Search where?

This Portfolio (charlieabney)

All of Writing.Com

◄ December ► 2020
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31
Archive				RSS

Create New Item

Read & Review

Community

Browse By Type

Browse By Genre

Writing Resources

Sunday, Jun. 2, 2024

12:25pm EDT

Members: 975

Guests: 865

Total Online: 1,840

Are You Listening???

by Charlie ~

Rated: GC · Book · Emotional · #2181458

A journey of self-improvement - or not.

Sup? I'm Char.
You may know me from timeless classics such as

Invalid Item

This item number is not valid.
#2030442 by Not Available.

and

Invalid Item

This item number is not valid.
#1974611 by Not Available.

I blog for things like

Invalid Item

This item number is not valid.
#2146101 by Not Available.

FORUM

30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS

(13+)
WDC's Longest Running Blog Competition - Hiatus
#1786069 by Fivesixer

FORUM

JAFBG

(XGC)
Because real life isn't always roses and sunshine...
#2094931 by Elisa the Bunny Stik

[Embed For Use By Upgraded+]
Believin' all the lies that they're tellin' ya
Buyin' all the products that they're sellin' ya
They say jump and ya say "how high?"
Ya braindead, ya got a fuckin' bullet in ya head

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

intuey

Jul 22, 2023 at 8:05am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Hey Char, It's been a while since I've touched base with you. I'm so sorry for your loss. The last thing people should say is everyone loses their grandparents eventually, or it will get better with time. It's the last thing you want to hear when you're hurting. Death sucks, long-lasting illness sucks! Having to decide to let the person go to keep them from suffering REALLY SUCKS! I think the only ones who can understand truly just how much are those who have had to make that decision. My heart breaks for you.

I'm not religious, but I do have a strong faith in God. I call myself spiritual because I don't agree with all the rules and regulations of religion. I do know I will see my family and friends again, and this is a great comfort. I can only imagine how much more painful the death of loved ones is without this belief. But you're right, it can't be faked. But it is a beautiful thing.

Having mental health issues during times like this makes it even harder to go through. I know what you mean about seeing things that aren't there. I'd walk into a room, and say, "Where's Star?" and she would be sitting right in front of me. When I looked, I swear I saw an empty chair. The mind is crazy. It gives new meaning to a mind of its own

Some time has passed since you wrote this. I don't know when you'll see this but know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and I'm sending good energy your way. I hope you're doing better. I look forward to hearing from you.

Aiva Raine

Mar 28, 2023 at 9:40pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I'm sorry for your loss. I know they are shitty sounding words that don't even attempt to fill or fix, but they're meant in sincerity.

Having lost several people the best advice I was ever given was when life gets too hard- take it at your own pace. If a day is too much- cope with an hour at a time. If that's too much, take it ten minutes at a time. If that's too much- then you deal with one minute at a time. Work through life and grief at your pace. And don't ever feel guilty because you feel sad. And if you can- find one positive in each chunk of time- even if it's something as little as the beauty of sunlight on a leaf or the softness of your shirt. And ask for help if you need it.

Elle - on hiatus

Mar 7, 2023 at 3:29pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Aw, Charlie, I'm so sorry. It's a shit thing to go through whether it's sudden or not. And just because everyone goes through it, doesn't make it easier. It also doesn't take into account that you were closer to them than your parents. Nobody says 'Oh, everyone loses their parents eventually' do they? Surely not. And that's what's happened here really. I'm actually glad you've got an appointment with a professional tomorrow, because they might be able to help you with getting through that initial devastation.

When my dad lost his mother, he really struggled with his own lack of religion. As you say, there is some comfort in believing they've gone to a better place, been reunited with loved ones, that you'll see them again, and so on. For most of my life, Dad would say 'Religion is a crutch for the weak', but I definitely saw him struggle with the finality of it when he lost his mother, the person he was probably closest to.

My thoughts are with you.

1 Like

~Minja~

Mar 7, 2023 at 3:21pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Crazy stuff, grief. If you want to talk about it, message me always.

1 Like

QPdoll

Mar 7, 2023 at 6:21am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I understand what you mean about wanting to tell your grandmother something. I did the same thing after my grandmother passed. I was at home and the first thing I thought was to call grandma. I picked up the phone and realized that she wouldn't answer. It's so tough losing your grandparents, especially as close as you were. I don't have any magic words, but take care of yourself. It's what they would want.

1 Like

Robert Waltz

Mar 6, 2023 at 10:31pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Take care of yourself during this difficult time.

