I am moving this blog over to wordpress as well. Makes sense to me to have them all in one spot. I also really like a few of the wordpress features that blogger doesn't have! So...
Colorful Medication
There's the new link. Please update your readers with the address, as I have a feeling I will be using this one more as drama unfolds with dad. If I can figure out how to add in an actual redirect, I will, but that's not likely!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
I officially hate M
First, update on Mom's deathiversary: M ended up not coming up. She and dad got into a fight about her behavior of late and dad didn't bring her. All the better for me, which I later told him. It was upsetting me way too much. And for those who think I'm over-reacting to the idea of dad dating, I would like you to take the time to actually read this blog. See that dad has dated before and I've had no issue with it. The issue with this was not dad dating, it was M coming up here ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY. Pretty much anyone that has heard mention of her coming up here that day has said how rude and inconsiderate it was, including people known for telling me the God's honest truth.
What behavior caused the fight? Her using dad as her errand boy, when he lives 25 miles one way from her. And then? She asked him if there was the possibility of them getting married! After only "not dating" for a month, max. He said if there was, it would be at least a year. Come to find out, she'd already started making plans for an August wedding AND INVITING PEOPLE! Seriously? This is adolescent behavior, the shit we do as teenagers when we're "head over heels" in love with our crushes. We doodle hearts and our names with theirs on notebooks, plan what a wedding might look like, think about our future lives. We don't, however, plan the wedding and invite people before even being asked. THAT'S the sign of a person with some serious attachment issues, imo. And after the fight? She texted ME the next morning (the morning of Mom's death, mind you) to ask me to apologize to my dad on her behalf and tell him how sorry she was for her behavior. Grow up, woman. Do your own work. (I did pass on the message, for what it's worth.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now the reason for this post:
Yesterday I talked to dad to see if he'd talked to M since their fight, so I'd know if I could expect more text messages. If they did, and it was no good, I was going to delete her from my phone. If they didn't, because he wasn't planning on it, same thing. But they did, so I get to leave her. He was telling me, however, what happened on Tuesday. He took her to a doc appt about...70 miles away, maybe? While she was there, she took a med for her pain. 3 hours later, she took 2 more of a different drug (which she claimed to me today was for a migraine, but research says it's what I thought - a anti-anxiety similar to xan.ax*). It caused her to slur her words and behave in a manner similar to how mom used to behave when she was on these meds as she was dying. Dad, quite naturally, isn't willing to tolerate that. We discussed PTSD, how it happens not just with vets (which he is) but also with anyone who has had a traumatic experience (such as being there, mostly alone, for every moment that your wife spent dying over a course of 14 months). I told him that not being willing to tolerate that behavior from anyone else, drug-related or not, was perfectly acceptable and understandable. I also tried to explain drug dishabituation** to him, but I'm not sure he understood. He said he'd have M call me.
At any rate, while I was at the store today, I got a message from M asking if she could call and talk to me. Three minutes later, another one came in saying she'd talk to me later. I left the store and called her to find out what was up. She acted all high and mighty about her behavior with dad, how she knows what she's doing, she took the second meds because she had a migraine, she's a trained pharmacologist, blah blah blah. I was trying to explain to dad, not her, so I don't care. If she's trained, she should have known better! I told her dad doesn't understand sick and pain, because he's rarely sick and almost never in pain. He doesn't understand illness. Mom's cancer freaked him right the fuck out, because he didn't know what to DO with it. He couldn't fix it, he didn't understand it, and it was always changing, morphing his wife into someone he didn't know and who, at times, didn't know him. I tried to explain to her what I'd told dad about the PTSD - she asked me if dad needed therapy! That tells me how little she knows about dad. He would never, ever do therapy and to suggest it would be anathema. He would view it as weakness. I know my parents went through some counseling while mom was sick the first time and dad made a bad decision, but...that's the only time, and only because mom pushed him into it. He knew it was that or they were done for.
While talking to her, she then proceeded to tell me how mean mom was to dad, how nothing was ever good enough for her. No matter how much dad worked or how much money he brought home or what he did, it was never enough. I shared one of mom's "secrets" - that mom had MPD the whole time I was growing up, something M never knew. Something MOST people didn't know. I didn't know until well after I was out of the house and mom apologized for my life growing up with that. I didn't notice, I didn't know anything was out of the ordinary that wasn't just severe mood swings, but it explains a lot of things when I look back. So no, mom wasn't perfect but you know what? Neither was dad. I also got to tell M about a fight mom and dad had once. Mom was upset about something that happened with one of her friends and dad, finally frustrated with her emotions (another thing he doesn't deal well with) said "Have you ever seen your best friend blown up in front of you? No? Then you have nothing to be upset about!" and walked off. So go ahead, M. Tell me how mean my mom was to my dad. Tell me again how perfect my dad is and I will proceed to burst that balloon time and time again. I have examples that you can't begin to know. I lived in that house. I know my parents. I know that there are things I don't know, but I do know this: they were good to each other and to me. I had good parents - strict at times, but good. They had their fair share of problems - they almost divorced when I was 11 - but what married couple doesn't?
