Among Friends

[forrestwolf]

I have been away from here for a while....I have done some soul searching, and I have come to realize this notion....My family has disowned me, for going against my mom's wishes at her death, and I moved to some unforgiving area to take care of my dad, who will not even so much as return a phone call from me....I have cooked for him, and tried to care for him, but my food has caused him "gout", meaning some cabbage that I cooked for him, and he has had gout for YEARS.....and, he has now refused to go to any doctor any more with his medical issues.....I will back him on this, if this is what he wants...I work as the mental health nurse in a mental health prison.... I have been a nurse for 35 years, so I am not new at this.....I have been a victim of several medical scares of my own, and I have been a victim of a disease that I inherited from my mom.....I have had to endure an ear disease, because I was born premature...With my only hope of any sanity with my ear, means that I must go to Germany, and I can not just get in a car and drive there, and even then, there is no guarantee..... The procedure that is offered to me, is not available in the USA.....My life is go to work, and come home from work, and then go to work and do it all over again....

The only people that have NEVER juduged my, were the people here....I have been slamed on some other boards in the past, but not here....I left, due to issues to some of the boards, and judged many by simply a few....I still do not understand the new board, as I left so quickly after they changed the boards......I need a positive in my life, that I can not get from my life......I so miss posting here, and meeting so  many positive people, and not having so much negative.....I hope to be back here, with positive influences, and try to block out the negatives that appear in my life on a daily basis......

So much of me wants to erase this message, but so much of me wants to reconnect with friends without strings attached.......

[kivah]

I'm so happy that you're back!!!! My life has never been easy -- especially after my mom died almost 35 years ago. She was my BEST friend and mother and teacher. My best friend Brenda died this past January of lung cancer at age 61 yrs. We were friends for 33 years - and I'm now 75 years young. Can't replace my mom and can't replace Brenda. I've had a lot of happiness in my life and a lot of sadness and lonliness. Just because there are some negative reviews on this site ---- just realize that most people are positive and uplifting. Isn't this the way real life is? I just see the positive -- I just choose to be as happy as I can every day. My little lhasa apso makes my day - every day. Maybe u need to get a dog --- humans can't learn what dogs already know.

Are there any social groups, churches that you can attend? Just making a few fun friends can make all the difference. As a matter of fact, that's something I need to do as well. Sandy in Calif.

[Noel7]

Hi @forrestwolf

I don't think we've met before but I wanted to say hello and wish you well.

So many people here have had difficult times, I'm beginning to think it's the norm for humanity, but we can make bright sports for ourselves, something I try to do for myself.  Maybe people here can help you come up with ideas on how to make your life a little more fun for you.

I'm wondering if you've considered that you may also be dealing with depression?  It wouldn't be surprising after all you've been through, and I know you are aware of the symptoms.  Perhaps that's worth looking into.

[ChiliPepper]

@forrestwolf

Hi forrestwolf, I'm glad to see you back posting!

I was just thinking about you yesterday, wondering where you were & how you were.

I remember reading about your struggles with your Dad, I'm sorry you are going through all that.

Please consider staying here with us. Even if you don't feel up to posting some days, it might feel good to just read the posts, all kinds of topics.

Best wishes, I'll be praying for you.

[Mary Bailey]

@forrestwolf  I'm so sorry you are going though all of this. To those that disowned you "it's their loss"   We love ya! I hope you can find some things to make you happy. You deserve it. 

[KingstonsMom]

@forrestwolf

Forrestwolf, my long lost friend, you need to be enjoying Bloody Mary's here on River St. in Savannah with me!

Sweet lady, it's so good to hear from you, I've missed you!

I'm so sorry you're going through the family drama, I know that you moved closer to your Dad to care for him and if it wasn't for your cooking for him, he wouldn't have even eaten!

Things haven't been so great for me lately either, so I understand the need to connect with 'friends', albeit 'cyber friends', for comfort and caring.

Please stick around, you'll never get any judgement from me GF.......

[SouthernBee]

@forrestwolf: My thoughts and prayers have been with you. Wonderful to see your post. Please focus on the positive and ignore post from negative or people that cause trouble. You have friends here!!!! Southern Bee

[Honeybit]

@forrestwolf  So good to see you post here again.  We lost way too many long-time posters with the format change.  My heart goes out to you with your strugggles with your family and your own health issues.  Know you are loved and valued by your e-friends here on this Board, even though we may never meet to support you in person.  Come and hang out with the Souper Sisters on the Potsticker Soup thread.  It's a Certified Anti-Snark Zone. 

I'm glad you had the courage not to delete your OP here.  Georgian-to-Georgian, I wish you Peace and Courage.

[3suwm5]

We are here to help, keep coming back.  We can be your sounding board, we can give you ideas.

Please try to concentrate on ANY positives, maybe with a journal.  Trying to increase the number of positives you enter each day.

Take yourself to lunch, coffee.  Spend time outside taking in all the beauty. Read a book.  Join a group.

Whatever/wherever you have experienced joy in the past, DO IT!!!!!!  Retrain yourself to be happy.  It is hard, but you can do it.

We all experience bad, sad things.  Some more than others.  There are folks out there right now, that are experiencing worse things than you are.  You probably don't have to look very far to see that.

You are strong, you will see that.

WELCOME BACK!!!

[MalteseMomma]

Hi Forest,I remember you well. I left for a while too after the death of my beloved Barkley.I was formally ,  "Corgimom"

I understand your pain all too well.Sometimes life overwhelms us and we get cripled by it. I remember thinking many yrs ago,after grieving my hubby's death for a few yrs,that noone can help me change my circumstances but myself.

You need to take care of yourself first because if you do not ,you canot help anyone.Take care of your ear problem first.your dad can either take care of himself or pay to have someone come in a care for him.you do not need that burden,especially if you are damed for it.

After you regain your health,you need to think about what YOU like to do ,what makes YOU happy.It need not be anything big,just some small thing.

I thought about how I loved  birds.I had fed them for many yrs in my yard. Believe it or not ,that opened doors to a whole new life for me. I searched out a bird watching group near me,went to a bird walk very near me ,met the leader and befriended her.She took me to my first birders meeting in my local nature center,near me.Who knew it was even there??? .As time went on I volunteered in that center  and became a trail guide ,then worked there more and more.I met so many people and went on to other areas in my life,like hospital work,hospice work and church work.Paving new pathways for myself and others too.I met many new friends.Much to my surprise, I Became ,"somebody" I valued and other people did too .....lol

Start small .Reach out.Be brave and move on  Wishing you all the best of luck,love and sucess in finding yourself <3