Text, FB, Email is NOT a respectful way to have important conversations.

NOTE: Audio for this entry isn't the clearest, but I'm working on resolving this today so future posts are much clearer.  Thanks for your patience.

Experiment #1...

Until my shoulder heals and typing is no longer painful, I'll be making these audio entries.  This first one is only an experiment, but I'll be making more soon with an actual message. lol  ;p  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  xo

Chronic Epic Failures.

As I reach for health and healing, returning to MY life, it's not without obstacles.  If you've been reading here for a while, and reading my other blogs, this has become glaringly apparent.  So why am I STILL struggling with this?  Why is it I'm still stuck in limbo and unable to help myself?  And WHY are the obstacles STILL here?  I have to say... there's no easy way to answer those questions.

Ever hear of situations where someone is trying to lose weight, or start an exercise program (or both) and they're met with resistance from someone very close to them or.. someone living with them?  Yeah.  Well.  That's where I am and where I've been.  And now that prednisone has put weight on me I have to struggle to take care of that, because dieting doesn't quite cut it.  There's a lot of different physical mechanisms in place that thwart that.  Not that you can't lose, but it takes a lot more diligence.

I've spoken to T so many times now about not bringing home junk food and garbage food.  The junk is easy to avoid, but T's favorite thing in the world is frozen food.  Ugh.  Nasty stuff.  Okay on occasion, but for me.. it's wrecking my health beyond reason.  Too much sodium and sugar, too many processed carbs, not nearly enough veggies.  Why even bother buying that crap?

Each weekend T insists on buying the groceries.  In my current state I can't really go anywhere anyway, so I'm at his mercy.  How is it he can easily forget the stern warnings from my doctors about eating as clean as possible... is beyond me.  And not a single discussion, and there've been MANY, seems to get it through his thick skull.  smh.

So he chooses 'easy and cheap' despite the warnings, the risks, and the damage to my already compromised health.

I was told yesterday that my triglycerides are up AGAIN, and now my ferritin is elevated above normal.  NEITHER of those things are good!  *sigh*  WTH am I supposed to do?

I'm still searching for answers to this because, honestly, this is a very dangerous road to be on for me.

Dammit.

Lucid Dream..

I had my first lucid dream.  At least I think it was my first.  You know how dreams are... some of them you just can't remember.  But this one was pretty clear, and it had the usual recurring theme as my dreams tend to have, which has been the way of my dreams nearly my entire life.  There are basically 3 recurring themes, but I won't get into those now.  But as dreams go, this one was quite different then all the others.

The dream:

I was home, in 'my' room doing nothing but sitting quietly on the bed and looking out the window.  Clouds outside were very low, dark, broiling... and they shifted into what I recognized as a tornado (common theme in my dreams and not in the least scary, btw).  I jumped up and ran into the living room looking to see what damage there might be, can I yelled out to T that there was a tornado.

I could see the deck out back was damaged, the railing torn, and some trees, etc. were damaged.  I then walked into the breakfast nook area, and this is when I noticed the furniture was different, the room was different, and outside the breakfast nook window was another room.. instead of the deck and gorgeous view.

Once I realized everything was different I stopped, turned a little bit and told T... "Oh.  Never mind.  It's is just a dream." I then just looked around quickly, amused that I was dreaming.. then woke.

Weird.

And I don't mind weird at all, but... I felt in my dream, as I do after waking from an interesting or otherwise really good dream, rather.. disappointed.  Perhaps it was because I felt as if I had control of things in the dream, and much less so than in real life.

Whatever caused this lucid dream--I hope it happens again, because... I rather liked it.  Honestly, I wish I felt in real life the way I do in my dreams.  Why?  Because it's more like 'living.'

Getting it all off my chest.

Well, it's a little cathartic to be able to vent, to scrutinize, to assess, to get it all out when something's bothering me.  If you want to know exactly what I'm talking about... it's HERE.  PART I and PART II were needed as this was, well, you'll see if you're curious enough to go there and read.  The discussion was about Beta men vs Alpha men and the necessary balance of power in a relationship.  I'm past that now, moving on, and wondering what the hell I'm going to do about my life as it is at the moment... not much of a life at all.  Aren't I always struggling with this?  Don't answer.

Exhaustion overcomes on the other side of stress.  I'm pretty much there at the moment and fighting like hell to defeat its encroachment.  What I'm left with is a familiar struggle to find my strength and focus again.  It's okay.  It is what it is.

