Thank you to all of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
It’s photos like these and my own personal experience, that brings so much pain in my chest. I feel like it will never go away. But for me, it’s not just on Memorial Day, not a day has gone by that I don’t think about it.
Over the past couple of years, since my second back surgery, when my back goes out, it usually lasts a day or two and then I slowly get better. Since my back first went out in, I think it was ‘97, I’ve always had some degree of back pain varying from “Hey, I’m your back and I just want you to know I’m a grumpy bastard” to “Fuck you! Fuck your sense of well being! Fuck the fucking fuckers! Imma immobilize your ass.”
The “immobilize your ass” levels of pain didn’t become too prevalent until around 2008 or so when I had to start getting spinal blocks and eventually surgery. That has reduced the frequency of “immobilize your ass” but it still happens. For a little more than a week I’ve either been mired in or on the verge of “immobilize.”
Chronic pain is such an amazingly difficult thing to deal with. For most of the time since I first suffered a severe bout in ‘97, I have just tried to carry on as though it hasn’t had any real impact on my life. The last few years have made that tactic impossible.
Other dads toss a ball around with their sons. Other dads take their kids bowling, fishing, hiking, camping, or simply pick them up. At any given time, I can’t do any of these things.
I don’t know how to move forward.
The following folks appreciate hillbilly heroin:
It’s true.
(Source: hockey-teeth)
how the rest of the world sees americans
Who’s hacked my photo albums?
(Source: thingslikeraisins)
Saturday mornings have there own special place in the pantheon of days. They exist for recovery and discovery.
As a kid I remember bolting downstairs as early as possible to watch all the Saturday morning cartoons. In my mind, right now, the most memorable of them were Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Thundarr the Barbarian, and Dungeons and Dragons. Of course I enjoyed plenty of others, but those are the ones that stick with me most all these years later.
Our kids don’t really have that. I couldn’t even tell you if Saturday mornings focus on cartoons anything like they used to. My kids have never had to try. With Cartoon Network when we still had satellite and now with Netflix and Hulu at their disposal, they’re self directed in their entertainment choices. They don’t feel constrained by a single morning. That’s progress, but it is kind of sad, yeah?
I class this time as “discover” because there’s so much we learn from these cartoons. We also learn how long mom and dad sleep in and how loud we can be before disturbing that fragile peace.
In my 20s, Saturdays were definitely recovery days. Sometimes, the entire day. Sometimes, the entire weekend. By adulthood, Saturday mornings have lost their special mystique, but they’re no less important. While I no longer run downstairs hoping to see how the D&D guys deal with the latest adventure, I am always interested in seeing what new thing my kids have found to get into.
I appreciate seeing things change, but I’m thankful for my past.
The following could never get the hang of Thursdays:
As I do.
(Source: banxx)
Is that they didn’t use Anthrax’s song.
[video]
[video]
This little bit turns 13 tomorrow!
I am having a tough time with it.
For as big a Douglas Adams fan as I am, I always forget towel day. I
forget my towel. I do not know where my towel is.
I would make a lousy galactic hitchhiker.
I can’t believe I’m four years away from being 42 and I don’t own a
special H2G2 towel. Never have. I’m such a bad geek.
MaxiAnne Overdrive