No, no, no, sir. No more chick pit for you. Come on.

Riley ,'Lessons'


Goodbye and Good Riddance 2022: Hindsight is 20/22  

Take stock, reflect, butch, moan, vent. We are all here for it.


dcp - Jan 20, 2023 8:20:31 pm PST #44 of 105
The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.

Topic!Cindy, that was rough, is rough, and will probably continue to be rough for a while yet. Vent as and when you need to. Do what you can, when you can, where you can. Don't neglect or regret self-care.


Topic!Cindy - Jan 20, 2023 8:26:26 pm PST #45 of 105
What is even happening?

Thank you, dcp. ♥


Cass - Jan 20, 2023 8:47:18 pm PST #46 of 105
Bob's learned to live with tragedy, but he knows that this tragedy is one that won't ever leave him or get better.

And I already feel like the worst daughter in the world relaying all this, when it is only half. She has been awful to me. And I mostly feel like I shouldn't let it out here, but I need to let it out, so I can let it go and forgive.

She has been truly awful to you. Even if she loves you.

Here is where we get to let out the things we need to go of, or not let go of depending on the thing. We're here for you.

So anyhow, that's where we were, until last weekend, when my dog developed Vestibular Disease, and we honestly thought she was dying. (She isn't.)

I thought my dog only had vestibular disease and then it suddenly turned into an emergency last weekend. She has discospondylitis which can be caused by bacteria, fungus or *shrug*. She's being treated, we are culturing and she has a good chance at a recovery. Pets are rough because they are family but they can't tell you exactly what is going on with them.

(Cindy)


Topic!Cindy - Jan 20, 2023 8:58:23 pm PST #47 of 105
What is even happening?

Oh Cass. Thank you, sweet girl. ♥

(I hope your dog is okay. It's so scary. Also, thank you for understanding about my mom.)

HTG, we should go out for drinks.

(My poor mom. I don't want to shame her. I just finally know what I lived through.)

Not sure what's wrong with Buffy yet (yes, that is her name), but we're trying.

(Also, seriously, Jennifer. Thank you. ♥ )


Topic!Cindy - Jan 20, 2023 9:13:52 pm PST #48 of 105
What is even happening?

Cindy wrote in Natter: "I keep thinking about meeting so many of you in person. I keep thinking about how real — how Velveteen Rabbit — we are to one another, even people like me, who only post here and then. Anyhow, I'm glad you're real.", and this echos my feelings perfectly and beautifully.

Shir. ♥


P.M. Marc - Jan 21, 2023 12:25:12 am PST #49 of 105
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear

Plei, I hope you and yours are okay. I miss you.

I miss you, too (email me, bb!). Also, that's a lot. Also, OMG, even the most loving parents become THE WORST when they start to decline, and AHAHAHAHA. I don't even want to start, and I'm sorry you're having to deal with a mom who is older, in pain, and has taken too much out on you.

(We're now mostly recovered from the COVID bout. Which I'm using as an excuse to not call my family members right now. See also, I don't even want to start.)


JenP - Jan 21, 2023 6:40:20 am PST #50 of 105

Oof, Cindy, that is way more than rough; I'm so sorry, and... yeah, do your best to take care of you in all this, but I know that can be hard. And, hell, yes, come here to vent, to chill, to do whatever.


Calli - Jan 21, 2023 7:15:08 am PST #51 of 105
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs

Day-um, Cindy, that’s a lot. And love does not excuse abuse. I’m glad you didn’t get COVID on top of everything else.


Dana - Jan 21, 2023 7:39:11 am PST #52 of 105
"I'm useless alone." // "We're all useless alone. It's a good thing you're not alone."

Dealing with my grandfather after his Alzheimer's got bad was the worst. He was a different person.


Steph L. - Jan 21, 2023 7:55:30 am PST #53 of 105
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe

As Tim's dad's dementia progressed, he lost his filter for appropriate conversation, and would make sexual comments all the time. And it was really jarring not just because it was gross and inappropriate, but because it was such a 180 from his pre-dementia personality.

My dad turns 81 on Tuesday, and his personality is unchanged; unfortunately, he's just an asshole who it turns out I don't like very much.

My mom will be 77 this year and is still teaching yoga and hiking and camping (they stay in cabins now; that's the only concession to her age she's made). Over the summer she went to Italy for 2 weeks with a group from her church. I'm half convinced that she's Hob Gadling.