I have to face each day like I don't remember the one before.  I can't allow myself to have any regrets, or allow the sense that I lost yet another 24 hours of my life.  There aren't any do-overs.  What I do is wake and think to myself.. "Today is the day."  It's a mantra of sorts, and one that has yet to actually work.

I'm spent.  Working on those two hefty entries has left me with virtually nothing.  So, if you're curious... click on the link above to read the most of today's crapola.

The Art of ASSumption & The Most Powerful Thing To Be.

I spent the last 1/2 hour or so talking on the phone to a friend of mine, who also has a blog as well, and we talked about life, health, girl stuff, and so on.  During the course of the conversation, and as the conversation settled into more meaningful, deeper topics... we both came to the realization that scrutiny is good, and ASSumption is bad.  Okay.  Sounds silly when you put it like that, but why confuse the issue with pretty words?

Somewhere between acquiring information and implementing reason something can go very, very awry, and the consequences aren't anything to write home about.  So why do people fall prey to the rather weak lure of assumption when the truth is often, though not always, fairly interesting?  G and I concluded that we definitely are in the middle of a dung-pile of thrill-seekers who can't handle being removed from the most caustic drama available.  And when it's not available... they set about constructing the facade that will most assist them in their endeavor to be shocked, appalled, thrilled, and mortified.  How crazy is that?  Well, maybe it's not crazy at all.

Humans thrive on drama.  Whether you have drama in your life or not, and it doesn't matter who's fault the drama is, people just can't seem to help themselves when said drama isn't up to par for their taste.  It takes talent, G and I agree on this, and we believe that in all seriousness people hone and perfect this skill that is not at all unlike mental heroin.  Once people try it.. they can't do without it, and when their 'stash' of drama runs low, or it's just not doing it anymore for them, they have to enhance it somehow.

Right before G and I hung up so we could, you know, blog about it (grin)... we both thought there was, in so many ways, a certain kind of power with being honest with blogging AND life.  When you realize your advantage, when it finally hits you that you're actually in a position power... the anger against having ASSumption being projected on you... that's the moment you win.

The most powerful thing to be, hands-down, is underestimated.

Now, this isn't anything new.  I've known this, as most do, my whole life.  Or at least fairly early on at some point... usually in childhood.  Even if we don't recognize it right off deep in our gut we know.  The first time someone doesn't believe us when we're telling the truth--realization sets in.  And either then, or later on in life, at some point in time... you understand fully that the moment people don't give you credit for having intelligence is the moment they relinquish their own power.. to you.

People who don't respect you try, even subconsciously, to discredit you.  This is a very strong form of underestimation of you as a person.  This means they underestimate you, therefore, can't predict what you will say, do, or think at any moment in any situation.  The mistrust they infuse doesn't move beyond themselves and, therefore... they weaken their own ability to 'keep up.'  My question in all of this is.. "Why on earth would they deliberately assume the position of weakness?"  Well, that's something only those people can answer.

I can be amused by all of this easily.  However, as G and I agreed, there's a certain element of pity that comes into play when you realize that when people choose to inject ASSumption into truth that their lives must become terribly distorted as a result.  How can anyone find anything good if the distortion becomes a barrier to actual communication?

At this moment I can visualize G blogging away frantically---excited to know she's not as powerless as she once thought.  It was a good conversation.

Off to re-post on my other blogs, then to read G's blog...

What a weird freaking day.

Life. Food. Oxygen. Determination. And good old fashioned letting go.

There's been a few times in my life where I had to make some really difficult decisions.  In those times it was absolutely necessary for my health and well-being to take those uncertain steps, but because I did I ended up on the right side of life... MY life.  No longer at odds with that which seeks to crush what and who I am I was free to live life the way I was meant to---my way.  It didn't mean I ended up rich or famous, it simply meant the burden of other people telling me who and how to be was no longer an anchor on this particular ship.  And it was a most beautiful thing to experience.

Sadly I find myself in that unfortunate circumstance again.  But at least, this time, I recognize the beast for what it is.  The next steps are fully mine to choose and implement.

Having been on prednisone I have to deal with the S*L*O*W process of healing my adrenal glands and waiting out the unpleasant effects.  This means being patient with myself about the weight it put on me.  All the dieting in the world can't thwart the effects of corticosteroids but at least I'm on my way and focused on what needs to be done.  I know where I am where where I need to be.  Unfortunately, T is on the opposite side of that fence lining the road to my goal, choosing to stand on the outside and basically attempting, in a passive-aggressive manner to trip me along the way.  WTH, right?

