Life in progress

Daily Archives: January 27, 2019


by 15 Comments

As the pneu turns, aka what I’ve been doing today

Yes, I know. Pneu means tire in French and this has nothing to do with tires. It does have to do with pneumonia.

Start from the beginning shall we? Actually, I don’t remember that far back, so starting at yesterday will have to do.

Yesterday afternoon I picked my mother up from the hospital, from a three day stay. The first thing she asked for was a cigarette. I asked her if maybe she thought it would be better to wait a day or two to smoke since she still had pneumonia. Her answer: “I’ve already waited two days!” I then said that maybe waiting another two will mean she can get better and not have to go back to the hospital where she can’t smoke at all.

So she had a cigarette before she even made it to her room in the retirement home. I went off to get her meds from the pharmacy, and when I came back, she wanted another one. I tried again to reason with her, but no. So I sat outside with her in the -20C-with-the-wind cold while she hacked and wheezed through another cigarette.

At 5:15 this morning I got a call from the home. She was having trouble breathing and did I think she should go back to the hospital. I asked the nurse to keep an eye on her and she agreed.

At 4:00 this afternoon I got another call. They were putting her back in an ambulance. I arrived in the emergency room a little while later, and as I stood at her bedside, holding her hand, she asked me why she was back in the hospital. I explained to her that she had pneumonia and smoking had put her back in there. “I told you yesterday,” I said, “that if you smoked you’d wind up back in here,” to which she smiled and replied, “You’re a wonderful daughter.” I couldn’t roll my eyes hard enough.

She seems to be worse now than she was when she went in on the 23rd, to me at least. But they’re not sure they’ll keep her, so I might be going back to pick her up in the dead of night.

I have my doubts.

And that pretty much sums up my day. Nay, my weekend: I have my doubts.


by 9 Comments

Cathartic – #JusJoJan 2019 Jot #27

I’ve spent most of the day contemplating, trying to figure out what I do that is cathartic. What helps me purge my negative emotions. And really, I could come up with nothing.

So my next question for myself was how am I coping? Why am I not going off the deep end?

And my answer was that I am generally happy. Content, despite all the stressors in my life. It’s testament to the fact that I don’t set the bar very high when I consider myself happy that my kids are alive and safe. Are they all healthy? Not by a long shot. Do they have everything they want? No. But they generally have a lot to smile about nonetheless.

There’s still all the stress to deal with, but that I do with my little escapes. Writing fiction, plunging headfirst into my editing jobs, taking a walk, and colouring easily help at least give me a break from my worries.

And I suppose when it’s all at its worst, my writing, even when I’m not writing about myself, can indirectly help me to spit out on a page what I’m feeling inside. We can’t, as writers, effectively express emotions we haven’t felt, whether they be joy or grief, well-being or pain.

On the other hand, maybe I’m just lying to myself and I’ll explode when I turn 60.

But at this very moment, I honestly believe I have it pretty good. All things considered.

The prompt word, “cathartic,” for today’s post is brought to you by Enthralling Journey! Thanks, Enthralling Journey! To find her “cathartic” post, click here. And say hi while you’re there!

It’s never too late to participate in Just Jot it January! Click the following link to find out how, and see all the other participants’ links in the comment section. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/27/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-27th/


by 29 Comments

#JusJoJan 2019 Daily Prompt – Jan. 27th

Hey there! We’re back again to the daily Just Jot it January prompt. I’m glad I haven’t had a glass of wine tonight. I almost forgot to schedule this post sober.

If you’d like a peek at the upcoming prompts, check the “Rules” post HERE. The list is at the bottom of the post.

Your prompt for JusJoJan 2019, January 27th is brought to you by Enthralling Journey! Click here to find her last post and say hi while you’re there! Enthralling Journey’s word for our prompt today is “cathartic.” Use it anywhere in your post or make it the theme of your post. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 27th, 2019.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: Please state either in your title or very early on in your post if it’s NSFW.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!