tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394593369099711178.post2706863587465860608..comments2024-03-18T03:18:23.620-04:00Comments on Memoirs for my children: Lunch outruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293058709021665140noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394593369099711178.post-15432251382873218142013-03-07T23:37:55.696-05:002013-03-07T23:37:55.696-05:00At least you still have your sense of humor, Ruth....At least you still have your sense of humor, Ruth. :) I think you can be worn even if you are not physically working. The emotional demands of moving, especially after many years in one place, are perhaps even greater than the physical demands. <br /><br />I went to our old house two days in a row and sorted and boxed and hauled and I was exhausted at the end. It was not so much the hard work (which I am not used to, couch potato that I am) that wore me out but just the meaning of it all. Reflecting on the past decade of my life in that place and having a hard time coming to terms with some of those reflections...<br /><br />It is terrifying about the side effects of your medicine. That is why I hope you have a better doctor when you move. Maybe someone can find a way to treat one debilitating condition that does not involve possibly causing another debilitating condition. Perhaps he or she is right there in Illinois.Hope T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07861626818618433758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394593369099711178.post-42866275591536057962013-03-05T22:43:31.772-05:002013-03-05T22:43:31.772-05:00Dear Hope, thank you for your kind heart. I am mo...Dear Hope, thank you for your kind heart. I am mostly in denial and avoidance right now. Day after day, I get nothing done, or very little. I listened to the song, but I think I would be more "worn" if I were actually working hard at something.<br /><br />I do have a sense of hope, because I have longed to move closer to my family for over 20 years. However, a lot of the reason why I wanted to move closer was that I wanted my kids to know their extended family. Now, I am moving to the midwest, but my kids are not coming with me. I have a hard time picturing this, understanding this, wrapping my mind around this.<br /><br />I keep feeling like it is all a dream, and I cannot really imagine that I will be in a completely different place six months from now. What I will do once I get there, how I unpack, set up a home, find a new church, try to make friends... I can't even begin to think about that. Right now, I just have to figure out what all the stuff is in my basement, and what I am going to do with it, and that's hard, because I can't usually even bring myself to go into my basement.<br /><br />My Lupus medicine carries a risk of ruining my vision. This terrifies me. I do not know what I will do if I can't read anymore. I think this is much more real to me on a daily basis than the impending move, which still somehow feels as though it is happening to somebody else.ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293058709021665140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394593369099711178.post-39959928298979225862013-03-05T16:52:42.662-05:002013-03-05T16:52:42.662-05:00Dear Ruth,
My heart dropped when I read the en...Dear Ruth,<br /><br /> My heart dropped when I read the end of this post about your illness and the medication. My heart was already heavy from a very difficult week last week. Perhaps I just don't have the fortitude to face the challenges and sufferings of life, like others do. Sometimes I feel like I am almost sinking and, believe me, my struggles are meager compared to most other people I know. <br /> I do tend to feel a lot of empathy for the hurts of others, though. (After all, I am an INFP.) You've been sharing quite a few hard things: having to let go of a dream, the logistics of a move, an empty nest looming, needing to quit your job and not knowing what is next, and now this call from the doctor. There is a lot going on all at once. I know I get overwhelmed easily by too many things going on. Add a couple of bigger things in and I am toast. Even if your fortitude far exceeds mine (of course it does!), this all sounds daunting. <br /> I don't really know what to say except that I hear you. I have had a song running through my head ever since a young teen I know introduced me to it. You and I have talked about not really being "pop" music fans and I don't know much about the current music scene. In fact, Amy Grant and Keith Green are my reference points for what Christian pop sounds like. I heard this group called Tenth Avenue North, though, and they sing a song called "Worn". I thought you might like it even if it is not your usual style. <br /> That song and the rose hips you saw......they are connected somehow. Seeking to sustain hope in an arid place.Hope T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07861626818618433758noreply@blogger.com