I've always been in my best health when eating clean, and that means food as close to nature as absolutely possible.  And, it's also one of the cheaper ways to eat if you're careful.  At this time it's really not about the cost of eating healthy but being forced to battle against someone who puts convenience over health.  Honestly, it's a source of utter contention when those confrontations arise, and oh but they do arise.

Fighting for my life:

In my current circumstances I find myself at the mercy of someone who literally doesn't care that eating poor quality, unhealthy food is positively dangerous for me.  Without going through the list of 'ills' again let's just say that eating pre-packaged, frozen, processed garbage (and it is garbage) is only going to deteriorate my health more rapidly than any disease process alone.  And I have to ask myself at this point---"What am I willing to surrender?"  The answer is always the same--I'm not willing to surrender ANYTHING when it comes to my health and quality of life.

Although there IS a huge part of me who's given up recently, and mostly because chronic pain, fatigue, weakness, nausea, etc., etc. has simply worn me down to the bone.  My will and determination ebbs and flows from day to day so erratically that I can't stay the course, so to speak.  Every day I find a little determination and motivation, and every day I give up.

I FEEL my body's struggle within.

My attempts to explain and convey this to T falls always on deaf ears, and this many times is where I give up and let go.  At that point what little energy and hope and determination I have recedes completely leaving me so exhausted that I have to sleep.  Many times, though not always, a short nap can restore me.  I guess just allowing my mind to cease battling against T's refusal to understand how critical clean eating and living is... well, I guess it's the only restoration method I have.

I understand full well what I'm facing here.  Even in the physical condition I'm in.. if I don't eat right, clean, healthy... I'm simply spinning my wheels.  The stress in and of itself creates and exacerbates the existing problems which also doesn't help.

What do I do when I can't drive right now (because of my arm.. possible torn rotator cuff) and can't go shopping for myself, when giving a list to T when he goes to the grocery store only means he returns with over-processed food and junk (desserts, etc).  What do I do?  These foods also don't sit well with my gastrointestinal processes (to put it nicely) and almost always makes me sick to my stomach.  I'm severely lactose intolerant, but these pre-packaged foods often have sauces in them that contain milk and cream.. NOT good at all.

I know what I need & what I must do to help myself heal.  I'm not claiming it's going to be a miracle cure or anything of the like but it IS necessary given the serious health issues I'm dealing with.

I'm alive.  I need to eat clean, healthy.  I need to exercise, to 'breathe.'  I'm determined.  But T isn't.

So at what point do I let go completely and insist on saving myself?  Why on earth is my life even up for debate?

I'm risking much by making the choice to stop taking medications, but it's critical right now as the side effects I believe are taking me out at the knees.  I have 3 more to come off of and.. I WILL.  But that's not enough.  Even I know that much.  I have to do so much more, including eating healthy and exercising even if I feel I can't.  Overall it's quality of life, not quantity.  Either way, destroying my health further from the inside out is about as foolish as it gets.

So tell me---how does one talk to someone who's deaf to reason these days?

Rhetorical question.

Chicken, fish, salad, cooked veggies, fruit, yogurt, and minute amounts of non-white/processed whole grains.  Seriously.  Is that really too much to ask???

When I'm without my voice, music...

When I'm without my voice, music...

Home.

One thing I've known for certain for pretty much all of my life is that when I'm ill, I long for home.  When I was little I knew where that place was, and despite its terrible flaws it was still home.  As an adult I was surprised to find that I no longer knew exactly where home was.  So I would spend the majority of my adult life longing for a place that quite possibly, for me anyway, doesn't exist.  I've never been able to reconcile this; not physically, and certainly not emotionally.

The closest I've come to being "Home" once moving out of my mom's house at 18 is Mobile, AL.  I had a tiny little apartment, and though not every moment there was perfect, it felt safe, and it felt like a warn welcome every time I walked through the door--no matter how good or bad things were.  It was a safe place for me to be myself, where I could decompress, where I could dream, wish, hope and feel alive.  This is not the case where I am now.  Not even close.

How did I get here?  I got here the same way I got into every bad situation in my life; By pure blind trust.  It's a flaw of mine and one that's gotten me into more trouble than I can tell you.  I give people the benefit of the doubt, take them on their word, and actually believe what they say.  Well, to a point anyway.  The thing is, that 'point' in which I pivot and see the error of my ways is usually far too late to avoid any damage to my life, and to me.