I stopped her mid-rant and was like "listen, no, just stop. Do NOT disparage my mother to me ever, ever again. I will not tolerate it, do you understand? She is my MOTHER." She kept trying to interrupt me with "no just listen, listen, listen...no, listen". Like hell, lady. I will not listen idly while you tell me how horrible you think my mother was. No. Just no. She finally says "Listen, she was my best friend. She was always there when I needed her, I just had to pick up the phone. I know you were close to your mother like I was to mine, but mine was horrible, just horrible, to my father and I vowed I would never let anyone put their mother on a pedestal." Don't EVEN put your issues with your family onto mine, lady. Don't EVEN. I don't put my mother on a pedestal, but don't pretend you know everything that happened. My family was/is private (I am far less so, obviously) and things that happened didn't get talked about to many. Mom's friend S probably knows just about everything that has ever happened - she and mom were kindred spirits - but I doubt anyone else does.
And then? To top it off, while I was talking to her I was walking in the house with my groceries and the child when one of the bags broke and my pickles crashed to the ground and shattered. Pickles I don't buy very often because they are expensive but they were on sale. I cussed, like I do, and she was all "J****!(I LOATHE that name, btw) You swore! I didn't know you swore! How long have you sworn?" I was like...since I was 13? I cuss like a sailor! Inside I'm thinking "you didn't know I swear because you don't know a god damn thing about me, so stop pretending like you do." I'm not the "girl" she knew, I'm an adult. An adult who is going to be having a talk with her dad later this evening about the conversation today. I am done. Dad can keep her in his life if he wishes but I will not allow her into mine. There are red flags all over the place and I won't have it. Her behavior is unacceptable to me and he needs to know that. He's an adult who can make his own decisions, yes, but I feel that I should be able to weigh in on this.
Sorry this is so long. This took place over a 5-minute conversation. So much happened and I need to get it out of my head so that I can be civil when I talk to dad later. Thank you for reading, and for leaving a comment in advance!
* Yes, I know, not all meds are used for the purposes they are originally set for. I take plenty of those, ones not approved by the FDA for the uses I am taking them for. Still not the point.
** A single introduction of a different stimulus late in the habituation procedure when responding to the eliciting stimulus has declined can cause an increase in the habituated response. This increase in responding is temporary and is called "dishabituation" and always occurs to the original eliciting stimulus (not to the added stimulus). Researchers also use evidence of dishabituation to rule out sensory adaptation and fatigue as alternative explanations of the habituation process.
What behavior caused the fight? Her using dad as her errand boy, when he lives 25 miles one way from her. And then? She asked him if there was the possibility of them getting married! After only "not dating" for a month, max. He said if there was, it would be at least a year. Come to find out, she'd already started making plans for an August wedding AND INVITING PEOPLE! Seriously? This is adolescent behavior, the shit we do as teenagers when we're "head over heels" in love with our crushes. We doodle hearts and our names with theirs on notebooks, plan what a wedding might look like, think about our future lives. We don't, however, plan the wedding and invite people before even being asked. THAT'S the sign of a person with some serious attachment issues, imo. And after the fight? She texted ME the next morning (the morning of Mom's death, mind you) to ask me to apologize to my dad on her behalf and tell him how sorry she was for her behavior. Grow up, woman. Do your own work. (I did pass on the message, for what it's worth.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now the reason for this post:
Yesterday I talked to dad to see if he'd talked to M since their fight, so I'd know if I could expect more text messages. If they did, and it was no good, I was going to delete her from my phone. If they didn't, because he wasn't planning on it, same thing. But they did, so I get to leave her. He was telling me, however, what happened on Tuesday. He took her to a doc appt about...70 miles away, maybe? While she was there, she took a med for her pain. 3 hours later, she took 2 more of a different drug (which she claimed to me today was for a migraine, but research says it's what I thought - a anti-anxiety similar to xan.ax*). It caused her to slur her words and behave in a manner similar to how mom used to behave when she was on these meds as she was dying. Dad, quite naturally, isn't willing to tolerate that. We discussed PTSD, how it happens not just with vets (which he is) but also with anyone who has had a traumatic experience (such as being there, mostly alone, for every moment that your wife spent dying over a course of 14 months). I told him that not being willing to tolerate that behavior from anyone else, drug-related or not, was perfectly acceptable and understandable. I also tried to explain drug dishabituation** to him, but I'm not sure he understood. He said he'd have M call me.
