Interesting two weeks in the old Chinese curse kind of way.

Back around Thanksgiving my brother and his wife of 15 yrs. separated. They still care deeply for each other yet since he picked up a drinking habit after some 20-25 years of sobriety she grew frustrated and moved out.
It took a couple of months but not being able to swing the rent on his own resulted in us moving stuff into storage and installing him on my couch until he can find something he can afford.
Between keeping a pool business afloat, attending AA meetings every evening and looking for a place to share while working things out with his wife I don't know what will happen for him.
He's a good guy with a very strong faith, great values and morals if not prone to the occasional poor choice. I can't do much more for him except pray for his well being and just be here for him.

About ten day ago my best friend finally went to see a doctor for a persistent belly ache and was diagnosed with abscessed diverticulitis. The abscess responded well to the meds and apparently the kink in the gut does not require emergency treatment.
This is a man I am proud to call my friend. He pulled his daughter and grandkids out of a bad situation and has kept them under his roof for the last two years. He put his printing business on hold for six weeks to care for a buddy in Ohio back home after radical cancer treatment. He can build or repair darn near anything and is the finest shot and most brutally efficient harvester of animal and sea life I have encountered.
We had to skip a trip to Okeechobee shooting range Sunday.

Mom (83) is in great shape despite a nerve pinch that will flare up causing discomfort in her neck and arm. She's trying to take it easy but hates to stay still. Sharp as a tack but I need to make it to Lake Placid more often than I manage.

Ma-in-law (88) came from a doc visit with ECG diagnosed with a collapsed heart valve. The other day the cardiologist determined an issue with an atrial valve that does not require anything immediate and said to see her next year. Good news!
MIL is in a residential assisted living for Old Gals with dementia. She doesn't know me from Adam but can carry a conversation and still laugh.

Sis-in-law been staying in MIL's vacant place the last two weeks to escape the Carolina cold and pursue her degree that will help her and my wife's brother run a halfway house for recovering addicts they have had for the last six years.
She's a heckuva gal, very self sufficient but I'm doing what I can to help with the busy work around the house while her old man preps some property for a rustic kind of corporate retreat with cabins they want to build in the Pisgah area.

My Auntie K (Mom's sis) husband of 20 years, honest, hard working and God fearing man, skilled in construction and computers snapped after setting up a move from central SC to Tenn. and finding he could not set a workshop on the property. He lost it and trashed his place with a sledgehammer. my aunt fled and I can't reach either of them.

To top things off, a couple nights ago I awoke at 2AM needing a blanket and when I lifted my legs to gain momentum to sit up I brought my heel down on my 11 lb, 11 year young pooch sleeping on the foot of the bed.
She's responding well to an anti inflammatory for arthritic horses to treat her dinged up cervical discs.

Such is life.
This was really hard to write. I'm not used to dumping my problems on others and I'm darn sure not looking for tea and sympathy. I'm forever grateful for what I have and would not trade with anyone, just can't help but wonder why stuff happens to those I care about while somehow I keep bumbling along.

I'm glad I found this forum. Some have it better than I do and a lot have it a whole lot worse but at least I can vent a bit to folks who understand what life is about. If you can, spare a happy thought or a nod of understanding and send it on down thisaway, I'd appreciate it.

Well, There's a saying...

"The good Lord don't give us more than we can carry on our shoulders".


You're doing fine there in Fla, someone is looking out for YOU.


WuzzFuzz

I find that writing down my concerns can be very therapeutic.

You need a little you time, maybe a trip to the range is in order.

Amen to WuzzFuzz's post. That says it all.

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LEX ET ORDO

Yer Ma lives in Lake Placid????

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UNDER THE CONE OF SILENCE

Hang in there neighbor. Sometimes things get a little overwhelming but we manage. We have to.

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Dum vivo cano

"When the going gets tough . . ." Hang in there and things will work out one way or another. Been through some family craziness and other stress factories over the years, and it takes a while to realize your power to change things is limited, and your best move is hold a steady course and take care of the important stuff. Best of luck. We'll be thinking of you.

I am glad to hear that your wife is OK.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

At least it ain't snowing on you a foot or more every couple of days....

Seriously though, there are things in life you can control, and things you can't. Don't let the things you can't, control how you feel. Every day is a gift.

It's not a curse, it's just life and we all go through the good times and the bad times.

God likes me, I wouldn't be anywhere without Him.

True, just seeing it in print helped to lay a groundwork of what is and what needs to be done.
Range would be right on time. Picked up a Chief's Sp. from a forum member recently that fits a T-grip I found here also. Need to punch some paper and see what I have.

Florida, nice spot just north and west of Lake Okeechobee. The universe does not begin and end in NY.
Thank you my forum brother. Coming from you that means a lot.

Thank you. Wish I could do more but am of no use to anybody if I can't watch myself.

She's a rock.

Yep, found out long ago that few things are more non productive than complaining.

Life delivers fast balls constantly, then comes the change up unfortunately.

We all go through the same things sadly.