I'll probably always be this way, a far too trusting person.  I'm okay with that, I guess.  But I really wish I were better at assessing and discerning the heart and motives of people BEFORE I get involved.  We all have our flaws, I suppose.

As I wait for the sluggish process of diagnosis beyond the AIH, I'm left far too vulnerable for my liking.  There are days I can't walk well, verging on not at all, and days where lifting my arms to look at my phone is almost too much.  The weakness grows more each day and the doctors I need to see are weeks out of reach since I'll be a new patient.  The waiting is going to end me in the ER at some point, I'm afraid.  But the worst of this is being this sick and living in a place where I know absolutely no one at all.

T only helps around here bare minimum, and as the chores, etc. pile up... I long for the simplicity of the life I had in Mobile, where I didn't have to clean up after another human who refuses to do what's necessary to not live in a dirty, cluttered house.  I can't live this way, so I struggle to pick up the slack.  And I'll tell you, the slack is far far more than what T actually does.

How the hell did he survive on his own?

I have to somehow find my way home--wherever that is.  I know I can keep struggling a little bit to find my way here, to at least hang in there until I'm better---or at least better enough to survive, to move, to do something to help myself.  At this rate I don't know if I can work, which scares that crap out of me.  Disability requires a definite diagnosis, and at this time I don't have one that explains fully how I'm continuing to weaken and become more and more sick.  What can I do if even typing an entry like this makes me shaky and nauseated with weakness?

I want to be well again, to feel good again, to have energy again.  I want to be in a position where I can find my way back home again.

Home.  I just want to be... home.

The Handshake.

A relationship is like a handshake.  One person extends their hand and the other extends theirs in acceptance.  This is the best case scenario, however, and relationships leave one person waving their hand in the air and feeling foolish.  At some point that dance just doesn't work anymore and we have to decide wether it's all worth it or not.  But how do we know WHEN it's time to place our hand back in our pocket and walk away?

There's no difference in friendships and we've all seen those fail miserably due to one-sided participation.  It's not usually an instant fail, btw, and we come to the conclusion to walk away after a lot of energy is spent trying to be the one acquiescing, initiating, or taking the blame for the short-comings within the relationship machine.

So if we know how it works in friendships, why do we take so damn long with romantic relationships?  I think part of it is that there's a much larger prize at stake when it comes to that kind of connection that leaves you ultimately vulnerable and exposed.  That other person, unlike a friend (usually) has seen you literally at your worst, your best, naked, knows most if not all of your secrets, and the love and affection that ties it all together is not that easy to break.  In most cases.  Either way, there's just a lot at stake when talking romantic relationships vs friendships.

Friendships do last longer.  And if you think about it, it's most likely because you're not living with that person or trying to divvy up responsibilities, not relying on that person when it comes to the hard times.  I mean, yes, there is some of that, but again.... you just can't compare the two.  There is an exception, however, to this rule, and that is that we actually can apply what we are willing to put up with when it comes to carrying the load of that relationship.

I don't care about the numbers, myself.  Wether you call it 50/50 or 100/100 it still requires both sides to assess what's what and decide a compromise when one side is no longer able to carry the larger portion of the load.

My point here is this: At some point we have to acknowledge when something is harming us, wether it's physical or emotional harm, be it stress or overt abuse, we absolutely HAVE to make a decision at some point while we still have enough of ourselves left, before any real long-term damage is done.

Every day I'm reminded of how much I have to carry, what I'm left to be responsible for, and just how little energy and strength I have to take that on.  Physically I grow weaker each day.  My specialist has upped the Azathioprine about as high as I can take it, and I'm waiting to see if/when this begins to pivot the illness and begin to heal what's wrong.  In the meantime I'm extremely weak, often sick (nausea, etc.), and I have to lay down in bed several times a day now.  This means little gets done because I'm not able to do it myself.  Simple things, really.  Chores that I could handle easily back when I was healthy, living alone and with many more time-consuming responsibilities.  The difference between he and I is that I did what needed to be done and was glad to do it.  I can't live in a dirty or nasty environment so fight my way through the day trying to do what little I can.

I'm so so so done with this.

And since the communication is one-sided (out of his laziness. No joke there.) I'm beyond exhausted. I'm back to my focus being on ONE thing and ONE thing only--getting well.  I will be well enough to take my life back when the time comes and he's going to find himself in the dust when it happens.  It's his own doing, and he's not going to be happy about it when it happens, I promise.  He's been warned of this, and he's coasting along like he can't see it happening already.  But it is, happening already....