At any rate, while I was at the store today, I got a message from M asking if she could call and talk to me. Three minutes later, another one came in saying she'd talk to me later. I left the store and called her to find out what was up. She acted all high and mighty about her behavior with dad, how she knows what she's doing, she took the second meds because she had a migraine, she's a trained pharmacologist, blah blah blah. I was trying to explain to dad, not her, so I don't care. If she's trained, she should have known better! I told her dad doesn't understand sick and pain, because he's rarely sick and almost never in pain. He doesn't understand illness. Mom's cancer freaked him right the fuck out, because he didn't know what to DO with it. He couldn't fix it, he didn't understand it, and it was always changing, morphing his wife into someone he didn't know and who, at times, didn't know him. I tried to explain to her what I'd told dad about the PTSD - she asked me if dad needed therapy! That tells me how little she knows about dad. He would never, ever do therapy and to suggest it would be anathema. He would view it as weakness. I know my parents went through some counseling while mom was sick the first time and dad made a bad decision, but...that's the only time, and only because mom pushed him into it. He knew it was that or they were done for.
While talking to her, she then proceeded to tell me how mean mom was to dad, how nothing was ever good enough for her. No matter how much dad worked or how much money he brought home or what he did, it was never enough. I shared one of mom's "secrets" - that mom had MPD the whole time I was growing up, something M never knew. Something MOST people didn't know. I didn't know until well after I was out of the house and mom apologized for my life growing up with that. I didn't notice, I didn't know anything was out of the ordinary that wasn't just severe mood swings, but it explains a lot of things when I look back. So no, mom wasn't perfect but you know what? Neither was dad. I also got to tell M about a fight mom and dad had once. Mom was upset about something that happened with one of her friends and dad, finally frustrated with her emotions (another thing he doesn't deal well with) said "Have you ever seen your best friend blown up in front of you? No? Then you have nothing to be upset about!" and walked off. So go ahead, M. Tell me how mean my mom was to my dad. Tell me again how perfect my dad is and I will proceed to burst that balloon time and time again. I have examples that you can't begin to know. I lived in that house. I know my parents. I know that there are things I don't know, but I do know this: they were good to each other and to me. I had good parents - strict at times, but good. They had their fair share of problems - they almost divorced when I was 11 - but what married couple doesn't?
I stopped her mid-rant and was like "listen, no, just stop. Do NOT disparage my mother to me ever, ever again. I will not tolerate it, do you understand? She is my MOTHER." She kept trying to interrupt me with "no just listen, listen, listen...no, listen". Like hell, lady. I will not listen idly while you tell me how horrible you think my mother was. No. Just no. She finally says "Listen, she was my best friend. She was always there when I needed her, I just had to pick up the phone. I know you were close to your mother like I was to mine, but mine was horrible, just horrible, to my father and I vowed I would never let anyone put their mother on a pedestal." Don't EVEN put your issues with your family onto mine, lady. Don't EVEN. I don't put my mother on a pedestal, but don't pretend you know everything that happened. My family was/is private (I am far less so, obviously) and things that happened didn't get talked about to many. Mom's friend S probably knows just about everything that has ever happened - she and mom were kindred spirits - but I doubt anyone else does.
And then? To top it off, while I was talking to her I was walking in the house with my groceries and the child when one of the bags broke and my pickles crashed to the ground and shattered. Pickles I don't buy very often because they are expensive but they were on sale. I cussed, like I do, and she was all "J****!(I LOATHE that name, btw) You swore! I didn't know you swore! How long have you sworn?" I was like...since I was 13? I cuss like a sailor! Inside I'm thinking "you didn't know I swear because you don't know a god damn thing about me, so stop pretending like you do." I'm not the "girl" she knew, I'm an adult. An adult who is going to be having a talk with her dad later this evening about the conversation today. I am done. Dad can keep her in his life if he wishes but I will not allow her into mine. There are red flags all over the place and I won't have it. Her behavior is unacceptable to me and he needs to know that. He's an adult who can make his own decisions, yes, but I feel that I should be able to weigh in on this.
Sorry this is so long. This took place over a 5-minute conversation. So much happened and I need to get it out of my head so that I can be civil when I talk to dad later. Thank you for reading, and for leaving a comment in advance!
* Yes, I know, not all meds are used for the purposes they are originally set for. I take plenty of those, ones not approved by the FDA for the uses I am taking them for. Still not the point.
