Sometimes You Need to Sit in Silence

Sometimes you need to sit in silence to hear your own voice.

That above has been rolling in my head all day.  I felt that I had to have a quiet day today.  I called in to work and just spent a quiet day.  I just had to.

I have never kept my depression a secret.  I have written about it.  I have talked about it.

This morning I felt like I was just teetering on the edge of an episode. By episode, I mean when I fall into a depressive spiral.  I have had too much chaos the last few weeks and I just needed to have a day to reel back.

I hope that makes sense.

I feel guilty about calling in but at the same time, I feel proud of recognizing the triggers and dealing with it before it gets out of hand.  I hate the depressive feelings and I try to avoid it at all costs.

Sometimes it isn't that easy and I fall of the ledge anyway.

But....

Today I avoided it.

People always wonder how I can be depressed when I have the ability to crack jokes or poke fun at things.  To be honest, most comics or funny people suffer from depression.  We tend to hide it well.

We wear masks and cover it with humor.

Then there are people with say "just be happy" or "get over it".  These people tend to piss me off as they have no freaking idea what it is like to suffer from depression.  

Anyway, I am getting off track.

Today I avoided it and tomorrow is another day.

It Has Been Awhile

I am still here...barely.

It has been a super crazy few weeks since my last post.

I bought the house that I moved out of ten years ago.  Moving back in what quite a chore.  Painting, cleaning and more painting and more cleaning.  Had a few issues with a sump pump and a smelly basement.  Ya know, boring stuff.

Work has been absolutely nuts.  My sales have increased tremendously which means more work.

We got a puppy.

and I need a vacation.

Sometimes I Feel Like I Need to Apologize to My Kid

I don't know how well this is going to come across in writing since it is over 2:30 in the freaking morning.  I don't have insomnia like I have in the past.  I just have a head full of anger.

My son has been going through some crap lately.  Not just a little crap but a whole big shit ton of crap.

I feel so helpless.

I know how he feels and no matter what someone says or does, it won't make anything better.

I totally get that.

The one thing that really burns my toast is that his father is totally unconnected.  It is almost like since my kid was born, he has not been anything to his own father.

I know he reached out and mention to his dad the things that have been happening to him and didn't really get a reply.

The father has absolutely no idea what his kid is dealing with.

My son told me that he feels like he doesn't mean anything to his dad unless it involves money.

My heart sank.

This man has no idea what a wonderful kid he is ignoring.  He has no freaking idea how much his kid needs a father figure for advice or even as a sounding board.

I hate the fact that this man seems to be such an awesome dad to his other kids but doesn't even give a rats ass about his oldest.

I wish I could tell him how I feel but I don't think it will do a damn bit of good.  It never did any good for my son's first 20 years.  Even if I did tell him, he would some how turn it all into my fault anyway.

I hate this man.

It is such a sad situation and I feel like I need to apologize to my son for giving him such an asshole for a father.

Sometimes I Think I am Losing my Shit

Yeah, I know the title has a swear word in it. (sorry dad)

As I have written about in the past, I have depression.  I've had it for as long as I can remember.  I've dealt with it.  I deal with it.  I most likely will continue to deal with it.

I write about it because it helps.

Lately I feel like I am going to just lose my shit and explode.

So much flies at me that it is like extreme dodge ball but not with balls.  I want to say almost like the old fashioned pointy jarts.  If you don't know what those are, go ahead and google it, I'll wait.

It is almost 3:30 in the morning and I obviously am not sleeping.  I am supposed to get up to go to work in about two hours.  That won't be happening.  I am going to take a personal day to try to get my shit together.

When I say that I am about to lose my shit, I mean that I have so much on my mind that if one more thing comes at me, I think I may just about run around the apartment screaming "uncle".

Some stuff is good, like my job and about a deal I have in the works about a bigger place to live.  Some stuff is bad, like my older kid having health issues and my weekly dental visits.

Then I can add in the fact that I am extremely upset with my step father and never mention it to anyone because I am not sure how to even explain how I feel or how anyone would take my feelings.  I am afraid to even mention it to him since he called me a few days ago (it had been about 6 months before that) and he had me on speaker phone with his "girlfriend".  It just makes me so uncomfortable and angry.

Whatever....

I also feel like the walls of this apartment are closing in on me.  I can't seem to breathe.  I look around and feel pathetic.  I hate the neighbors and I don't even know them.  The parking lot pisses me off every time I trip on the broken asphalt.  The hallway stinks of cigarettes and old dogs.  My doorbell is broken and the fridge makes this horrible clunking noise. The landlord fails to address any of the issues.

I miss my mom.

My daughter is being confirmed next month and the ex wants to do a party.  I am not to sure how to feel.  We always have got along well but his family is another story.  The thought of facing my two ex-sisters in law from hell gives me anxiety.  I'll will do it and be nice because that's who I am and I will never ever let on that they just wig me out.

Sometimes I wish I had a girlfriend to have wine with so I can talk to someone.  I often wish my long time friends weren't so far away.  I miss them terribly.

So, here I am typing away.  I have a weird form of ADD too so I flip back and forth between tabs.  I have puppies on one, sofas on another and google images on a third.  

I tried to read my book a little but the mind is strong tonight and just wants to keep churning.

