moms birthday

i remember when mother was in SIU (special investigation unit)

my ex step dad (lets just give him a name.....frank)

frank came into her office one day and was showing off, talking about whatever drug paraphernalia that was in the office was used for

he told the rookie what a bong was and how it was used

really? it was the 90s, we all knew what a bong was used for. my mother was so angry because his need to be a know it all made him seem like an idiot

i can hear the coyotes, people in the neighborhood are upset because they are here. i love the sound, it makes me realize how safe i am in my own home.

i love hearing the train knowing that i will not be inconvenienced by it

i love hearing the frogs because i know they wont keep me up at night

i love the sound of the coyotes because i get them....my mother would have loved the sound as well

i don't have foofoo dogs that i worry about something carrying them into the night

i love the fact that i have big dogs that protect me at night when i sleep and also during the day when marley thinks the postman will take me away from him

today is my mom's birthday

i love you

flower pots

remember the tootsie pop commercial....how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

well how many days does it take for me to fall into the darkness of being in "quarantine" 7 to 10 business days.

I have been going bed early and getting up early. ive even started making my bed in the morning. which with the overlap of weighted blankets still looks like there is a dead body in the bed but it is better than nothing.

yesterday we went to lowes (yes I tried to social distance and I held my breath as people walked by). we bought paint for our back porch. I should have painted it about two summers ago. I bought paint for my sad baseboards, I don't know how my mother kept her house so clean with 2 big dogs. she had a bigger house and one less dog.

I am thinking that joe will be happy to go back to work and get a break from his stay at home wife and all of my projects.

I bought flowers for my planters on the front porch and I cant help but think they are a great representation of my life. I go out into the world and have grandiose plans but I become easily overwhelmed and fail to follow through. The weather is nice here and people are starting to get out to walk the neighborhood to have some sort of normalcy. this elderly couple walks by and the lady tells me how much she likes my flowers. i told her that I can hopefully keep them up. I know me I will get all excited about things and I am all gung-ho but then I hit the wall. I cant keep up, I get overwhelmed, then I feel like a failure.

welcome to the cycle.

the waves

"looking back on the memory of.....for a moment all the world was right....and now i'm glad that I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go"

garth brooks the dance

I wish that I was able to tell you the defining moment that I went off the rails.

I can tell you the defining moment of when I knew both of my marriages were over. My last one was the day my ex dropped me off on the street. I had to fight with him for two days to get a half hearted apology.

my first husband was when we went to his parents for Christmas and the box of Christmas ornaments went flying out of the back of the truck. we were on the interstate so it was dangerous to turn around. I mumbled something about how it was okay because it would probably be our last Christmas together. that did not go over well.

the defining moment with my adoptive father was when I was trying to talk to him about something that was important to me and his fiancée pulled up, honked the horn and he darted out of the house mid conversation.

I wish I could tell you the defining moment with my mom. I feel as if there were many ups and downs but we always came back together. as much as I miss her, I cant say if she was still here that it would be any different. I think she would be good for my daughter and my nephews. we would've bonded over the kids. it may have helped me heal some wounds about my childhood but then again some wounds never heal.

I have been on the merry go round of therapy, medication, and doctors....lots and lots of doctors. I have succumbed to this is the best that modern medicine can do for me. I haven't learned to navigate the waves of my bipolar yet. I don't know that I ever will.



we all know the defining moment with my step dad "I cant help you, you need to find god"

breathe

my store has closed, tomorrow will be a week that I have been on leave. the governor has issued that all non essential businesses close for another 21 days. I am blessed to work for a company that is paying me to essentially stay home. my husband on the other hand makes toilet paper for a living and the world seems to think they are going to run out so off to work my husband goes.

the weather has been nice, my dogs are loving the time with me, I have been able to cook for my family, clean house, and I have been able to spend time with my daughter.

