Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Big plate of poop sammiches





But there's ice cream too!

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Lots of videos today, some shot with the phone and some with the canon. And I haven't yet rabbited the canon. Don't feel compelled to watch. I'm making this stuff up as I go along.

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Nona has moderate hip dysplasia. Good and bad in that. Today she has lots of pain and isn't in any way up to getting out and about. She needs rest and NSAID's, so I gave her 110 mg naprosyn and 160 mg aspirin in a bowl of cottage cheese and sour cream. As for the rest portion I wanted her to stay home today, perchance to lay in the sun. She wanted to come with me this morning though. I got the sense that she wanted to stay close to me. So that was okay. I did my chores and then took her back home.



The good part is that moderate dysplasia means she can probably have a pretty good and mostly pain-free life when the hips aren't flaring up, and also that the NSAID's work pretty well for her. The bad part is that she'll be 9 (63-ish statistically) in July and her hips aren't going to get better. At some point she'll be suffering too much and I'll have to put her down. And when I say I'll have to put her down, I mean I'll have to put her down. Me. In my world that's the way it works, and I will not sell my responsibility in that regard.

It's just part of the deal, the responsibility a person assumes when they take a dog into their family. Administering peace and and end of suffering is simply the fair exchange for years of unconditional love.

Now my personal approach is just that. My personal approach. I arrived there under the direct supervision of the Big Aircrew Chief. Don't imagine that I believe my path should be the path of any other person, ever.

Between now and that moment -- if it ever comes -- Nona and I will do our best to enjoy our time together.

She did feel better as the day went on but was still pretty sore as of the time I sent this off to scheduling.

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To continue on an upbeat note, my 49 year old little sister checked herself out of treatment yesterday and after a brief stop at the likker store checked herself into gaol. DUI nth offence (as the Brits spell it, and where n = a presently unknown number greater than 1), resisting arrest, reckless driving (thankfully wreckless driving as well), driving on a suspended license, and urinating on the Queen's Highway. That last charged offence is of course not true and reflects my attempt at making a funny.

So what does a person in my shoes do in this situation? It pretty much comes down to suck it up and drive on. There's nothing I can do for her. There are any number of things I can do with her, if she ever finds a way to begin to try to unfuck herself. I have to be ready to help under the proper circumstances, and also be firm in withholding assistance which would only enable her continued fuckedupedness. Easy. So I'm leaning heavily on the Big Aircrew Chief. It's liable to end badly I fear, but many humans choose to take the express to bad endings and there's nothing any other human can do to change the destination. They get on the train, they can get off. But they don't always do so.

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On to the ice cream.

My intent regarding a workout was to hike a couple of miles with a couple of hills, something I did yesterday, wherein I didn't push it much although I didn't completely wimp the hills.



I also intended to explore a bit more "glacier" climbing, which I 'sperimented with yesterday on the spur of the moment.



Because Mom was taking a walk while I was doing my physical thing Red accompanied her rather than me, which is the way it should be. Yesterday Red went with me and tried to capture a vole. She's a nose hunter though, so she missed. I'm not sure if the vole was lucky or good. Probably both.



But that was yesterday. This was today. Which is now yesterday. Fricking time machines.

Anyway, stretching and pushups!



Then I must hide my keys where only people on the interwebz can find them.



After a mile or so of hiking, a warm-up slope.



Then after summiting Vader Hill once, a brainstorm!



Let's do it five time hard(ish)!



Then a beauty break with more sobbing and a diabolical but unworkable idea.



More sobbing with some artistical video of snow-ice in the middle. There's clearly a bit of psychosis going on. Okay, more than a bit.



Then 7.5 minutes of "across the valley and back" baloney, heavily edited down to a buck thirty-five. Still too long. This one is definitely worth skipping.



And finally a "look at me" recap. Probably a good one to skip also.



At the end of the seventy-minute workout I'd done five miles pretty hard. I did a lot of hills. My fancy watch credited me with 10. The number doesn't matter really, the point was to work hard and get good exercise, and that's what I did.

So the poop sammiches weren't exactly tasty. Unfortunately, life comes with a lot of poop sammiches, and that's a fact. There's always ice cream on the menu too. Not always a lot of it, but it's always there.

Nona's feeling a lot better as I write this. We'll see what the morning brings.

Be well and enjoy the blessings of liberty.




14 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about Nona and hope that the time that is left on this side of the bridge is good and mostly pain-free. When it is time, it is time and they should not be allowed to suffer because we are being selfish. Though it does not make things any easier for us.

