Week 46: Christmas picture, Sophie and a discussion on Depression

So there is lots to talk about this week!  Well first of all a preview of Ginger and I's Christmas card.  Ginger was very adamant in how it looked and since I found a pretty picture from Georgetown....



Ginger has been wanting to do picture Christmas cards for a while, so finally it has come to past!

Now if you are on Facebook then you may know that we will soon have a pet of our very own soon.  Meet Sophie:


Minus the bow and pearls she will be ready for us to pick up on December 2nd.  Yes, even yours truly is smitten by this cute little puppy.  Of course it helps that I get to play with Abby and Jewels in Lindale each Saturday!  So we will be heading to Louisiana for a 2 1/2 hour drive to get her.  Ginger (and I, I'm going to admit) are both really excited.   And since she will not get much bigger (I really wanted a small dog), she's going to be a fun addition to our family.  And since Ginger's birthday is today, it was a good present to give her!  Of course her and her mom did most of the leg work.  So we have put a down payment on her, so she is reserved for us.

And this evening Ginger's sister and family are coming in.  It is going to be a busy and fun time with everyone here!  I get to make my traditional cranberry orange relish, a small relish tray (visions of my childhood), and a small batch of mashed potatoes because, well, that is a tradition from my childhood as well.  The only thing missing will be my parents, but we will be together in spirit.  And I am sure my Dad will be texting during the games!

I had a very interesting conversation with a Psych nurse this week.  I am going to keep her anonymous (in other words it could be he or she....).  We began a conversation and the subject of depression came up.  She has struggled with it for over 25 years and I could relate exactly.  I talked of my substance addiction and how I used that to numb the pain of depression and how I am in recovery now.  As we talked you can tell when two people who have a passion and history with something just get each other.  We talked about the stigma, of religion, of family, and society in general.  We talked about medication and how I have a rare side effect with most of the medication that makes my depression worse.  I talked about having to avoid most movies because of triggers.  And then we began to talk about how people tell us to just pull our boot straps up and get on with life, which makes us both so upset.  Please don't tell me 1) How I should feel or 2) How I should treat my depression when you have no clue how I feel.  Unless you have been through what I have been through, unless you have suffered the trauma I have or endured the hardships I have then please do not tell me how to fix it.  You can come along side of me and support me, pray for me, and respect my decisions when I say I don't want to participate in something but to try to force me to do something I will resist, and usually hard.  And both of us are selective in who we share our struggles with.  Both of us have had it used against us, or people just don't understand.  Don't get me wrong, I am not depressed right now, but I have a secret following of those who struggle along with Ginger and I with mental disorder and for them I write this.  And this song, which is a bit, shall we say "rocky" (when your under Napalm Records, that should tell you something).  So enjoy the blog, enjoy the video and more pictures of Sophie coming!


Kobra and the Lotus:  "You Don't Know"

I found this video after this picture, months later, but talking about much the same thing.  I was stoked!  Enjoy everyone!


Baa

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