today I went to pick up our grocery pick up order and I was the only one there at 10am. I grabbed my coffee, left in my leggings, robe, and house shoes. I drove across town looking to see who was open and who had to close. I didn't road rage. I didn't even notice the guy in front of me going 10 miles slower than the speed limit.

life has slowed down and I am thankful. I am thankful for the peace. I don't even turn on the tv unless joe or sydni is here. I haven't been social media since the first of the year which is honestly the best thing I have done for my mental health in a long time. I was tired of seeing all of the people with their seemingly perfect life. Sydni had me watching a show on Netflix and the actor said (to paraphrase) that her life was in shambles but she had posted 17 selfies on facebook showing her life was amazing.

I stopped and talked to my neighbor in my fashion statement of what not to wear outside of your home. he has been in the hospital and in physical rehab, he had to have his leg amputated due to diabetes. I never stop and talk to him. I always wave. I always think that I will or I will invite him to dinner. I never do because I am too busy trying to get to and from my store, too busy to get home and isolate myself.

tree stumps

I have made myself a new make shift office in my living room window seal which I share with Marilyn, my old hello kitty laptop, new products that I may or may not ever try and old calendars and notebooks that I have to keep the semblance of a normal person.

I bought a new laptop for the purpose to a) get my life together and b) hopefully get my mind together by blogging again.

I think about this blog and where it started to where I stopped and how much differently my life is now.

I am pretty sure I am an alcoholic. I weight more that I have ever have in my entire life. The only thing that hasn't changed is my ability to put on a smile and dismiss it all until I cant, then I lock myself in my house, only to go out for food or beer.

I sit here and look out the window watching a man with a saw on a push cart sawing the tree trunk out of the back yard. It is funny when I think about that tree. It started out as a weed that continued to grow. The crack head was going to take care of it (I think). Skippy was suppose to use his truck to pull it out of the ground then it is like everything else in life, it took over. Skippy would spend days out there once a year trimming the tree. He always seemed to pick the hottest time of the year to do that too. I felt bad because it was my house and he was actually doing something that I would go help.

joe had someone cut down the tree and the price they wanted to remove the stump was as much as the tree. We have just lived with it for about 4 years now. joe is unrelentless about chores and having them get done. I wouldn't worry about that tree stump until it because ...I don't know. I would probably never worry about that tree stump but then again I don't have to mow around the stump.

I find it interesting that this man will have removed this stump that has plagued our home for years in the matter of time that it will take to write this blog. Joe has spent 4 years worrying about it and in
20 minutes it will be gone.

I am hoping that he saw the power line and that it isn't live but joe did tell him to call okie dig.

cheerleader

I am my mother.... 

I didn't have kids. I used to tell myself that it was because I didn't want to mess up my kids like my parents. 

Reality is that I had too many abortions while still picking the same guy.

When I was "ready" to have a child, I married an impotent. "I guess the jokes on me" (NIN reference).

Tonight my (step) daughter comes home with her friends to hang out. I came home to find them all in the hot tub (it's 28 outside). 

They all are about to get out. I gather robes and wrap them up as they get out. They are trying to gather up their stuff as they get out. I send them all inside as I close up the hot tub and get their things. I walk inside to find them huddled, they are scared to drop water on the floor. Mind you, it is stained concrete and I own 3 large inside dogs. 

I tell them to not worry about getting water on the floor, just don't fall. 

On a good day, this would be my mother.

I don't want to be sydni's best friend. I do want to always be her biggest cheerleader. 

lost

My ex used to tell me that dreams were a way for my brain to work out issues or something like that. 

I have recurring dreams that I can't find joe. I've forgotten his number, my phone won't work, or I've done something to drive him away. 

My other dream is that we can't live in our home. We are staying at the old trailer in Warner, a hotel, an apartment. I keep trying to make the best out of a bad situation but I really want to be back in my nice home. 

I am lost and I can't find my way is the recurring theme. 

I am scared that I will lose everything. I think I am really scared that my mental issue will take it all away from me.