** A single introduction of a different stimulus late in the habituation procedure when responding to the eliciting stimulus has declined can cause an increase in the habituated response. This increase in responding is temporary and is called "dishabituation" and always occurs to the original eliciting stimulus (not to the added stimulus). Researchers also use evidence of dishabituation to rule out sensory adaptation and fatigue as alternative explanations of the habituation process.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Dad and things
This post needs to be written but it's going to take me time. I am so frustrated, angry, bitter, and a whole host of other negative emotions that I'm having a hard time expressing them. I apologize in advance if this post rambles and isn't terribly cohesive. I NEED to write this, to get it out of my head, and that means just letting it flow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dad called me a few weeks ago and said "You'll never guess who I ran into at the store the other day!" and no, dad, I wouldn't dare guess. You know every one in the freaking town and half the people in the next, I swear, so it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Apparently he ran in to M, a woman that my parents have been friends with for about 25 years, give or take a few. She gave him her number - omgs! I told him he should call her, hang out. I mean, they've been friends for a LONG time, but ever since she remarried many moons ago (and is now divorced) and moved to a different town, they haven't spent much time together. Saw each other at church and whatnot, but not much beyond that. Anyhow, I jokingly told dad that maybe he should date M...and apparently he took me seriously. Except that, you know, dad doesn't date...so he has a not-a-girlfriend again. He's spending a LOT of time with her, from what I can tell. He no longer has a dog that he has to go home and take care of, so I'd be curious to know how much time he's actually spending at home. I can't and won't ask that, though. Not my business, do not really want to know.
The 4th anniversary of mom's death is coming up in less than 2 weeks. I am feeling more upset this year than in past years and I think it has to do with this: Dad is bring M up that day to put flowers on mom's grave. Yeah. It feels tactless and insensitive and rude and...I have no words to really describe how I feel. I shake with rage and frustration just thinking about it. Yes, I know, M was mom's friend too. M says she wants to see where mom was buried and see me. She's had 4 YEARS to find out where mom was buried. My parents' phone number hasn't changed in 31 years, so it's not hard to reach dad. She could go to the church and ask some people how to get in contact with dad - someone has to know. She could have paid attention to the funeral service handout thing, whatever you call it, that said that mom was being interred at the Idaho Veteran's Cemetery, and then used their machine to find out exactly what plot and how to find it. There are lots of ways, but it's not until now that she's showing any interest. And dad? Dad just assumed that it's perfectly fine with me if he shows up on my doorstep on that day with M in tow and we can load up the baby and all merrily go out to the cemetery together. Did he ask me if it was okay with me? Did he take my feelings about mom into account, and the fact that this is a hard day for me too? Nope. He just assumed. I realize that having M there might make his grief a little easier, and that's great. Go. Have fun. But to decide that I need to go with? Not so much.
This is a day where I am raw to the core and the LAST thing I need is to have to play pleasant hostess to someone I haven't seen since I was living at home, probably, with the exception of mom's funeral. This is a day where I hide, rarely answer my phone, stay away from most parts of the internet (like my email, because there will be one from my uncle, dumping his grief on us...and now that he's on FB, I stay away from there too), sit and play video games all day until Aaron gets home and we can watch V for Vendetta. I go to the cemetery of my own volition, if I feel I can handle it. This is not a day for me to interact with other people, not yet. I am going to have to go to my classes, but that's it. None of those people know me, so it's fairly safe I think.
I just...I find it insensitive of dad not to at least ASK, but to tell me "We'll be there at 9am". Then he changed it to 10, and I had to remind him (again) that I have a kid who needs to be at daycare by noon and I have classes that day so if he wants me to go with them, they've got to be here as early as they can. I think I hurt his feelings by telling him they could go without me, so then I had to say "it's not that I don't want to go with (I don't) but I don't want my classes to be an issue" and he's all "I don't want you to miss your classes" and blah. We do not know how to interact with each other...and M wants to talk to me about dad and ask general questions? Yeah, I don't have the answers to anything, lady. His co-workers probably know him better than I do. Aaron says he understands where I am coming from but he also thinks I'm wrong - which is fine, since I asked him for an honest answer and he took the time to think about it first. I can see how he thinks I'm wrong and that's fine too. I could just scream, I am so frustrated and angry with dad. Will he ever see me as an adult with a life to take into consideration, instead of a child to be told what to do and expected to obey? No, I will not stand up to my father and say "Dad, no, I do not want you to bring M and I do not want to go to the cemetery with you because I don't know how to handle your grief". I was taught better than that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dad called me a few weeks ago and said "You'll never guess who I ran into at the store the other day!" and no, dad, I wouldn't dare guess. You know every one in the freaking town and half the people in the next, I swear, so it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Apparently he ran in to M, a woman that my parents have been friends with for about 25 years, give or take a few. She gave him her number - omgs! I told him he should call her, hang out. I mean, they've been friends for a LONG time, but ever since she remarried many moons ago (and is now divorced) and moved to a different town, they haven't spent much time together. Saw each other at church and whatnot, but not much beyond that. Anyhow, I jokingly told dad that maybe he should date M...and apparently he took me seriously. Except that, you know, dad doesn't date...so he has a not-a-girlfriend again. He's spending a LOT of time with her, from what I can tell. He no longer has a dog that he has to go home and take care of, so I'd be curious to know how much time he's actually spending at home. I can't and won't ask that, though. Not my business, do not really want to know.
