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 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?
Yesterday, my husband Michael, our cat Joan, and I were waiting for hours to see a veterinarian at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.
Why were we waiting there yesterday? Well, we’ve been waiting for over six weeks, since we adopted Joan, for various problems (mastitis, skin problems, and ear problems) to clear up. During the waiting, we’ve consulted with the adoption agency and our home-visiting veterinarian (who is on vacation), and we’ve tried oral antibiotics, injected antibiotics, ear mite medication, different cones, topical creams, and lots of patience. Despite assurances that these problems “should” resolve quickly, the waiting for Joan to get better kept going on and on.
During the weeks of waiting, my son Aaron said that when he overheard Michael and I talking for long periods of time, he knew we were talking about Joan. Michael and I wanted the waiting time to be as short and as comfortable as possible for all of us, but despite following all the advice, Joan’s conditions got better, worse, better, worse, and so on.
Yesterday, getting sick of the waiting and noticing that the problems had gotten worse again, I investigated waiting times at nearby urgent care vet centers. We didn’t expect the waiting time at Angell to be so long (when I called at 1:00 PM, I was told there was “no waiting” compared to a four hour waiting time at another facility), but there were many people and animals waiting to be seen when we got there at 2.
While I was waiting in line to check us in, I noticed that a film crew was videotaping Joan who was waiting in her carrier:
Joan is always ready for her close-up, no matter how she is waiting or what cone she is wearing. Here she is earlier in the day, waiting for this whole cone thing to be over with:
I had added the Mona Lisa mask to that soft cone to prevent her from licking her leg, but doesn’t Joan look like she’s waiting for me to take that damn thing off?
Here are photos I took while we were waiting and waiting and waiting to be seen at Angell:
While we were waiting in our assigned waiting area …
… Michael and I discussed the logic of having the cats and the birds waiting in the same place. I speculated that this was for the benefit of the cats, because having birds in the area would make the waiting more interesting.
As the waiting dragged on and on, I asked an employee there how much longer we’d be waiting. I was told, “Barring any emergencies, Joan is up next to be seen.” The waiting gets easier when the end is in sight, don’t you think?
Soon after that, I overheard somebody checking in a pet that was “very lethargic.” I wondered if that pet might bump Joan. Moments later, I noticed that a sad-looking young man had taken a seat across from us holding….a chicken.
Indeed, the chicken (named “Chicken”) did bump Joan (Chicken was in worse shape than Joan), but after another period of waiting, we did finally see a vet. The vet prescribed this cone for Joan:
While people call this the cone of shame, there is no shame in waiting to get better. The vet also put medicine in Joan’s ears, tested the bacteria on Joan’s skin, gave us more oral antibiotics, another external ear mite application, and these skin wipes which are waiting to be used at home:
There will be several more weeks of waiting before Joan is all better.
While we were waiting for Joan to be seen, I posted this on Twitter.
Yesterday, I asked this question on Twitter about freaking out:
People were freaking out about many things, including money, health issues, work, family members, relationships, the pandemic, other people’s behaviors, etc., etc., etc. Indeed, some people suggested that a better question might have been “What are you NOT freaking out about right now?”
I didn’t answer my own question, but I was freaking out about our kitty Joan, her ongoing mastitis, and how she outsmarts us and every cone we put on her to promote its healing.
There’s Joan, trying to figure out how she can lick her wounds after my husband Michael tried to adapt her cone with a well-placed paper clip.
When I freak out, it’s usually because I feel helpless, so yesterday I ordered TWO MORE cones in addition to the inflatable cone that’s being delivered today.
Joan’s irritated area extends down into the top of her rear leg, so it’s very difficult to get a cone that completely prevents her from accessing it with her rough kitty tongue. Also, most cat post-surgery body suits don’t cover that area.
Over the past month, as we’ve treated her with antibiotics, applied topical lotion to the area, sent lots of pictures of the area to the vet, and helped Joan adjust to the different types of treatment (while trying to bond with her), we’ve seen the problem area get better and then get worse.
It freaks me out that I know so much about trying to help a cat heal, but we’re still not past this.
When I freak out, Michael tries to calm me by focusing on the positive: she’s not in pain, it’s not going to kill her, and she will get better, even if it takes much longer than we expected.
When I freak out, it also helps me to write about it in this blog. This blog — and all of you — have helped me get through many freak outs over the years.
Let’s see if the Daily Bitch is all about freaking out today.
It is!
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “freaking out.”
What might you be freaking out about right now? Whatever it is, chances are you’re not alone.
