what a year

[meirish]

This is not a political settlement to start a political discussion. This is a statement to enable us all to moan and groan about this 2020 we are living in.

I want to know if any of you are really sick and tired of this year. You know that we have had floods, hurricanes, tornados, illness in our families that have needed surgery and chemo and heavens knows what else. There has to be a whole bunch of other stressful events in our lives....oh, I almost forgot the Covid and then I will add the close to one year of politicking for the election and then the election and the aftermath. Sheeesh Remember this is a moan and groan to help us release our brain stress.

Everyone is mentioning what a stressful year this has been and it is one thing we can all relate to. I would think there would be a whole lot of books written on the subject. You know, all the people with chronic diseases go through a increased symptoms at times like these. Increased mental stress increases our physical ailments more often than not.

How is everyone dealing with their stress? I have to admit that House Hunters is one thing that gives me a happy time cause I love looking at houses---especially the ones in the foreign countries. The social distancing is hard on us all and especially those of us who live alone. People in my coop living are just hibernating. I try to get out of my apartment every day and read the free papers that come and get my mail. There are people here I have not seen since the covid started. It really is hard on older people and people with chronic illness. I would also imagine that single mothers are overwhelmed more than ever.

If anyone would like to share anything they have done or planning to do over the holiday season it might help some of us come up with some fun plans. Thanks for listening to my 2020 complaints, etc. Take care all. meirish

[Carolina]

Dear Irish,

I agree, it's been a tough year for everyone.  We hope 2021 will be better. 

If it brings a vaccine that truly works (think Polio vaccine in the 50's) 2021 will be miraculous.  If we can stop the 100,000 new cases every day, and bring us all out of our homes, there will  be joy and healing.

Regards, Elaine

[katie1111]

My husband and I were really starting to get depressed with all that was and wasn't (in the sense we couldn't go any where) happening.  So we decided we had to get out and week before last we got in the car and took a 5 day trip.  We live in Florida and drove to the Okefenoki Swamp in Georgia.  We wandered around, took a couple of boat rides and a train ride, breathed in fresh air and learned a lot.  Then we went on to Charleston, South Carolina and did a lot of walking and rode in the horse drawn carriages.  Most of our activities were outdoors.  There were very few people at the swamp but quite a few in Carolina.  We found the trip refreshing and uplifting.
Katie1111

[MarieB]

Irish,
Same here.  2020 has been one wild ride! 
We are still sheltering at home mostly.  We do go for short drives about the area and get take out to bring home when done. 
I still have a lot of anxiety, just can't settle down.  But at least I can read now, which I could not before (could not focus on anything). 
Best to everyone,
Marie

[meirish]

Glad to hear from you folks. and Also it is nice to hear that you are enduring. We have to, don't we as we have no choice. I always have to remind myself of the pioneers going across the plains in the wagons in the heat with little water and very, very poor meals.

Every generation has some sort of cross to bear, so to speak. It is supposed to give us strength and character and probably does but we are totally unaware. Stay safe and content in the coming days. meirish

[Bucky]

Irish - I find with all the evening news and such that there is very little encouraging news (at least that is reported on the evening news) - many times, I just turn it off.  What keeps me sane in all this is to listen to music - I really like Southern Gospel music, so I've been listening to different artists and many of them have online concerts you can watch.  I watched a older video clip last night from comedian Chonda Pierce - it was so funny! 

Unfortunately, we don't have dish or cable where I live - I'd love to watch some of the shows that aren't on ABC, CBS, or NBC. 

It's a challenge when your spouse is more of a "doom and gloom" kind of person, and I'm the opposite.  I look for the good things, happy things, and ways to be encouraged and uplifted.

Many times I hear, "what brings you joy?".  I would love to hear what brings each of us, JOY.

Take care Irish - I think of you often.

Bucky

[Kathy57]

Irish,

Where do I begin?  How do I make this short and concise?   This year has been positively awful, but I still have much hope.  I?ve been able to deal fairly well with my Sjogrens symptoms.  I?m amazed really, considering all the stressors.

My main concern is my husbands health and it is wonderful to feel well enough to be able to focus on someone else instead of my own illness. 

You may remember that my husband has a very aggressive prostate cancer?  When he was diagnosed 4 and 1/2 years ago they gave him 6 months to live if he did nothing.  He has been through weeks of chemo and radiation and was actually put into remission for a bit.  But it has come back and has spread to his bone and has compressed his ureters on his right side to where he developed hydronephrosis.  He had to have a stent put in and it is definitely getting worse.😞

We have been following up at MD Anderson in Houston and they have been a beacon of hope.  He has been accepted into a phase 2 trial involving 2 meds:  one given daily by mouth and one given IV every three weeks.  We are thrilled to be able to participate in this study that may help my husband and others that follow.

 It will be a lot of traveling as we live in Illinois.  We start it after Thanksgiving and are making preparations.  We may become snow birds and rent a place in Texas for the winter months.

I feel we have much to be thankful for.  So happy that he was accepted into this but also anxious about the unknown.  Wish none of us had to worry about COVID.  If we can all just scrape through this............

Kathy

[sixty]

Irish, your post reminds me of the show "Wagon Train".  I watch it every afternoon on ME TV and I just love it.  Anyway those folks did endure some big time hardships, losing their loved ones and many of their possessions on the long trip.  It's the kind of thing (without the hardships) I would've loved as a kid.

[meirish]

Glad to hear from all of you. It is really a yukky year isn't it. One doesn't like to complain...too much especially when we can still take food and water. But...the joy is hard to come by. I just listened to a retired Thai/German doctor on you tube who is extremely highly educated in microbiology and understands all this civid thingy. His attitude is that this is an old, old virus that comes to visit us every year and has to mutate in order to survive. If it did not mutate we would have built up resistance and it would have died out years ago.

It is a bad flu he says but he says that the testing we are doing is done absolutely the opposite of what the science is trained to do. It doesn't help to test and have all these positive people with no symptoms who are in quarantine for weeks. Our whole civilization is going down the tube. He calls it the pied piper effect. All the doc are having all these ideas and making us all crazy and locking us up at home is the worst thing. He also said that the deaths are not being recorded correctly as a good share of the deaths are from other known causes but not necessarily from the flu itself. Sooo there. And here we sit.

And then Dr. Fauci was shown on video on a show tonight and early on in the infection he said that the flu cannot be spread by asymptomatic people. Sooo, there again. I digress.
So, I just thought I would add that. It makes me think that  it might be good to not be so compliant ad just live our lives..

It is good that time is passing so fast as the holidays are almost here and people are getting their trees up early. There are a goodly amount of outside decorations up already and it really is welcome. Kathy, I am glad your husband got into the study and hope that you can find a place that would be just right for you to lie in down there. Maybe Anderson has some living quarters that would work. I don't know if there are other places around anymore for people to stay during medical treatments. Everything has changed so much this y ear one can't keep up. Sometimes the social workers at a clinic can help you out.

It is so hard to be at home all the time. I was never one to go out to coffee, etc but darn, I love to get out and just look in stores and I loved going to the library. Our library has been closed for months. People can order books on line and then drive up and they will bring them out to the car. But that doesn't give one the experience of going to the library.

I am starting to have so many reruns on many of the shows I watch. I don't watch the reality shows to talk shows so things are limited. I may have to check out Netflix. My son has me listed so I could use that. Well, all of you have a great holiday in spite of it all. It has been such good weather so will be interesting to see what the day is like. If nothing else go out for a ride. Take care now. meirish