I Don't Always Have Strength

Despite the pain killer and the sleeping pills, I have insomnia.

I used to have insomnia all the time.  It has been more rare over the last few years however it has reared it's ugly head for the last two nights.

I have been working pretty hard; long hours on my feet, weird shifts, and overnights.

Yesterday morning I came home from work and while I was changing out of my stinky clothes I noticed that my left big toe was ugly...well, uglier than usual.

It was painful to touch it and it was an angry red.  The toenail appeared to be green underneath.  I knew it was bad and probably should be looked at by a doctor.

I went to sleep for a few hours.  I got up to pick up my daughter from school and we took my toe to the walk in clinic.

The toe was infected and the nail had to be removed.  It was gross and painful and gained a huge bandage the size of a light bulb.  I was given prescriptions, instructions, gauze, wrap, crutches and a note to miss work for the next day.

But this whole toe thing isn't what this entry is about.

I have a friend who tells me that she admires my strength.  I've been through some pretty tough times and haven't lost my mind completely.

But lately I don't feel very strong.

I have been crying off and on.  I don't sleep.  I don't feel like eating.

The depression is coming to surface again.

When I do sleep, I dream of my mom.  

I miss her when I am hurting....physically and mentally.  Well, I miss her all the time but more so when things turn shitty.

She used to come and stay with me some times and I used to go to see her when I needed a break from things.

My toe triggered this feeling again.  Even though there are so many other things draining me at the moment, it is like the weight that broke the camel's back.

It seems as if I have no one to talk to about my feelings lately.  I feel kind of lost and I wish something would just give a little.

  

*sigh*

Is This Lazy?

I often joke about being lazy.  Even though I'm really not that lazy.

This photo was posted on Facebook earlier today and many stated that the container is a waste and creating labels is a waste.  Many were quick to judge others in calling out lazy people who have the time to text or be on their phone but don't have time to peel an orange.

My response is "What about those who are handicapped or have horrible arthritis?"

I think of my great grandmother whose fingers were so badly curled and painful due to arthritis.  She couldn't even hold a fork let alone peel an orange.

I think of my dad whose one hand is so unusable, he can barely cut his meat.

I think of veterans who lost limbs.

I think of those who just can't do anything with their hands.

I guess I think like that due to not having use of my legs for several months.  I had to depend on someone to help me with every day tasks like going to the bathroom, showering, getting dressed, you know....things that you just don't have to think about doing.

I also have a strong sense of empathy for others.

I am so angry at those who quickly judge and accuse those of being lazy....too lazy to peel an orange.

Have you ever thought that maybe someday you may not be able to do even the simplest of things?

Someone said that even her two year old can peel an orange.  Ok, but I am sure that her two year old wears diapers or maybe even drinks from juice boxes.  I am sure that you are the perfect, model citizen conscious of such environmental matters and that you are the most non-lazy person on the planet.

Someone even blamed Walmart.  Walmart doesn't even sell pre-peeled oranges.  I should know, I manage the produce department.

People make their own choices.  If they chose a pre-peeled orange, it is still better than a bag of chips or cookies. 

Perhaps those who claim that it is wasteful even drink bottled water or even have a soda from time to time.

People who even have all the time in the world take short cuts from time to time.  Maybe even use beef stock in a can to start your soup "from scratch".

I get so angry over judgmental people these days.

If you think so closed minded maybe you should keep your mouth closed as well.

What's a Vacation?

It seems like forever since I have had some sort of significant vacation.

I don't think I have ever had one where I completely unwound from life's little stresses.

It may very well be a long long time before I even get a vacation.

Things just have been building up and they never ever really get resolved or any sort of relief.

I love my job but it does have its stressful moments.  I often consider taking my "damn it" doll with me in the morning.  It is this cloth doll that is ugly and you are supposed to choke it or hit someone with it when you are irritated.  Someday Damn It will have his very own blog entry.

I love my kids but as anyone knows, who has kids, that they can be little bundles of stress themselves.  Just today my daughter comes home from Ash Wednesday services with her dad just ranting and yelling about how she is never going to church again....ever.  She lit into me because I was trying to make an Oreo Torte and I have no idea why that had any connection with church, but um....ok.

Seriously....its an Oreo Torte.  Back off, crab ass. 

I love my guinea pigs but the new pig is a total shit head.  He is young and doesn't understand the house rules yet.  The new pig is still trying to make himself known and chatters a lot and runs around the pen, making a racket.  The older pig has about enough of the new pig.  I think I even saw him eyeball my damn it doll to whack the noobie.

I don't love where I live but hey, its a roof over my head and the rent is cheap.  But the damn neighbors are pissing me off.  The downstairs asshole screamed and swore at me for parking in "his" space.  Um....we don't have assigned spaces. The neighbors next door play this funny game called "Let's See Who Can Yell the Loudest".  If they keep it up, they will learn that the winner will be me.

Oh and I can't forget about my daily dose of pain with my teeth.  I need to have oral surgery to have four removed, prepped for implants, and some serious fixing done.  This doesn't come cheap even with insurance.  To get started, I need to have $1500 up front.  So this means that I have to wait to have any sort of relief from the pain.  My diet consists of ibuprofen,Tylenol, Vicodin, penicillin, mashed potatoes, pudding and occasional cottage cheese.

I think I just need a break.

Oy!