    Little sisters seem to have those kind of issues in many families and they will figure it out or they don't. It doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt any less and of course we always want to help, but sometimes the best help is letting them figure things out for themselves as much as the self-destruction hurts family and friends.

    Your exercise plan seems to be going along just fine and consistency is the key. Just gotta keep doing.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Nona's a good bit better this morning but still sore and gimpy and doesn't understand why she hurts. We'll see how it goes. One day at a time.

      Same thing for sis. She's got to knock herself into becoming reasonable and willing to get better. It's a race to the bottom, and hopefully she doesn't kill herself first. The way it looks now she probably will. Ball's in her court though.

      I agree, consistency is the key. The every day slog is vital, at least for me. I should have added more physicality to the doc's "be smart about your activities" but I didn't. Now I have, and it's working very well.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting Harold!

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  2. Yeah, sometimes life is a series of poop sandwiches, sometimes with no bread. The ice cream is always available, though sometimes you have to hunt for it. Sad to hear about Nona, hopefully she has good years ahead of her, pain free and happy.

    Alcoholism is a curse, some folks get into it and can't get out. That runs in my family, though this generation has (so far) not suffered that curse. It was touch and go for me back in the day, but I ran out of reasons to be drunk and stupid every weekend (and sometimes during the week). The Missus Herself played a rather large role there, thank the Lord.

    Good luck with your endeavors, Napoleon once said he'd rather a general be lucky rather than good. In my book, ya need both.

    Press on! (Nice post BTW.)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. The ice cream is never so sweet than after a nice big breadless poop sarnie!

      Nona is improved this morning but still sore and gimpy. We'll just have to see how it goes.

      I've got a brother who is also looking for a wino community to join. And of course I had my own share of spectacular failures to "drink like a man!" I finally gave it up completely and I don't think I've missed the bar fights and hangovers. And since that approach ain't broke I ain't in no hurry to fix it!

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting Sarge!

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  3. Middle son has an alcohol problem but has been sober for awhile. Last DUI was over 5 years ago (has three). He found a reason to stay sober (a son).

    Decades in the car biz exposed me to more drunks than I care to remember. It also exposed me to some who sobered up and stayed sober.

    My take is it must come from within; the drunk decides to stay sober. Others can be supportive, and should, but the change comes from within the person.

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    1. It can be a bad deal, but as you say, the change must come from within.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  4. Hope Nona feels better soon. We had our pup to the Vet yesterday, who told us her bad knee (damaged ACL) had pretty much healed, and didn't require the surgery we had discussed.

    Sorry to hear about your sister. BTDT, and I'll have 25 years of sobriety next month. You really do have to "Surrender To Win" to get into recovery and stay there. I spent a year in a sober living house, and saw some of the same people come in, and go back out, several times.

    And lost a couple who had become friends when their addictions claimed them.

    There's strong evidence to support a genetic disposition towards alcoholism, and my son has gone through a couple of treatment programs, and now has several years of sobriety.

    You sister needs to go live in a sober-living house, but until she admits she has a problem, there's not much you can do except pray for her.

    The stats for AA are 1-in-35 stay sober for more than a few years, and I count my blessings I'm one of them.....

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    1. Thanks very much drjim. I appreciate your kind words and information. The stats are awful and really illustrate the reality that it's a choice -- go on to the bitter end or find a way to trust god and clean up the wreckage of your past.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting and sharing a bit of your experience, strength and hope!

      Delete
  5. Yep, you can offer the 'hand', but it is up her to take it or not. And that last vid was hilarious! :-)

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    1. I really need to hire an editor, a producer/director, and an actor to play me, only the ideal version of me!

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

      Delete
  6. Sorry about your sister, she is ultimately the only one who can fix it.

    Hope Nona is feel'n better.

    Oh my gosh, Huff'n Puff Man, that last video is a hoot!

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    1. Thanks Brig. Nona's feeling a lot better. She's being very cautious, but I think she's essentially pain free.

      I'm still not sure what I was trying to do in that last video. I'm thinking not knowing is probably a key to success.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

      Delete
  7. Well dang, I had no idear I had gotten so far behind. Haven't even finished this post's video, but I need a break.

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

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    1. Too many videos. I have to learn to limit those and make them more better. It's a process.

      Attendance isn't mandatory. I'm happy when you stop by and comment and I thank you for doing so Paul!

      Delete