boggling...  for each person who has passed approximately 9 others are grieving...  that number is astonishingly painful...  

On top of it our front line medical workers are traumatized as well...  few are trained to help people die...  they are trained to help people recover & live

We need to come together as a society to help people heal however we can as individuals...  whether it’s cooking for someone who is ill...   donating $$$ to organizations that help...  planning zoom meetings for family members to connect...  organizing virtual game nights with friends...  sending small pick me ups to those living alone...   smiling behind the mask at strangers...  helping those who can’t sign up for vaccines 💉 

Whatever we can do...  each act of kindness like a pebble in a pond❤️

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021

 HAPPY NEW YEAR

This has been the year of change...  isolation for some...  growth for others... sickness, loss and loneliness for many...  we are here to shout WE ARE ALIVE as this difficult year finally comes to a close...  

There have been lessons to learn...  families to appreciate...  friends to miss...  masks to wear... dry skin from constant hand washing...  moments of unbridled joy and times of crushing sadness...  missed birthdays and weddings...  summers of outdoor small gatherings and holidays apart.  

We haven’t all made it through to the other side.  Let those of us who have  take a moment to remember the 1,800,000 folks who have passed from covid worldwide...  344,000 right here in America...  as we move forward with hope into 2021.  

Here’s to a vastly better year ahead...  a new administration...  a new vaccine to help against covid...  and most importantly...  hope...  to each of us...  a wish...  may you have enough...  cheers to 2021 🥂🍾❤️

Tools... Ever Present in Our Lives... Giving Us Hope

 What is it about remembering to use our tools that is so difficult? 

We learn them...  we practice them...  we are committed to making real changes in our lives...  visible improvement happens.  And yet... as time passes we seem to forget how important practicing and using our tools truly is for our recovery to not just continue...  but to grow and blossom.  

Maybe we get a little cocky...  we have been working on ourselves diligently for a long time.   We have seen and experienced substantial improvement in our relationships.  We have grown beyond our last guide post.  We are cured!  How true is the saying...  man makes plans, God laughs?   

And then it happens...   something unexpected...  and we find ourselves repeating old dysfunctional patterns...  running around the same codependent drama triangle.   But this time it IS different.  We can SEE the reality of our situation much sooner...   before we go all the way down the chasm again we are able to slam on the brakes...  take a deep breath and STOP.  

We are capable of looking in the mirror...  seeing how we have so casually stepped back from our path... momentarily lost our way.  Ah, but there is hope...  our tools are ever present... all we have to do is apply them and we are back on track...  practicing discernment...  setting boundaries...  practicing self care...  and asking for help.  

We are truly blessed to be part of the recovery community...  supported in our quest for healthier relationships and a balanced life.  

The Trauma of Pandemic Fatigue

Feel like getting out?  

A strong desire to forget about precautions?   

Travel to another place to escape?  

Just have some fun...  see friends...  get drunk...  forget it all?

You’re not the only one...  we all feel it...  low level depression...  isolation...  lack of social interactions... lack of physical touch...  loss of interest in hobbies...  pastimes...  life seems one dimensional...  dull...  no spark...  nothing to look forward to with a long winter ahead and the only light at the end of the tunnel is a vaccine available in the spring of next year...   ~sigh~

Does it help to know you’re not alone?  The world is once again facing a raging pandemic infecting in excess of 600,000 daily...  currently 55 million cases worldwide...   more than 1.3 million souls lost...  more than 11 million right here in the US...  with over 135,000 deaths.  

Of course we are overwhelmed...  frightened...  fatigued.  Our defense mechanisms... in an attempt to protect us from the devastation surrounding us...   gives us a false sense of security when we are with people we love and trust...  folks we see frequently...  “they couldn’t possibly get me sick”...  in our effort to deal with reality our defenses lie to us.   

This is the essence of pandemic fatigue.   Our cerebral cortex, usually capable of discerning truth from fiction, has left the party and we are in the hands of our old brain...  our reptilian brain...  the part of us that reacts to stress and trauma via fight, flight, or freeze.   Well...  the bad news is we can’t fight a virus with fisticuffs or verbal tirades...  we can’t flee... no where to go.  So, we freeze...  our feelings...  our sensibilities and our capacity for self care.  Just the opposite of what we need to do to survive.  

There is a way out...  reaching out to others...  we are all in the same boat...  talking with a counselor who can help...  pursuing simple tasks that require small effort for big rewards (baking bread)...  getting some fresh air and exercise by taking a walk (mask on!) or raking leaves...  volunteering to help others in a way safe for yourself...  journaling...  practicing gratitude...  remembering that this time will eventually pass and that others have survived pandemics before us...  and finally remembering that people we love depend on us to practice self care and stay safe so they can hug us when this is all over 😷💕