Staying/Getting/Doing Well – Moving goalposts or fixed target?

[Paw Prints]

Hi, this is my first post, though I have been reading the forums for some weeks. I’m probably expressing myself badly when I say that I have found reading about other people’s journeys reassuring. Finding a community of people who “get it” even when they have a wide variety of experiences and lives lived is not something I thought I would ever find.

Though people talk about getting well & there is a section Staying Well, I’m curious as to what this actually means to other people and how they manage their expectations. I noticed some people refer to being well as ‘being like themselves before they got ill’, whilst others don’t express an exact aim.

My idea of being well has changed over the years. I was first diagnosed as an 8 year old child back in the late sixties. The doctors told Mum that the voices in my head & the sudden crying bouts were because I suffered from ‘nerves’ & I was given meds to calm me. Of course such things were not discussed back then & I was told not to talk about it to anyone, not my school friends nor siblings, just Mum. For decades after my idea of being well simply meant being able to hide my illness from others.

A number of events in my life caused my illness to worsen, until some years ago I became so ill I needed to be hospitalised for my own safety. This lead to my current diagnosis of Major Depression, Anxiety & PTSD. I’m no longer in that dark place, but each day is still a battle (though I can now believe in a future). For now only my siblings & one friend know about my illness, though some things they still don’t know.
So, what does ‘being well’ mean to me, it is ever moving goalposts. If you had asked me 5 years ago would I be as well as I am now I would have thought it impossible as I couldn’t envision a future. If you had asked me last week (during one of my down periods) I would have said my progress was all an illusion & I was fooling myself that things can get better.
For now my idea of being well is being able to believe that things can change for the better, that I will one day be able to manage the everyday things like housework, caring for myself & caring for my dog & maybe, just maybe I will even be able to enjoy myself.

Paw Prints
**I took the tip to give myself time to write my post by writing on a word doc & then paste it.

[Croix]

Dear Paws and ER~

Hmm- your talk of pythons has given me an idea, particularly if I convince one of the tasty snacks penguins and inebriated kiwis make. I think just the rumor I might have one would be enough.

". Croix has convinced the penguins that the world beyond the iceberg has more mischievous mayhem opportunities than the iceberg. And he’s convinced the kiwis that the world beyond the iceberg is brimming with many varieties of inebriation. "

Quite right, why do you two think you have been inundated? They have obviously found a more congenial new home than my plain old chily iceberg. They are adventuresome, my iceberg floated too close ot New Zealand and was immediately covered in inebriated kiwis wanting a change of scene, and all the fuss attracted the penguins (although I think MmeKitty had a paw in it)

Incidentally I doubt think even Olympic kiwis would enjoy a slide, more like a bob-sleigh where the could use their beaks as brakes on the curves.

Incidentally I believe most people only try mead once.

Croix (who is enjoying the peace of an unpopulated iceberg)

[Eagle Ray]

Hello Paws and Croix,

Paws, it’s good you gave your body another day of gentle movement. I feel that listening to the body is so important.  Hopefully by tomorrow things will have eased up considerably.

I’m glad your fence survived the impact of bulls enthusiastically reaching for the leaves on your tree. It does sound like maybe there’s no one on the property at the moment from your description. I imagine the young bulls are enjoying the freedom of the gates being open and being able to wander about the property as they please.

The greenhouse-like effect from yesterday was pretty much gone today. It was cooler, even a bit wintery. I went for a walk in the woodland across the road in the late afternoon. The sun began to filter through the forest after emerging from behind a cloud which is always so beautiful. I could smell the plants releasing there compounds into the atmosphere. It was so fresh. I walked down to where there is just one stream left still trickling through the forest. The other streams have dried up now. Cows were lowing nearby and their voices were echoing in the landscape. I disturbed a Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo on the ground who flew up onto a low perch. I then had a conversation with her. They are so intelligent and it’s like you can really interact with them. I also saw the same staffy I saw yesterday who galumphed up to me, snorting with exertion. Staffies are hilarious 😂

Well now Croix has got me thinking that the only way pythons can survive on an iceberg is if they have special knitted python jumpers. Otherwise their reptilian forms will simply be inactive on the iceberg. If they try to pursue a kiwi or penguin they will attempt to move before just going plonk on the ice, and the penguins can waddle about them and the kiwis stagger around them without a care in the world. So you might have to start knitting Croix.