1 Like

Anni Pon

Mar 6, 2023 at 9:06pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I know it doesn't help any, but I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine much worse than losing a parent or parental figure. They represent stability and safety, you grew up with them, and you've relied on them for most, if not all, of your life. You're right, the initial devastation will fade and things won't feel so fresh. But, as you know, grief never really goes away. It just becomes a permanent part of you.

It's horrible that you only got a couple days worth of bereavement! That's not even long enough for the shock to wear off enough to START grieving. I hope you have the support of someone else in your life to help you through this dark time. Take it easy on yourself in the mean time, that's all you really can do. Taking care of your physical self, eating and sleeping, is critical. Sleep deprivation and hunger will make things feel a million times worse than they actually are (which, for the record, is already pretty bad).

1 Like

Harlow Flick, Right Fielder

Mar 6, 2023 at 8:56pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

This is such a very human thing, isn't it.

“I think there is nearly an overwhelming sadness to the human predicament.” - Skinny Boy Hill

BOOM! This ain’t no whipped cream pie I’m tossing.

1 Like

Cinn

Feb 20, 2023 at 9:34pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I actually pretty much love this one. Nice, man...

Cinn

Feb 19, 2023 at 11:07am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I'd say that more freedom for participants would attract more people. One obvious example that I've never understood is fiction vs poetry. If it's an activity, not a contest, why not allow people to explore whatever the theme of your activity is with whatever type of writing that want to do?

I've actually written for countless contests/activities over the years but never entered... because they inspired me, but I don't fit within the guidelines. Max rating too low, items required (book entries only over here), no poetry accepted, etc.

I know well why people restrict writers' freedom, but they're also restricting the number of participants they'll get. I still just take the inspiration where I can get it.

December 4, 2020 at 12:19am

#999619

As you wish

"JAFBG" prompt: What do you absolutely NOT want for the holidays this year?

"30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" prompt: Waiting for the Barbarians Day! Ok, tell us what you're up to and how you are preparing.

Man, everything has me feeling some kind of way lately.

I have actual covid fatigue at this point. I don't even follow the news about it, but of course I hear about it from everyone I talk to. Because it's so rampant in the States, I know several people who have lost family members. I have friends in the hospital. I have coworkers who are sick or in the hospital. One of my direct reports was just out with it for 3 weeks telling me how horrible they felt every day.

We're breaking records daily with our death counts and hospitalizations. It's only going to get worse. I feel so bad for people all day long, but I'm really at my own breaking point with things. It's like, I'm supposed to focus on the analyzing the numbers, then I go to reach out to someone to figure out what's going on with their team and it turns out half of them are sick.

I don't even know how to work at this point.

Luckily, I've saved most of my paid time off this year, minus the days I used for surgery. I only have one more full week of work this month. After that I'll work 4 days and then have like 10 days off in a row, which I think I need(?) I say think because maybe my job is stabilizing me enough to keep me afloat right now. It's hard to say.

So, my break will either be a very good thing or a very bad thing. We'll see.

None of us want covid for the holidays, but I'm at the point where I don't even want to hear it mentioned. Like, I get actually tired when talking about the virus. I'm about to fall asleep right now. I was talking to one of my coworkers about it because we were trying to figure out how to get this deliverable met from a team when they're missing half their members. Morale is so low. During this conversation, I felt myself really nodding out.

Sometimes I just fall asleep during stressful situations. For the holidays, or for any day, I don't want to be that person who's harassing people to get their work done when there's a global pandemic and people are sick/losing family members. It's not a good look for anyone.

I had a coworker actually say, "He gets sensitive about stuff like this" in reference to me advising that we not give a 48-hour deadline to someone who returned to work this week after recovering from the virus.

I'm not sensitive. It's just common sense that putting a strict deadline on someone who's probably still recovering and not even caught up with their emails yet is kind of cruel in my opinion.

As far as the barbarians go, they can come get me. No preparation needed. Maybe they've figured out a way to live totally off the grid somewhere that doesn't have a horrible virus outbreak. I guess worst case scenario, they can bludgeon me instantly and I won't have to think about it anymore.

Actually, I probably wouldn't even notice barbarians if they snuck up on me. I almost always have headphones on, just doodling away on my tablet. In la-la land, as they say. Barbarians could probably sneak up on me, toss me in the trunk of a car, bring me to a remote cabin, and I'd still just sit there stress drawing while listening to music.

That's a thing by the way. Forget stress eating. Stress drawing is totally hot right now.

8 Like • Comment • View 7 comments

Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/books/item_id/2181458-Are-You-Listening/day/12-4-2020