The 4th anniversary of mom's death is coming up in less than 2 weeks. I am feeling more upset this year than in past years and I think it has to do with this: Dad is bring M up that day to put flowers on mom's grave. Yeah. It feels tactless and insensitive and rude and...I have no words to really describe how I feel. I shake with rage and frustration just thinking about it. Yes, I know, M was mom's friend too. M says she wants to see where mom was buried and see me. She's had 4 YEARS to find out where mom was buried. My parents' phone number hasn't changed in 31 years, so it's not hard to reach dad. She could go to the church and ask some people how to get in contact with dad - someone has to know. She could have paid attention to the funeral service handout thing, whatever you call it, that said that mom was being interred at the Idaho Veteran's Cemetery, and then used their machine to find out exactly what plot and how to find it. There are lots of ways, but it's not until now that she's showing any interest. And dad? Dad just assumed that it's perfectly fine with me if he shows up on my doorstep on that day with M in tow and we can load up the baby and all merrily go out to the cemetery together. Did he ask me if it was okay with me? Did he take my feelings about mom into account, and the fact that this is a hard day for me too? Nope. He just assumed. I realize that having M there might make his grief a little easier, and that's great. Go. Have fun. But to decide that I need to go with? Not so much.
This is a day where I am raw to the core and the LAST thing I need is to have to play pleasant hostess to someone I haven't seen since I was living at home, probably, with the exception of mom's funeral. This is a day where I hide, rarely answer my phone, stay away from most parts of the internet (like my email, because there will be one from my uncle, dumping his grief on us...and now that he's on FB, I stay away from there too), sit and play video games all day until Aaron gets home and we can watch V for Vendetta. I go to the cemetery of my own volition, if I feel I can handle it. This is not a day for me to interact with other people, not yet. I am going to have to go to my classes, but that's it. None of those people know me, so it's fairly safe I think.
I just...I find it insensitive of dad not to at least ASK, but to tell me "We'll be there at 9am". Then he changed it to 10, and I had to remind him (again) that I have a kid who needs to be at daycare by noon and I have classes that day so if he wants me to go with them, they've got to be here as early as they can. I think I hurt his feelings by telling him they could go without me, so then I had to say "it's not that I don't want to go with (I don't) but I don't want my classes to be an issue" and he's all "I don't want you to miss your classes" and blah. We do not know how to interact with each other...and M wants to talk to me about dad and ask general questions? Yeah, I don't have the answers to anything, lady. His co-workers probably know him better than I do. Aaron says he understands where I am coming from but he also thinks I'm wrong - which is fine, since I asked him for an honest answer and he took the time to think about it first. I can see how he thinks I'm wrong and that's fine too. I could just scream, I am so frustrated and angry with dad. Will he ever see me as an adult with a life to take into consideration, instead of a child to be told what to do and expected to obey? No, I will not stand up to my father and say "Dad, no, I do not want you to bring M and I do not want to go to the cemetery with you because I don't know how to handle your grief". I was taught better than that.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Oh hey look, a trigger
(I know, I haven't been here in almost a year. This has never been a frequently posting place, but a place for me to put thoughts and rants as related to moms cancer. If you still have this in your reader, thank you.)
I was perusing my Facebook wall today and BAM! a trigger came out of nowhere. There's a post from an outlying family member about how she went to the doc today and she's been in remission and cancer free for 2 years, 7 months, 10 days. I find that exciting and was happy for her. No, the trigger showed up when one of my SILs said "God is good!"
Yes. God is good. He TOTALLY had everything to do with this. He magically made the cancer go away. It wasn't the chemo or the radiation or the surgeries. Nope, God decided that this woman was worth saving, came down off his high cloud and made it all better. Oh sure, she still WENT through that other stuff but maybe she shouldn't have. Maybe she just should have prayed hard enough, believed in her faith enough, gone to enough revivals and been doused with enough holy oil to light up New York, and she would have just been miraculously healed without having to go through all that nasty science stuff.