I have so much freaking gratitude for all who help me write this daily blog, including YOU!
Ann Fully understands what AF stands for on Twitter. As Funny as it may seem, AF is an Acronym Functioning as an Adverb, Friends.
Ann Finds that examples Are Fine:
I am happy As F—- to share All Fotos with you.
The Daily Bitch is bitchy AF. I’m Astonished Frankly AF to be popular AF on Twitter. Joan is resourceful AF About Finagling with Any Friggin’ cone we Attempt For her healing and I will be relieved AF when our Adorable Feline is Again Feeling better and All Fiendish cones are A Faded memory.
When I search YouTube for “AF” I Actually Find “single af” by the admirable Fousheé.
Here’s A Fitting tribute to Norm Macdonald, who was Amazingly Funny AF.
Here’s the Actual Farfetched And Funny AF moth joke:
Here’s Another Funny AF 2020 routine About Fresh And Frightening issues:
Any Found comments will be Appreciated Fully And Faithfully Answered, Following Another Fulfilling AF work day.
And Finally, I’m grateful AF for All Friends, including YOU!
On days like this, I’m looking for moments of peace.
Can you find any moments of peace in my images for today?
On September 11, 2011, how can you find moments of peace?
Today, Joan seems to be finding more moments of peace with the cone she needs to wear as she recovers from ongoing mastitis (which we’ve been treating since we adopted her).
Other beings’ moments of peace increase my moments of peace.
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “moments of peace.”
I am grateful for all the moments of peace I can find and I’m grateful for you!
As a group therapist, I know that realizing you’re not the only one can be very healing. Yesterday, I tried to express that on Twitter with this tweet:
If you think that’s confusing, you’re not the only one. If you think that’s clever, you’re not the only one. No matter what you think, feel, or do about anything, you’re not the only one.
If you’re thinking that statement doesn’t capture how unique each one of us is, you’re not the only one.
If you’re afraid or not afraid of heights, you’re not the only one.
If you like accumulating possessions or you don’t, you’re not the only one.
If you like cats or you don’t, you’re not the only one.
Do any of my other images today remind you that you are not the only one?
Whatever you think about the Daily Bitch, you’re not the only one.
If you thought of this song while reading this post, you’re not the only one.
I’ve been asking lots of nagging questions lately, including these:
will you help me do this thing I can’t seem to do on my own?
can you help me do that now?
when are you going to replace your missing vaccination card?
why are technology “improvements” usually so disruptive?
have you turned on your new phone yet?
should I go to my high school reunion this Saturday?
when will people in-person stop looking like germs to me?
what did so-and-so mean when they said that?
why does the convection oven never cool down?
why do I worry so much about stupid things?
does worry ever help?
when will I feel safe again?
what would my late father (born on today’s date) say about the current state of the world if he were alive now?
why do the cats keep nagging me to feed them when I just fed them?
what are your plans for today?
what’s for dinner?
I don’t like being a nag (especially to my son and my husband), but I have all these nagging questions!
I’ve also been asking nagging questions on Twitter. Indeed, one person there called my questions “nosey” (although not about any of these questions):
Here are two more nagging questions: which photo do you like best and why?
Apparently I’m not the only one with nagging questions.
Do you listen to the music I share here on this blog? I don’t mean to nag, but you might really enjoy these two tunes about questions (found here and here on YouTube).
Are you going to comment on this post? When?
No matter what the nagging question, gratitude always seems like a good answer to me, so thanks to all who help me share my nagging questions, including YOU!
Today is National Ampersand Day & the second day of Rosh Hashana & the day I go back to see the Ear Nose & Throat people at the hospital about my nosebleed caused by my anticoagulant medications & our new & adorable cat Joan trying to wake me up by scratching my nose & so much more.
Yesterday I started working again after my 2-week vacation & people were very glad to reconnect in an online therapy group & had a lot to say.
Today, as always, I want to welcome all thoughts & feelings including happiness & sadness & fear & anger & despair & hope & so on.
Here are photos & screen captures for today’s post.
How are you going to celebrate & otherwise mark this precious & unique day?
Last night, when we were eating this delicious & nutritious vegetarian chili …
… my husband & cook Michael & my son Aaron & I were talking about the many ways you can get chili in Cincinnati, including with cheese & beans & spaghetti.
Here’s “Ampersand” by They Might Be Giants (a band that Aaron & Michael & I saw in person years & years ago).
Thanks & more thanks to all who visit this blog, including you & you & you & YOU!