But even with their winter warmies on, the pythons may be enticed by the kiwi beverages and completely distracted from dining on kiwis and penguins. The kiwis heard you insult their beverage making Croix (mead indeed!) and have now diversified into mulled wine, a cold climate favourite. This is so delicious for the pythons that they will become too floaty and light-headed to pursue their prey and simply recline in their knitted sweaters, marvelling at the icy landscape and the wonders of the night sky.

So I think it is full steam ahead with our plans Paws. Perhaps Santa can bring a projection screen for an outdoor movie cinema and the infrastructure for bar to showcase the kiwi’s delicious mulled wine. I can see this building up to a very memorable Christmas 🎄😀

Sleep well Paws and Croix 😴

Hugs,

ER

[Paw Prints]

Hello ER & Croix,

It is hot & horrible today, but at least the winds are light, what with last weekends fire still not controlled & other fires popping up.  My bird bath has been popular today.  For the first time I had a magpie visit it.  It was drinking from it & though it didn't lay down to bathe it was splashing the water with its feet so the water went up its legs.  It was quite comical watching it stomp around. 

I made it into big town today, though it was mid morning before I headed off, so it was already hot.  By the time I did the chemist & my licence (both were busy) I didn't have the oomph to do Woolies too.  

Oh I could whip up a knitted python 🐍 jumper before xmas, after all it is just a tube...  That would put us in the pythons good books & make it much more amenable.   I'm sure the python would love to recline in a hammock strung between some ice block towers that would take no time to build.  That would spare it from the risk of slipping off the iceberg, as it has no pointy beak like a kiwi to act as an anchor while sleeping.  Between the mulled wine & clams (liberated from the walrus' stash) I'm sure the python will be more than content to marvel at the scenery & stars & will have no thought of dining on the kiwis & penguins.  What do you think about inviting Effie the elephant & her band to add some fun & give the blue whales something to sing along with?

Hugs

Paws

[Eagle Ray]

Hello Paws and Croix,

It sounds like it’s really hit an early summer where you are Paws. I do hope it cools again soon and that those fires are under control too. It’s great you’ve been able to provide respite for the birds, including an amusing magpie. I can understand not wanting to stick around in big town in the hot weather. I hope it’s feeling more pleasant now it’s evening.

I went to my own version of big town today, the nearest one with a Centrelink. I have started to earn a small amount of money from some of my photo images so I wanted to find out the correct way of reporting this type of income. The woman there was very helpful and gave me the two forms I need. Those forms need to be completed every 3 months. It will only likely be very small amounts trickling in over time, but it all helps.

Oh that’s wonderful you can knit some jumpers for the pythons. It will certainly add to the festive atmosphere with them all dressed up. Hammocks, clams and mulled wine are wonderful incentives for pythons to enjoy the iceberg (and distract from dining on penguins and kiwis). But you have suggested the biggest incentive of all that will not only keep pythons entertained but bring hordes of penguins and kiwis to the iceberg - the fabulous Effie! Her cabaret act will go magnificently with the bar atmosphere. Effie does quite the stomp with her dance routine which will send reverberations through the iceberg, signalling to the blue whales to join in and bellow at full volume. Oh what a beautiful cacophony it will be!

Hugs,

ER

[Croix]

Dear Paws and ER

ER I'm delighted you are gettng some recompense for you images, while the money may be small the recognition that you strike a chord wiht others is a wonderful thing. I think there are very many people, me included, who gain pleasure from wildlife photos, it is a lift from every day life.

I love perky little birds, wrens, sparrows, white-eyes etc and love to watch them bounce or flit around the branches and ground. You can keep your eagles, vultures, hawks etc. they do not have quite the same appeal though I must admit a hawk sitting on a fence post alert for lunch is fascinating.

You mentioned Blue whales, now if htey were Blues Whales (like the Blues Brothers) I'd be quite in favor

The following may be appropriate

One afternoon police stopped a man walking along with a penguin on a string

"What have you got there?"

"A penguin officer"

"You can't have penguin on the street  - take it to the zoo"

The next day the police saw the same man with the same penguin on the same string

"I told you to take that penguin to the zoo!"

"I did and he loved it officer, so today I'm taking him to the movies"

🎶That's All Folks!🎶

Croix