Day 3195: What’s something that is actually getting better?

Yesterday, the vet told us that Joan the cat’s skin problem is actually getting better.

With that in mind, I asked this question on Twitter last night:

Some people had many ideas about something that is actually getting better; others couldn’t think of a thing. Someone who reads this blog actually made me feel better with this comment:

Something else that is actually getting better for me is my immunity to COVID 19 and its variants, because I got my booster shot yesterday. As usual, I’m experiencing arm soreness and a fever the day after, but I’m sure that will actually be getting better very soon.

Yesterday, my son Aaron, my husband Michael, and I celebrated my job actually getting better by visiting an actually better gelato cafe.

Michael thinks Aaron looks like Rasputin these days so he thought it would actually be better if I added a sepia tinge to a photo of him.

I took all the photos in this post with my loaner phone from the Apple store, which I have while my phone is actually getting better.

Are my photographic and blogging skills actually getting better?

If we observed National Love People Day, I believe this world would actually be getting better.

This post is actually getting better with the addition of this song …

… and with any comment you choose to leave.

Every day is actually getting better whenever I express gratitude, so thanks to all who help my life get better, including YOU!

Day 3194: Limericks

We’re all dealing with challenging times,

Disheartening, arduous climbs,

With problems so deep,

Disrupting our sleep,

Take a break and please check out my rhymes:

A pretty young kitty named Joan,

Helps this writer feel safe, less alone.

She’s got talents galore

Which she’s getting known for,

Caught a mouse despite wearing this cone!

A therapist/blogger named Ann,

Shares what’s helpful as best as she can.

Photos, thoughts, songs, some tips,

Acceptance for slips,

And delish dishes cooked up by her man.

A calendar — The Daily Bitch,

Occupies an interesting niche.

With thoughts bold and sassy,

Funny, not classy,

For me, she makes every day rich.

Each day I think there’s a lot

To celebrate, cheerful or not.

On this precious day,

What’s coming my way

Is a Pfizer COVID booster shot!

Because the negative sticks,

Staying positive’s a challenging mix,

With a hug and a kiss

Here and now I’ll share this,

Michael Palin reading his limericks!

This blogger, whatever her mood,

Whether she’s cheered or she’s booed,

When it comes to the end

On her you can depend,

To express her sincere gratitude.

Day 3193: One of those days

Yesterday, I had one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong, including

• lots of trouble locating my reserved parking space for my in-person Monday work at the medical center,
• temporarily losing my pager,
• arriving late despite leaving plenty of time to get there early,
• being continually and inexplicably locked out of using the computer at work, which I need for almost every aspect of my job as a psychotherapist,
• not receiving an important email that resulted in problems with one of the insurances I take,
• not being able to locate information needed to fill out a form to rectify the insurance problem,
• witnessing the pain of many people who were dealing with way more than just one of those days, and
• confronting all this with a minimal amount of sleep the night before.

When I was on the phone with a help desk person, who was baffled by why I kept getting locked out of using my computer, I told him I was having one of those days. I wondered if he was having one of those days too, but this was one of those conversations where only one of us was doing much talking.

Now I’m writing this wondering if I’m going to have one of those days again today. Here’s one of my thoughts about one of those days — they are much more bearable if there is only one of them.

So many people all over the world are having one of those days, over and over again.

Let’s see how many of my photos reflect one of those days.

Joan continues to have one of those days when she has to wear a cone.

My husband Michael was having one of those days when he was having trouble filleting the skate for this delicious meal. At one point, he stabbed it with his knife and said, “This is for Steve Irwin!”

This was a perfect teabag for me to get after having one of those days.

This was the only question I could think of asking on Twitter at the end of one of those days.

This is going to be one of those days that many people might enjoy celebrating.

The Daily Bitch is remembering one of those days in the long-ago past.

Here’s “One of Those Days” by one of the greats, Weird Al.