Hope things get better for you in time.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

I hope your brother can give up the high cost of low living.
God willing, he will find what he missed and/or lost in sobriety and regain himself.

Maybe you can offer him a suggestion from a friend of Bill W.
A good place for him to start may be on pages 62 and 63 of his Big Book - particularly the Third Step Prayer on page 63.
He'll know what you are talking about.

Life is a journey not a destination, when we have no more worries is when the journey ends. Problems are like bullets, the ones that we hear and deal with are the good ones, the first one we never see or hear is the bad one. Life gets to a point when it stops giving and starts taking. Peace be with you.

Friend, you have a lot to bear. I won't sugar coat it, that is spread thin.

I don't have any cute sayings or witty words of wisdom for ya. All I can say is, hang in there. I live across the country, but if there's anything I can do, even if it's just to say a prayer (already done), let me know.

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Freedom isn't free.

I wish this forum had a " I'm glad that you thought enough of us to share your load with" button.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Interesting times indeed.

Thought I was having a rough day; comparatively, not so much. Prayers sent.

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50 Years of DSOTM

Be strong. Every day offers new challenges and new hope. Never forget that you're not alone. Best wishes for sunny days.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hang in there! Best wishes for you and everyone else.
Remember, it can always be worse.....
Your dog could have bit you.

I'll surely pass that on when I see him later. He's out the door for a 7AM meet. He did show me his 1 month chip he received last night. The old prayer can apply in many ways.

Not to be glib, but I say this nearly every day and have found it true:

If we have our health, we have everything.

Hang in there...breathe, and best to you.

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Be Well

Please pass along my congratulations and well wishes.

I just picked up my 13 year medallion on Saturday. Anniversary was Thursday.
I'm a teenager now!

Hey SFN, I live about 12 miles north of L.P. If I can be of any help or if your mom needs anything, give me a holler. PM me if you like.

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Dick

As spread thin as you are -- and you definitely are going through an unusually rough patch -- I'm amazed at how well you seem to be handling it. Having a strong faith is the only way I know to get through the times that seem to come out of nowhere with challenge after challenge after challenge. I echo those who've said that we have to be willing to accept that there is only a limited amount that we can do, and beyond that, we have to rely on our higher power to take the load.

Prayers headed your way for strength, endurance, and wisdom for yourself and those around you too.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Good luck to you,one day at a time one problem at a time is all any of us can do. Say a prayer and don't let it get you down.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

"Troubles will come, and they will pass". True.

Thank you Dback. We're good.
Just tell me if those overfed whitetails are still in Highlands Hammock.
Stay well

I hope he understands that time spent sober isn't lost or wasted when there's a relapse. Tell him this old sober drunk said so, and wishes him all the best.

As for you, my friend I've never met, you've been in the path of quite a tsunami, but you're handling it. And you've just had a reminder that the people here are wonderful about supporting you when it gets deep. I treasure the kindness and encouragement I received when my brother died in September.

I'm very visual. I have a little routine I do when a problem or a person is weighing me down. If it's a person, even it's me, I mentally shrink him or her down to about six inches tall. I place the little figure in my two hands, and lift it as high overhead as I can--mentally if I'm in public, or physically at home--and say, "Please hold this, it's too heavy for me." Then I take my hands away, which sometimes is the hard part.

I can do that as many times as I need--I did it dozens of times a day when my beloved wife was dying. It always helped, if only for a little while.

All the best to you and your family.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Like the song says, If your going through hell keep on going.

I’ll say a prayer for peace for you and healing for your brother.

There's a reason I grab a $5 cigar and go off by myself just to relax. As I get older nothing changes its still the same faces and names. My family is like puppies there always around and fun to be with. When they leave there's no poop to clean up meaning everything in there lives is perfect.
Everything is perfect. Life is good.

But most of my friends and family have moved on to there next life. All that's left is my kids. I'm the head of the family now.

Older bro is off my couch, staying at Ma in Law's cat sitting while sis in law is in Californiyay taking some doctorate test. He's still working hard, got his 90 day chip while trying to work things out with his wife. Kind of hard to find a place with only a half day a week to look. Plenty of nice, clean, cheap places around but not for the straight crowd. I don't know, worked for John Ritter for a time.

Best friend's gut hasn't come unglued but he took the time to load about a thousand rounds of 5.56 and 300 WinMag and probably blew most of them at OK range on this most beautiful past Sunday while I worked a double. I really hate the guy.

Mom's discomfort has responded to deep tissue massage and if her back would stop aching she would be her old self ready to take on the world.

Ma in law? Soft in the head but healthy as a horse. I love her

Aunt and husband have parted ways. She's in Tenn. and he's in SC. Mixed feelings, I like them both but all things being equal I'll pick family every time.

BabyGirl the mutt is back to chasing the big dogs from the yard and doing her best to rid SoFla of the iguana infestation. She'll pull up looking gassed and confused as if thinking how easy it was once. A sip of beer and she's fine.

Amazing how things will generally work out IF one can keep on making their way through the morass we find ourselves in sometimes. Can't quit, and the thoughts of those kind enough to care always helps.