God decided that this woman was worth interrupting his day for, coming down off his cloud, and zapping her with his magic dust and making her all better. My mother, apparently, was not. What makes this woman so different? Does she donate to charity? Live like Mother Teresa? No, nothing. My mother was a religious woman. She believed that God would do His will, whatever that was, and she was at peace with it in the end.
I really hate the words "God's Will". It gets tossed around everywhere. Can't have kids? It must be God's will. Go through treatments, manage to have a child? God's will. Get pregnant, only to lose it? God wanted that child back home, it was God's will for him/her. Get cured of cancer? God's will...although apparently not His will when you GET the damn cancer in the first place. No one gets cancer and gets told "It must just be God's will for your life that you suffer in this manner." Die? "God took him back to heaven because it was his time" or something similar. God gets all the credit for all the things.
This is, of course, only if you believe that God is in control of every little thing. This is how you end up with people saying "How could God let that little child die? How can He be so cruel as to let the Midwest/East be destroyed by tornadoes and floods? How could he let nuclear weapons be launched? *insert bad things here and how can God let them happen*" Because of free will, jackasses. Einstein once said "God does not play dice with the world." It's...sure, God created the world, and then he let it go. He doesn't roll the die to see who lives and dies, who gets struck with infertility and cancer and diseases and medical issues, which places get to be destroyed today by a natural disaster. No, He just set it free to do what it will. Giving Him credit for being cancer free? No, I don't think so.
I was perusing my Facebook wall today and BAM! a trigger came out of nowhere. There's a post from an outlying family member about how she went to the doc today and she's been in remission and cancer free for 2 years, 7 months, 10 days. I find that exciting and was happy for her. No, the trigger showed up when one of my SILs said "God is good!"
Yes. God is good. He TOTALLY had everything to do with this. He magically made the cancer go away. It wasn't the chemo or the radiation or the surgeries. Nope, God decided that this woman was worth saving, came down off his high cloud and made it all better. Oh sure, she still WENT through that other stuff but maybe she shouldn't have. Maybe she just should have prayed hard enough, believed in her faith enough, gone to enough revivals and been doused with enough holy oil to light up New York, and she would have just been miraculously healed without having to go through all that nasty science stuff.
God decided that this woman was worth interrupting his day for, coming down off his cloud, and zapping her with his magic dust and making her all better. My mother, apparently, was not. What makes this woman so different? Does she donate to charity? Live like Mother Teresa? No, nothing. My mother was a religious woman. She believed that God would do His will, whatever that was, and she was at peace with it in the end.
I really hate the words "God's Will". It gets tossed around everywhere. Can't have kids? It must be God's will. Go through treatments, manage to have a child? God's will. Get pregnant, only to lose it? God wanted that child back home, it was God's will for him/her. Get cured of cancer? God's will...although apparently not His will when you GET the damn cancer in the first place. No one gets cancer and gets told "It must just be God's will for your life that you suffer in this manner." Die? "God took him back to heaven because it was his time" or something similar. God gets all the credit for all the things.
This is, of course, only if you believe that God is in control of every little thing. This is how you end up with people saying "How could God let that little child die? How can He be so cruel as to let the Midwest/East be destroyed by tornadoes and floods? How could he let nuclear weapons be launched? *insert bad things here and how can God let them happen*" Because of free will, jackasses. Einstein once said "God does not play dice with the world." It's...sure, God created the world, and then he let it go. He doesn't roll the die to see who lives and dies, who gets struck with infertility and cancer and diseases and medical issues, which places get to be destroyed today by a natural disaster. No, He just set it free to do what it will. Giving Him credit for being cancer free? No, I don't think so.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
That time of year
We're coming up on that time of year again. Just over a week until the dreaded anniversary comes around for another year. Anniversary? Deathiversary? Is there really a word for marking these? There should be.
I was messaging with someone from my past today and realized that I couldn't remember all the dates from when mom was diagnosed with the different cancers. I actually had to come look it up - and even now, I'm not certain I wrote it down correctly. I wonder if the feeling that I feel upon realizing that is the same one that people feel when they realize that they can no longer remember a loved one's face clearly, or remember the sound of their voice.
I'm lucky in that, I suppose - I sound and look so much like mom, and the resemblance just grows stronger with each passing year. I put on a winter hat that she wore when she was doing chemo, with my hair pulled back, and got a jolt when I saw myself in the car window. I don't always notice it from day to day but...yeah, it catches me off guard sometimes.
I was watching my son with my MIL earlier today and thought about how sad it was that he will never get to know my mother. Well...perhaps when he dies, and hopefully gets to join her, but SO not the point. He will grow up without my mothers presence in his life, except what I can show through. It's...it feels incomplete.