Consider leaving one of those comments about this one-of-those-days post, which would make my day.

Even when it’s one of those days, I’m grateful to get another day with people like YOU.

Day 3192: National Day of Forgiveness

Today, according to the USA National Day Calendar, is the National Day of Forgiveness.

Not knowing this, I coincidentally tweeted this yesterday:

Forgive me for making up the word “Guiltmo,” which means a self-imposed prison of guilt.

Forgive me for hastily creating today’s blog post, as I need to leave soon for my one-day-a-week in-person psychotherapy work at a Boston medical center. Do you see forgiveness in any of my other images for today?

Please forgive me, Daily Bitch, for having a personal chef (my husband Michael). I’m forgiving myself for forgetting to take a picture of the delicious veggie stroganoff he made for us last night.

I find forgiveness in this beautiful music by Beethoven:

How are you going to celebrate this National Day of Forgiveness?

I am grateful for every day I get to celebrate with forgiving people, including YOU.

Day 3191: Does that count?

I can’t count the times that people on Twitter have responded to my questions, like this one ….

… with an answer that ends with “Does that count?” Countless people seem to assume I have expectations for what their answers should be, which I don’t. I just want people’s voices and reactions to be counted, with no assumptions about what a good enough answer would be.

Every single time somebody asks that question, I answer, “Everything counts” or “It all counts.”

Everything counts, including all my other images for today.

.

Does that count if I share, a day late, all the National Days for September 25, since I didn’t notice the full list yesterday?

Okay, say it together with me — “It all counts.”

I was counting on Count Basie to count on YouTube if I searched for “Does that count?”

Does that count if you leave a comment today? It all counts.

Countless thanks to all those who count, including YOU!!

Does it count that there are pancakes in my thank you on National Pancake Day?

Day 3190: By heart

I like to follow my heart, and my heart is telling me to start out this blog post with a definition.

There are many things I’ve learned so well that I can remember them without having to consult the original source (although my memory is not as good in my late 60s as it was when I was younger).

I know the question I asked last night on Twitter by heart:

I received over a thousand answers to that question on Twitter, of movies that people know by heart and, I assume, love with all their hearts. While I can’t recite all of the answers by heart, they included many other movies that live in my heart and that I practically know by heart, including The Princess Bride, The Birdcage, Groundhog Day, the first Star Wars movie, A Fish Called Wanda, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Arthur, Pride and Prejudice, Blade Runner, Blazing Saddles, Casablanca, Babe, Raising Arizona, Animal House, West Side Story, Marx Brothers movies, Ghostbusters, the Jerk, and The Wizard of Oz.

I love, with all my heart, to ask questions that get to people’s hearts, like this one:

I know, by heart, that my photos today will include pictures of our new kitty Joan (whom I love with all my heart) and the desserts we got last night before we picked up more antibiotics for Joan at Angell Animal Medical Center.

There’s no way I’m going to know all the National Days for September 25, 2021 by heart.

Here, here and here are some scenes from The Producers, a movie I know by heart:

What do you know by heart?

Do you know that I always end my blog posts with the gratitude that’s in my heart for all who visit here, including YOU?

Day 3189: Unsolved mysteries

Everywhere I look, I see unsolved mysteries. I assume I am not alone, so I asked a question about that last night on Twitter.

People shared many unsolved mysteries, some relatively trivial and others profound.

Do you see unsolved mysteries in my other images for today?

It’s a unsolved mystery to me how they choose all those National Days.

It’s also an unsolved mystery why many good people’s self talk is so negative and critical.

If it’s a unsolved mystery to anyone why I was listening to “High Maintenance” by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, here it is:

What’s an unsolved mystery to you?

If it’s a mystery why I end each blog post with thanks, that’s easily solved: I’m very grateful to all who visit here, including YOU!

Day 3188: What gives you a sense of purpose?

Last night, I asked this question on Twitter:

I related to many of the answers, including people who said their adopted animals gave them a sense of purpose.