Meanwhile, another chapter begins.
Tomorrow at 0830 we check in at the local Hospital for most likely a partial replacement of my wife's left knee. She's fired up, looking forward to being able to get up and down from the floor while she cares for the 3 and under little ones at the local YMCA. So she says, I know for a fact she wants to be able to chase me down instead of chucking broomsticks and beer bottles at my head.
So for the next two weeks I'll be her shoulder to lean on while she recovers. I'm thankful and glad to be able to help. The FMLA paperwork cleared and I can burn some of the 500+ hours of sick leave accumulating.
Can't wait to get her on a dance floor, she can make even me look good.

That's all folks. Spare a wish for a great gal, if not, that's cool too. See y'all in the funny pages.

Ah, ignorance is bliss.

People think I'm stupid, but I ain't dumb. Life's funner when things are simple.

Being alive isn't living but living good is the life.

After a really rough year, my wife and I got a few small bits of good news so we built a fire and danced around it.

You are lucky to have a good woman around. I don't think I could have faced all this alone. I told my wife in all seriousness that if I had to be miserable, I can't think of anyone else that I'd rather be miserable with. When we lean on each other we fit together pretty good.

Glad to hear your bro is at AA. He did make a good choice there.

I know how you feel about your MIL. Mine has had to go live with one of her daughters. In spite of MIL stories I've always loved mine, too.

That's really too bad about your Aunt and her husband. Nothing to do there except pick up the pieces and go on.

The people here have been through it and are no strangers to trouble. Great bunch of guys and gals. I've had to dump on them and I wasn't sorry.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Thanks for that thought, I will use that line. Outstanding. I hope things continue to improve for you on the family front. The heartache endured is worse when it's close, just not right to shunt it away.

Mrs. just woke up and I told her what you wrote. Made her smile and say "Awww...". Thanks again.

Wow, I would completely agree you are spread thin. I pray your path is smoother in the future.

I wish I had better words of wisdom, but just know we stand with you even from a great distance.

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I am a sheep dog!
1601 (ret)

It's not so much the challenges in life so much as how you handle them. You're a good caring person.
Our life came to a screeching halt a few years ago when my neurological problems started. I lost my job and my wife quit hers to tote my gimpy behind around to doctors for tests and treatments.
Then I got a preliminary diagnosis of ALS.
After more tests, it turned out to be a condition called Multifocal Motor Neuropathy.
After trying to find work for three years, the state of West Virginia declared me as a useless cripple. We still had a mortgage and two car notes. Our savings were dwindling.
Now, I've had to go on disability and my wife's working as a home health care aid right here in town. Our mortgage and one car note's paid off. We've actually broken better than even for the last few months and I've managed to stay out of a wheelchair.
We started with a seemingly hopeless situation, worked our way through it and came out the other side.
My big problem right now? I'm tryin' to get some winter weight off.
The people on this forum help me to keep my head together.

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Keep on Chooglin'

SFN, it sounds like you are a lucky man, with quite a few folks you love, and that love you. That makes most of life pretty darn good.

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed

Chuck Norris looks up to you, you are the man.

Who is Chuck Norris?

I love it when His plan comes together.

Thanks for the update, and it's great to hear that you made it through that period of being spread then, and are returning to the normal state of just not being spread quite as thick as we'd like to be.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Thanks. I like this place too. No real one-upping, apple and orange debate just real people with real problems, big or small who are willing to relate their own spin on the big fat twirl of life.

Mrs. N now has a brand new inside half knee. Out of recovery at 1800 April Fools she assigned me bedpan duty every two hours until she managed a bedside commode the next morning. After a few laps around the house of horrors known as physical therapy we got the hospital heave-ho and arrived home 1830 yesterday where dammed if she's not hitting the head about every hour. Not sure whether to worry or not.

Break times about over, trying to see about making this crackerbox of a home a bit more accessible for a chunky gal with a walker. Rehabbing her will be tough.

As it happens, the hourly whizzes were not a good thing. Spent a good part of yesterday at the ER where 1600+ cc were drained from my wife's bladder via catheter. Home that PM with a leg bag that has put a real kink in the rehab. Combined with misinfo from home health care and unresponsive medical equipment company has gotten my cracker temperature rising.

Definitely experienced the highs and lows of health care professional. When they realize I respect boundaries yet will not hesitate to beat thru doors if necessary we manage to get on the same page. With all that, even though I hammered for urologist contact info it was not given until 1500, after the office closed for the holiday weekend.

Two at the hospital will be the focus of my attention until I can be convinced beyond any doubt on my part of the wisdom of their actions. I understand the medical arts are not an exact science (hence the word arts) and insurance procedures necessitate expedient actions I really don't care.

Pushing 0800, going to hit the phones despite it being Saturday morning. Wish me luck.

^I hope it works out for you, SFN. Prayers offered for you and your family.^

Thank you kindly, BigCC. Mama's smiling, having just plowed thru meatloaf with green beans and taters. Catheter been removed and awaiting bladder function.

The things I look forward to...