I was messaging with someone from my past today and realized that I couldn't remember all the dates from when mom was diagnosed with the different cancers. I actually had to come look it up - and even now, I'm not certain I wrote it down correctly. I wonder if the feeling that I feel upon realizing that is the same one that people feel when they realize that they can no longer remember a loved one's face clearly, or remember the sound of their voice.
I'm lucky in that, I suppose - I sound and look so much like mom, and the resemblance just grows stronger with each passing year. I put on a winter hat that she wore when she was doing chemo, with my hair pulled back, and got a jolt when I saw myself in the car window. I don't always notice it from day to day but...yeah, it catches me off guard sometimes.
I was watching my son with my MIL earlier today and thought about how sad it was that he will never get to know my mother. Well...perhaps when he dies, and hopefully gets to join her, but SO not the point. He will grow up without my mothers presence in his life, except what I can show through. It's...it feels incomplete.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Stunned
This years Facebook meme for breast cancer awareness (ha!) has created a firestorm. I'm not sure if the ones other years have, but this one certainly has. As I was perusing blog posts, I was directed to a post written about the bra-color one. It is written by a woman who had a double mastectomy in order to save her life. I dare you to write this and not feel stunned to your core.
In the name of awareness
I am not stunned that she wrote it. I am stunned by her strength. I am stunned at the way society can hurt when it tries to help, because (as a general whole) it doesn't think things through. I am not able to put into words how profoundly her post has touched me. I wish mom were still here, just so I could share this with her, let her know that there are other women out there who understand some of what she went through.
And when you are done reading that, if you feel it needful to do something, ACT. She has a link to a post on turning awareness into action at the bottom of the one already linked. I have read over and over the past two days the same thought: Aren't we aware enough already? Isn't the time past for awareness, and the time for action NOW? I know that I can't afford to donate right now, and my own medical status is such that doing something like a walk is out of the question - although I would love to be able to do the "Walk to Remember" or "Relay for Life" in mom's honor some year. I can blog, though, and I can educate others about what I know.
I am 95% certain that I will get breast cancer some day. My mom had it, her mother died of it (it metastasized to her brain 6 weeks after dx and killed her), and mom was pretty sure that her grandmother also had it. My sister and I are both on the watch for it, because we know it's coming. Educate yourself. Educate those around you. Speak up for those who can't. Be an advocate. Do what you can. And hopefully build yourself a supportive network of people that you will hopefully never have to use.
And how appropriate that I read this exactly 7 years from the day that mom was diagnosed with the ovarian cancer that would take her life 26 months later. This is hell week for me - almost every year for 4 years in a row, mom was diagnosed with cancer.
In the name of awareness
I am not stunned that she wrote it. I am stunned by her strength. I am stunned at the way society can hurt when it tries to help, because (as a general whole) it doesn't think things through. I am not able to put into words how profoundly her post has touched me. I wish mom were still here, just so I could share this with her, let her know that there are other women out there who understand some of what she went through.
And when you are done reading that, if you feel it needful to do something, ACT. She has a link to a post on turning awareness into action at the bottom of the one already linked. I have read over and over the past two days the same thought: Aren't we aware enough already? Isn't the time past for awareness, and the time for action NOW? I know that I can't afford to donate right now, and my own medical status is such that doing something like a walk is out of the question - although I would love to be able to do the "Walk to Remember" or "Relay for Life" in mom's honor some year. I can blog, though, and I can educate others about what I know.
I am 95% certain that I will get breast cancer some day. My mom had it, her mother died of it (it metastasized to her brain 6 weeks after dx and killed her), and mom was pretty sure that her grandmother also had it. My sister and I are both on the watch for it, because we know it's coming. Educate yourself. Educate those around you. Speak up for those who can't. Be an advocate. Do what you can. And hopefully build yourself a supportive network of people that you will hopefully never have to use.
And how appropriate that I read this exactly 7 years from the day that mom was diagnosed with the ovarian cancer that would take her life 26 months later. This is hell week for me - almost every year for 4 years in a row, mom was diagnosed with cancer.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Hallelujah
Heard this tonight and was reminded very strongly of mom. She was a rather religious woman and while I may no longer accept everything I was taught, there is no question about the strength of her faith. Even in her last days she relied on her faith. I never heard her rail or curse at God for "giving" her cancer, for taking her from her family before we were all ready, or the ever present "why me, Lord?" that you often hear. I'm not saying that she didn't, only that if she did, she did it privately. I hold onto HER strength in her faith as a comfort. I can't say what happens when you die, who has the right or wrong of things, who is on the "right" side, and I won't be able to until I die my own self and then my answers don't do y'all any good. :) Anyways, I wanted to put this video up so I don't lose it, so I can come back and remind myself. And I know I embedded the Shrek version - it was the best one I could find AND the one that showed up on Pandora...which is where I heard it today.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Some days...
