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GardenArtist Posted October 2017

Strange moments and negative news.

Cheylily's heartwarming post (So proud of my 11 yr old) about her daughter and mother made me think of similar situations, not quite as joyful, but just kind of amusing on reflection. So I thought maybe a thread on those events might be a relief.


There was a box on my porch a few moments ago. It wasn't surprising as I had had to order a replacement for a defective mini food processor. There was no label where labels are usually attached, so I kept checking.


Suddenly the negative news of bombs, shooters and other situations of assault against people made me leery, and I actually became nervous wondering if the package was safe!


So slowly, I rechecked the package, wondering if I should take it out in the yard or if it would explode while I was turning it around. And then, lo and hold, literally hiding on the bottom of the box, was the label, from the manufacturer, and to me. I felt like such a fool (well, there's a stronger word but it's not appropriate for use on a public forum).


I began to think of all the negative news - these days, is there literally anything but? Between natural disasters and unstable shooters or bombers, what else is there? It REALLY is time to stop watching the news.


Anyone else have an experience like this?

GardenArtist Oct 2017
Veronica, thanks for my laugh of the day. I'm still shaking from laughter. That's hilarious!

Guess I better no order any undies through the mail!

Veronica91 Oct 2017
GA many many years ago when letter bombs were all the rage my Mum received a package she did not remember ordering.
She was too afraid to open it so she took it to the police station and explained her predicament to the officer on duty.
The officer valiantly opened the package with no thought to his own safety and solomly handed Mum a new pair of pink corsets which matched her face at the time.

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Rainmom Oct 2017
It was the summer of Election Year. My mother was at her very worse, in fact it was shortly before she passed away.

Now - back in the day I was a single mom. My toddler son had been diagnosed with two disabilities- one quite severe. My husband had decided he couldn't handle being a parent of a child with disabilities- plus our marriage was crap - so he returned to his home country of Australia, taking every dime we had with him - never to be heard from again. He was since renamed The Donor.

Anyhoo - working long hours, in debt, alone raising a severely disabled child and having to drive Rainman 30 minutes in the opposite direction of my work - in the car by 6am - to the only good daycare that would accept him - I managed. I actually did quite well, given it all.

But years later, my beloved father passed away and I was dealing with all the stresses of my mother and her dementia - I discovered I was barely coping. It was like all my ability to multi task and deal with stress had been used up - by those earlier years.

I found I really needed to limit myself to just a couple of focuses and cut out anything that caused me stress - the things that didn't relate to me just getting through the day. So, no newspapers and no tv news.

Okay. So it's the summer before the election and I am aware that - that jackass Donald Trump had thrown his hat in.

My husband says to me one day "looks like Donald Trump is gonna be the republican nominee". I laugh and reply "That will never happen. No one is actually taking him seriously. Everyone knows it's some kind of publicity thing - or a really bad joke". My hubby says "No. You don't understand..."

Ovey!!!

BlackHole Oct 2017
Remember when people had to make an effort to keep up with current events? Now we need to make specific efforts NOT to. Information overload, for sure.

Countrymouse Oct 2017
Not in London, MsMadge. There is no first sight!

Even out in the suburbs, I made a point of saying good evening to people I saw every day when I took the dog out for her after-supper walk. A minority of people eventually gave me a cautious " 'Evening" in return, but far more often I got a startled look that said something more like "get away from me you weirdo." I don't know why I put up with the horrible place for so long.

Not counting other dog-walkers, of course - different rules apply, as long as you've got a dog on the lead you have rights of communication with any other person with a dog on a lead.

Midkid58 Oct 2017
I stay current with the news, but I do not watch it, ever. I read the big headlines, and don't embrace the "whole picture". I have an anxiety disorder and I have to self protect as much as possible.
While this sounds selfish and immature, reading the entire paper with nothing but negative--I'd spiral out of control and back into bed.

My hubs has the TV on Fox News all day long if he's at home. I wear earplugs. Yes, it's that bad. There's too much grief and anger in the world and I am sadly unprepared for it.

MsMadge Oct 2017
CM,
No love at first sight in England ?

Robin922 Oct 2017
The negative news doesn't affect me. However because I have found that warped sense of humor I have, is my best tool. Turning lemons in to lemonade or at least a funny story makes life so much easier. Being hubby's caregiver right now (in home hospice) has its obvious downs, however I write about it from the lighter side. Because his kids and grandkids are all over the country and people that know him are even in other countries, I do a daily FB posting. To keep it from being depressing, I address his mental state much like a weather report... This morning was mostly sunny, became cloudy as the day went on. Or things like this... I thought I had raised all my kids, forgot to read the fine print under, until death do you part. I have received great feed back from those that know him and even friends who don't.

Countrymouse Oct 2017
I don't blame you, GA, and I'm laughing with you - I can just picture you thinking "poke it with a stick..?" We live in such strange and disturbing times that it must have been a relief to feel a fool that way round.

Sometimes it's really sad, though. A friend of mine some years ago saw a rough-ish looking man being given a wide berth by people in King's Cross rail station, and being a robust and inquisitive sort he let the man approach him. The man had a very strong Glaswegian accent, which made him initially hard to understand, but on closer examination was neither drunk nor violent - he'd just been trying to get someone, anyone, to tell him which exit he should take from the station. He'd never been to London before and couldn't have known that Local Bylaw #1 is you do not ever engage in conversation or eye contact with strangers. He said he'd been there for hours.

NYDaughterInLaw Oct 2017
I also used to read the newspaper every single morning but just can't do it anymore. The bad news, the sad news, the sick news, the shocking news...it's feeding an already sick society. I trust very few news sources, and not even the NY Times anymore because of what they did all those years ago leading up to the Iraq war. Only in the last two years did they ever acknowledge and apologize to their readers for helping to mislead the country. And just this week, I read an article about a (female) NY Times reporter who years ago wrote a story about Harvey Weinstein and the editors killed it after Hollywood bigwhigs pressured them.

GardenArtist Oct 2017
Whirled Travel, good idea. There's another thread, Favorite Things that also has positive posts. We could limit this to good things about caregiving and caregivers.

WhirledTravel Oct 2017
I completely understand! I used to watch/read the news a lot every day, but lately I'm reading less than I used to. I feel bad about it, because I like to stay informed, but I'm tired of all the negativity. :(

I think we all should post more of the good stories here! :)

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