This is exactly what my dad does. “It’s easier” means “I can’t be bothered to spend five minutes figuring out what the question I really want to ask is, and write it out in a ten word text. So instead I’ll ramble for fifteen minutes and hope you figure it out for me.”
When people say “it’s easier” they mean for them, not you.
It’s a song about a ship that sank, a pretty good song too, imo.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wreck_of_the_Edmund_Fitzgerald
This happened to me when I was a kid. My family was having a picnic which included the rare treat of fried chicken. A wasp buzzed down, landed on my chicken and sawed away a chunk of it. Then it took off, faltered because the chunk was so heavy, then buzzed away. Your comparison to a helicopter is spot on! We all just sat there and watched it, not knowing what to do. We still talk about how weird that was.
“Some is better than none.” -My motto throughout college.
Usually I was stressed by the number of chapters I had to read, or pages I had to write. Instead of shutting down and not doing anything, I would tell myself to just read a single page or write a paragraph because any amount of work done is better than nothing.
Now I apply it to work and chores.
Your mother sounds like an amazing woman. I’m sorry to hear everything she (and you and your siblings) had to go through. It takes incredible resolve to survive all that.
As someone who’s had poor health their entire life, I can absolutely agree that the ‘tender moments’ really make life what it is.
Thanks for sharing.
I’ve noticed over the last few decades that every time I start worrying about WW3, climate change, solar flares, super volcanos, giant meteors etc. that there’s something going on in my personal life that’s causing me stress. Something I feel like I have no control over.
I guess my brain doesn’t want to admit/deal with my own issues, so I focus on something else, something that feels just as overwhelming.
Working on taming the anxiety itself is quite useful, especially if you can’t help the situation you’re currently in.
The things that have helped me the most are: meditating (chakra and mindfulness) which has been great at helping me calm down; finding activities that feel meaningful to me; spending time with the people I care about (making the time); and finding beauty and/or amusement in everyday life.
All of these things take practice and time, which might seem useless if you think that the world will end tomorrow. But even if all you can do is one meaningful/fulfilling thing today, then it will improve your day and help make your last day on earth a little better.
Of course chances are good you’ll wake up tomorrow, and the next day etc., which means you have even more time to live an even happier life.
Good luck my dude.
Mashed, with butter and garlic scapes.
I don’t know why, but the sticker still being on the axe is the best part to me.
I mean it was clearly attracted by the shower curtain. This will not be the last hunt.