Day 2766: I haven’t been this depressed since …

How would you complete today’s blog post title?

I haven’t been this depressed since …

• the passing of  another soul very precious to me (other passing souls described here, here, here, here, and here),
• I last looked at the news about the coronavirus pandemic,
• the most recent killing of an unarmed black man,
• somebody told me a horrific story about being abused as a child,
• somebody said they intended to hurt me,
• the latest mass shooting in the U.S.,
• my friend Megan had to stop working with me because her family moved too far away,
• the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, and
• I found out I had to have open heart surgery in 2016.

Here’s how The Daily Bitch completes that sentence …

… which also works for me.

I haven’t taken many photos since my last blog post, perhaps because I’m depressed about the passing of our fabulous cat, Oscar.

 

Harley doesn’t seem depressed, but who knows?

Here‘s what comes up on YouTube when I search for “I haven’t been this depressed since”.

 

I haven’t been this grateful since yesterday.

 

Day 2688: What is essential?

I believe I may have published another blog post with the title “What is essential?” However, I’m creating this post on my iPhone, which makes it more difficult to check past posts, and I’m deciding that knowing that is not essential.

Other facts are much more essential, these days.

I often take photos of things that are essential to me.

I essentially don’t know how these two images …

… got onto my iPhone. Other facts are much more essential these days.

Because of the work I’m doing — remotely providing group and individual therapy at an essential Boston hospital — it’s essential that I take a day off once in a while, which I’m doing today.

If you’re interested in attending a remote Open Mic this Friday May 15, 7 – 9 PM U.S. Eastern Time, when I’ll be performing a slightly rewritten version of my original song “Triggers,” it’s essential that you sign up by the end of the day before (May 14), using this link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040b4eadaa23a2f49-jamn3

The essential Edinburgh Fringe Festival has been cancelled this year — the first time in its history — but here‘s my performance of “Triggers” at last year’s festival:

What’s essential to you?

It’s not essential that you leave a comment, but if you do, it’s essential that I express my sincere gratitude.

Day 2597: The world is ending

When this world was six hundred and thirty-five days younger (but who in the world is counting?), I published a blog post titled “It’s not the end of the world.” Yesterday, I received this text message from somebody I think the world of:

If the world is ending, what should we do about it, besides warning each other?

Should we live for the moment, realizing that time is short?

Should we get some rest for difficult days ahead?

This post is ending, so here‘s a song from Billie Eilish …

… and gratitude, from me to you.

Day 2589: 02/02/2020

Today is

1. Groundhog Day,
2. a palindrome date (the numbers are the same backwards and forwards), and
3. my 67th birthday!

In 2018, I wrote a song titled “Shameless Appeals for Applause” which starts out

I’ve made it to age 65,

Nothing gets in the way of my passion and drive,

I was born with heart problems but I’m still alive.

I wonder if I need to rewrite that opening?  If so, not today.  Today I’m going to

• watch if the groundhog sees his shadow.
• think about the return of spring in the midst of winter.
• spend the day with my eminently quotable husband Michael who recently said, “If you’re going to learn something, you have to not know it first.”
• enjoy a new production of the musical “Hair.”
• enjoy not having to color my hair.
• get a free meal.
• watch for this Super Bowl commercial, which mentions my hometown:

• share my latest photos with you.

I have all I need in this corner of the world on my birthday, including YOU!

 

Day 2588: Needs

Yesterday, in a Coping and Healing therapy group, which people attend as they need, we talked about needs.

When somebody in the group said they needed kindness, I needed to ask, “Who else in this room needs kindness?”  Everybody needed to raise their hand, including me.

If you were in that group and I  asked you, “What do you need, here and now?” what would you need to answer?

Kindness?

Appreciation?

I don’t know what I need right now, so I need to think about it?

Something else?

My needs (in case you need to know) include blogging and sharing photos.

 

Now I need to

• take my little yellow car in for the 40,000 mile check up it needs,
• meet my friend Barbara, who I’ve needed for over 60 years,
• continue celebrating my birthday weekend, and
• share this song about needs and wants:

If you want or need to comment, please do so below.

As always, I need to express my gratitude for all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.

 

Day 2575: Do you dream?

Do you dream?

I dream and last week I dreamt that I was supposed to give a talk that day about a Tom Hanks movie that was similar to the movie “Big” in that he was a child trapped in the body of an adult but it wasn’t “Big” and I couldn’t remember the name or details about the movie and I was giving this presentation in a few hours and I was very mad at myself that I hadn’t prepared better and then I woke up and I was VERY RELIEVED that the dream was not true.

My husband Michael dreams and very recently he had a dream where somebody spilled lots of “chicken juice” on the floor and he was trying to clean it up and the cats were nearby and he was afraid that they would lick it and get poisoned by bacteria and people including his old girlfriend kept walking through the chicken juice and spreading it all around and he woke up feeling VERY RELIEVED that the dream was not true.

I dream and last night I dreamt that I was at a party with Pete Buttigieg and my sister and I wanted to leave because I was very tired but people decided that before you left you had to go around to everybody there and have some sort of ritualized and elaborate goodbye and I wasn’t really paying attention to the details because I was so tired but the first person I said goodbye to was Tom Hanks and he helped me through the first goodbye, which included fist bumps and saying something that authentically captured and reflected your interactions with them during the evening and then I tried to say goodbye to a group of three people but they were distracted and I didn’t feel like interrupting them so I snuck out and went home and then I woke up and forgot about the dream until a few minutes ago.

I dream that sharing dreams helps us realize how connected we are, so that’s why we sometimes share dreams in my Coping and Healing groups.

“Do you dream?” is something I saw yesterday at MiAlisa Salon in Watertown.

Do you dream? I dream about a functioning adult becoming President of the United States in 2020. In the meantime, I expect I will have trouble sleeping and will continue to have anxiety dreams.

Here‘s a clip from the movie “Top Secret!” in which Val Kilmer is VERY RELIEVED when he wakes up from a classic dream:

 

Do you dream and do you have dreams similar to any of the dreams mentioned in today’s post?

I dream about all my readers knowing how much I appreciate them, every day.

 

Day 2535: What makes the ordinary extraordinary?

My extraordinary readers probably know that I focus a lot on the ordinary in this blog, no matter what time it is.

My hope, every day, is that you will see the extraordinary in the ordinary, as I do.

Yesterday, I noticed this ordinary and extraordinary sign at work:

Do you see the ordinary and the extraordinary in today’s extra photos?

Those are not ordinary cod cakes, thanks to my extraordinary fiancé, who always adds a little extra.

If we don’t make extraordinary efforts, the ordinary cod might be more difficult to find, very soon.

Today, ordinary UPS will be delivering a ticket for me to see the extraordinary Jacob Collier at Boston’s House of Blues in May, 2020.

2020 looks to be an extraordinary year.

Here‘s an extraordinary tune that was playing in my ordinary ears yesterday:

Don’t you know how extraordinary it is that we’re all alive together, here and now?

I look forward to ordinary and extraordinary comments, below, and I hope you know how extraordinarily grateful I am to YOU.