Some days I miss mom more than I do other days. I've missed her a LOT since getting pregnant, and even more so now that the Boy is born. I often wish I could call her and talk to her about my concerns, hear about things she did with me when I was this age. Dad tries, but...he has a habit of looking at things through rose colored glasses. Things have changed, too - you don't do things with your kid now that you did 34 years ago. Yes, I survived, as did all of my friends, and thus theoretically it should be the same now. But it's not - there are things that are better now, some that are worse, medical advances have been made, research has been done. I obviously began eating solid foods at some point, but I'm having a hard time getting my son to take it...so things that mom tried to get me to eat solids would be helpful. All dad can say is "we fed you this, and you ate it" type of things.
Oh mom...why did you have to go? Why couldn't you have stayed here with me to help me with this, be a living part of your grandson's life?
Oh mom...why did you have to go? Why couldn't you have stayed here with me to help me with this, be a living part of your grandson's life?
Friday, November 5, 2010
Two years...
Has it really been 2 years already since Mom has been gone? Yes, it has. Most of the time it's easier, but the few weeks leading up to this date are always hard. It's been really hard the past few months since I got pregnant because I need my mother more than ever and she's not here. There has been much wailing of "I want my mommy!" and my poor husband can't help, and my father is no substitute.
Today's agenda includes work, a coerced visit to the graveyard to leave flowers, and then watching V for Vendetta. Why? "Remember remember the 5th of November" of course. I think it appropriate and have decided that it should be a tradition.
Today's agenda includes work, a coerced visit to the graveyard to leave flowers, and then watching V for Vendetta. Why? "Remember remember the 5th of November" of course. I think it appropriate and have decided that it should be a tradition.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A call for help
I know this is usually my cancer blog, but...I am derailing it for just a few minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gwendomama is a fellow IF blogger that I have been reading for about a year now. At that time, I came across her situation from the LFCA - her husband physically abused her in front of her kids. She took them and ran. It happened on April 13th, but she didn't tell us the full story until May 19th.
Since that time, she has fought with the legal system and with him. She had a stay-away order, which he got around by living on the other house on the property, which was only 20 yards away. He refuses to pay any of the bills, or move, or move his stuff, or pay child support. Still. Still, after a year and some, he will not pay anything towards his children. Yes, they are now farther from him - about 40 miles. He also still believes that his actions were perfectly fine - nothing out of the norm.
I could continue with link after link after link detailing what this man has put Gwendo and her kids through. But I won't. Because I'm hoping you'll go over to her blog and read her story. And then? I hope you'll help her out if you can. I can't, not financially, not yet...but I can do this much for her. I can use my blog to hopefully reach other people, who might be able to help her. The internets banded together and solved a few problems, but...there's more. There's a lot more. Until her ex-jackass starts paying child support and stops having his head up her ass, she's a single mom who needs help. So please...if you can...she has a paypal button up on her page, and is working on getting a PO box for those who want to send her goodie boxes.
My time is coming to be able to pay it forward. If you've ever had someone help you, and you're in a position to do so, now is a good time for you to pay it forward as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gwendomama is a fellow IF blogger that I have been reading for about a year now. At that time, I came across her situation from the LFCA - her husband physically abused her in front of her kids. She took them and ran. It happened on April 13th, but she didn't tell us the full story until May 19th.
Since that time, she has fought with the legal system and with him. She had a stay-away order, which he got around by living on the other house on the property, which was only 20 yards away. He refuses to pay any of the bills, or move, or move his stuff, or pay child support. Still. Still, after a year and some, he will not pay anything towards his children. Yes, they are now farther from him - about 40 miles. He also still believes that his actions were perfectly fine - nothing out of the norm.
I could continue with link after link after link detailing what this man has put Gwendo and her kids through. But I won't. Because I'm hoping you'll go over to her blog and read her story. And then? I hope you'll help her out if you can. I can't, not financially, not yet...but I can do this much for her. I can use my blog to hopefully reach other people, who might be able to help her. The internets banded together and solved a few problems, but...there's more. There's a lot more. Until her ex-jackass starts paying child support and stops having his head up her ass, she's a single mom who needs help. So please...if you can...she has a paypal button up on her page, and is working on getting a PO box for those who want to send her goodie boxes.
My time is coming to be able to pay it forward. If you've ever had someone help you, and you're in a position to do so, now is a good time for you to pay it forward as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
