I really don't think I have a difficult life, my daughters however do have difficult times in their lives, as do we all. Some of us have crippling anxiety, some of us have autoimmune diseases, some of us have the diseases of age, some of us have broken families, some of us have cancer, some of us have lost their partners to disease or suicide or divorce, some of us have to deal with traumatic brain injuries, some of us are living in a war zone, some of us were abused by parents or spouses, some of us deal with discrimination, and some of us deal with addictions. My point is, we all have difficult things in our lives and those difficult things are unique to our life. I also think that difficult things is how we grow and learn, not just about ourselves, but about the world and life in general.
I don't write about things for sympathy, although it's nice, I write about things to get them out of my head, because if they stay inside my head, they swirl around and turn into shitty thoughts, which in turn become depressed thoughts. It's how I deal with things. I have good days and bad days. I have good moments and bad moments. Often times I can so easily forgot the good days and the good moments, and just ruminate, but that's not just me either. It's part of being a human being. Our brains are designed to pay attention to the dangerous times, because that's how our ancestors survived for 300,000 years. The ones that didn't pay attention to the dangerous, scary stuff, died before they could leave behind progeny. Nervous people survived:)
I've been going through old photos because I found a bunch of them in the basement and it was a good reminder of all the good times in my life, things I'm so thankful for. Life is never perfect, never without difficulty and never without pain, but it can also be wonderful at times.
<3 It's always nice to reflect and find joy! :) Love all these pictures but 98'ish wowie!
ReplyDeleteThe third act of life certainly is one of reflection it seems. I spend a lot of time looking backwards. The photos are a good reminder of the good times.
DeleteBeautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary.
Delete"Nervous people survived."
ReplyDeleteMade me chuckle.
Love the pics of you! Love that face, girl.
Makes sense, doesn't it?
DeleteYes on the nervous people! We rock!! I sometimes feel that I misrepresent myself on my blog where I spend a lot of (too much?) time in introspection and occasionally whine/rant. In real life, I'm a very cheerful person, but my blog is where I share my innermost feelings and thoughts. (which aren't always cheerful)
ReplyDeleteI don't think you spend too much time in introspection at all, and don't find that you whine either. None of us are cheerful all the time, except maybe the Mormons:) They are agressively cheerful I find.
DeleteLove the photos! Now I need to look for some of mine if I'm brave enough. My glasses and hair were quite something back in those days. :)
ReplyDeleteGlasses truly do tell the decade, don't they?
DeleteIn 1998ish I would have been happy to give you a Thai leg massage. What a pair you had back then... and come to think of it - you probably still have them! (I hope that I am allowed to say such things here - if not I apologise most sincerely for it is important to be politically correct).
ReplyDeleteWell thank you Mr. Pudding and yes, I do still have my legs. Amputation seemed a bit excessive:)
DeleteI agree with YP - you had and probably still have great legs! And your photos are lovely!
DeleteI needed these wise words right now, thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteOld photos bringing back happy memories. Lovely.
Sparkling Merlot, I miss reading your blog. Are you ok?
DeleteGreat post! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome:)
DeleteThanks for writing this. Is your hair still curly? Your hair was great in the 90's.
ReplyDeleteSadly no. I permed my hair for years. Remember those?
DeleteNice gams, toots!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debra:)
DeleteSometimes writing is necessary so that you can barf out the bad stuff. Just remember to be kind to yourself today.
ReplyDeleteWill Jay
I'm working on it and thank you.
DeleteI loved looking at your old photos. I think that the car in the background of the first photo is a Ford Pinto. I started my blog simply to have a place to write my thoughts down. Most of them were negative and I just needed a place to vent, and the computer turned out to be the place. I really enjoy your posts because they are real and honestly written.
ReplyDeleteThe car wasn't a pinto but I can't remember what kind it was. It was a station wagon and I was horrified when my dad made me buy it, I was only twenty-one. It was a very good car though.
DeleteWriting is an excellent way to deal with the negative, in my humble opinion:)
Well, I must say you were (and are) just a cute, sweet little Pixie! I look through my old pics just to remember how I use to look! I'll never look like that again!
ReplyDeleteIt's weird getting older and looking in the mirror. I'm starting to understand my mum better:)
DeleteGreat pictures and lovely smile! I think I had those same glasses!
ReplyDeleteXoxo
Barbara
Thanks. There wasn't nearly as much variety with glasses it seems, as there is today.
DeleteBeautiful series of photos.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteLove the photos! It's great to see you and the family in earlier years. Is that your son, father of Jack, in the second-to-last picture?
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that we all have our struggles and we all learn from them. I love the observation that "nervous people survived"!
Yes, that's my son. He turns forty-one next week. Hard to believe.
DeleteWhen you think about it, nervous people would have survived. Everything has an evolutionary advantage, or those genes wouldn't have survived to be passed on.
I think if you are honest, u never blog for sympathy
ReplyDeleteI try to be honest with myself, even when it's painful.
Delete