Joan, our new cat, has been giving me a new sense of purpose as I purposefully try to prevent her from licking the infected skin on her tummy, while I do whatever I can to bond with her and promote her healing.

Joan’s sense of purpose seems to be to figure out a way to defeat every cone put around her adorable little neck, including the hard plastic cone the vet put on her last weekend at Angell Animal Medical Center.

It took Joan longer to purposefully figure out a way to lick the infected area while wearing that cone, and when I observed her doing that on purpose yesterday, I thought I was going to lose my mind. Luckily, I had purposefully ordered yet another cone online, so yesterday we replaced the Angell cone with this new one, on purpose.

That cone has been serving its purpose so far, and I hope it gives Joan a chance to heal.

Do you see a sense of purpose in my other images for today? I took several of the photos with the purpose of illustrating the concept of ripples — i.e., our actions ripple out into the world, purposefully affecting others in ways we can’t predict.

I put the photo of Joan with her cone and my tweet about National Ice Cream Cone Day together, above, on purpose.

What gives you a sense of purpose?

This is what I find on YouTube when I search for “what gives you a sense of purpose?” on purpose.

I also find “Sense of Purpose” by Third World …

… and “Sense of Purpose” by Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders.

What gives you a sense of purpose?

I end each blog post with gratitude on purpose, so thanks to all who help me purposefully create this blog every day, including YOU!

Day 3187: Throwing out what no longer fits

Today’s Daily Bitch Calendar is about throwing out what no longer fits.

We all have things that no longer fit — unhelpful thoughts, toxic people, harsh self judgment, second guessing, crippling fears about the future, regrets about the past, hopelessness, body shame, etc. — and wouldn’t it be great to throw those out?

At the end of every therapy group, I invite people to throw out what no longer fits them in a “magic” waste paper basket, which either holds or reduces the power of whatever they throw away. Over the years, people have thrown away a ton of trash in these magic waste paper baskets.

Because all my groups are remote these days, here’s the “home version” of the magic waste paper basket:

Next to the magic waste paper basket is the magic hat, an addition recently suggested by a group member. Out of the magic hat, people can pull whatever they want, like self love, courage, acceptance, strength, and hope.

Do you see anything that fits the magic waste paper basket or the magic hat in my other images for today?

Yesterday, I threw my rough day into the magic waste paper basket and it fit in there just fine.

This is the first thing that comes up on YouTube when I search for “throwing away what doesn’t fit”:

This is the second thing:

What do you need to throw away that doesn’t fit?

Gratitude always fits, so thanks to all who help me create these daily blog posts, including YOU.

Day 3186: I do what I want!

Ever since we adopted Joan — our kitty who was found on the streets of Tennessee with her siblings and many kittens — my husband Michael has been “speaking” for Joan by saying, in a high Southern-accented voice, “I do what I want!”

Joan does what she wants by

• chasing our other cat Harley around the house,
• sitting where she wants to sit,
• playing when she wants to play,
• sleeping when and where she wants to sleep, and
• generally, being cat.

Joan does what she wants within the confines of wearing a cone …

… as her skin infection heals. Actually, if she was really doing what she wants, she wouldn’t be wearing that damned cone, but she’s doing just fine.

“I do what I want” is also what many humans say as they get older and wiser. I discovered this, again, when I tweeted this yesterday:

Many people on Twitter agreed with me and shared how they do what they want, more and more, as they get older. Somebody actually responded with this:

.

Here are some other responses:

I do what I want when I create this daily blog, so I want to share the photos I took yesterday at work and at home. You do what you want with these:

The Daily Bitch does what she wants. Do you?

I do what I want and I want to see what I find when I search YouTube for “I do what I want.”

I do what I want and I also want to include some music here. Here’s “Do What You Want” from OK Go.

I do what I want and I always want to end these posts with gratitude for all who visit this blog, including YOU!