Night Shift

Your back sounds very painful @Decadian Is it from an injury or over use? I used to have a terribly painful neck/back, still do at times. I try and discipline myself to do pilates/yoga and my back and neck have been alot better since. My lower back used to be awfully painful, from working in child care, lots of lifting and carrying babies and toddlers. Thank goodness stretches help. A massage would be nice too. Do you ever get the chance to have a massage?

@Former-Member I don't mind at all if you feel like sharing things about yourself.

We are here to listen and give support, if possible.

.

.. @Faith-and-Hope

---

@Decadian wrote:

Ahhhh - everyone - @Former-Member@TAB@

I have lost track - I think there might have been a glitch somewhere but I have to admit a terrible truth

After years of living on my own I have forgotten how to cook properly - I do - usually lots of salad and grill steak or chops - and sometimes I yearn with watering mouth for a home cooked roast lamb

I make soup well and make it last for 3 - 4 days - give or take - it saved me from starvation this week - when I didn't want to cook - still don't feel really hungry

But yes - I have really forgotten some simple things like - I got some eggs and felt as if I needed bacon and eggs and the bacon didn't cook fast enough - tasted horrible - the eggs were okay

There are worse things - I don't actually mind cooking but cooking for one is really BORING - and no - I have had all the possible suggestions - I will stick with my salads or steamed vegies

I wish my appetite would come back

Thanks for the talk on food - I know one thing I can cook and that's to wrap up two chops in foil and add some pumpkin and whatever to bake in the over for about an hour - that's the best I can offee - but people are welcome

Decadian

---

@Decadian @Former-Member @Faith-and-Hope
my lamb shank veg soup is killer visited ailing old, yet rascy and no cookee father couple yrs ago after mum first went in a home.. he saw me cooking it, said nothing, then asked what it was, and told me to take it it with me ..yer ..right.. then got first ph call from him ever a few days after telling me it was the best soup he'd ever had.. but yes, bit limited re cooking, do a a good steak, chops, roast, stick to that these days when cook..

..freakin cold here atm @Former-Member lol but appreciate that and when I am good I do easy cheats are canned veg, or found putting frozen veg in a mug works when no container lol

Thanks @Former-Member

I like the salads and I do stir-fry at times - I eat fairly well except for weeks like this one - when most of the time I had home made soup - so glad I did that before I got ill

About my spine - it is partly an injury - or series of them - mostly due to the sporting excesses of my youth - I have DDD - that Degenerative Disc Disease and spinal cord canal stenosis - where the damaged discs in two places press against the spinal cord

And on the MRI I had done last year my lumbar vertabrae look like a tower of blocks made by a two year old - totally out of alignment. I had been doing regular exercises twice a day for years when I was knocked off my push bike in a windstorm - something that was waiting to happen and luckily I was very fit so I recovered from the injury quickly but the damage to my spine is inoperable - and very painful

But I have excellent medical care - a great team - I hate to imagine what it would be like if I didn't - but then - I believe in the luck of the Irish - I certainly am and certainly have the luck

I have tried most things - I continue to do what helps and what doesn't - what has been a less than pleasant experience - I have given up - the best thing I can do is walk and I have missed that is week

I trained to be a relaxation masseur - and for some time I had a therapeutic masseur come every week - but in time I realised that no matter what our qualifications were - I knew more than the masseur - and she often did things that made things worse and she made me cross and I have never had another massage - but I know the trigger points and can induce the brain chemicals that can help - and I can massage a lot of my back myself - especially in the lumbar spine

Sometimes I feel annoyed that the experience of massage that I enjoyed when I was with fellow students practising on each other - that way we all got a number of free massages a week - and we wanted to pass and we did - so we listened to each other when we were the person having the massage - and that kind of feed back is wonderful -

But the woman doing my massages was not listening - and finally I got tired of her presence - and maybe if I had ceased earlier I could have felt okay about someone else - but I find I no longer want anyone pushing where I know is not the right place and not hearing me say - "Please don't massage my feet"

Sorry about the rant - but every now and again I feel annoyed that I let this happen

However I do meditate - whatever that means - I find that I can make myself as comfortable as possible and let my thoughts flow and find one that is interesting and follow it - and I find this works and I think up the most wonderful things - I have heard that there are different methods involved - and it strengthens the pathways in my brain - and this is not to sleep - this is to control my back pain which can score very high at times

It is my firm belief that emotional pain is far worse than physical pain - I can have the back pain treated but as people know - the pain in our hearts and memories are not always helped with medication -

I think I am lucky though - there are worse things - and I have read a lot on-line - not just in this site but in others I have been involved with in the past - and I wonder often how people manage

But whatever it is - our bundle is the one we have to carry - and I am a firm believer in the Devil I Know

But thanks for your thoughtful enquiry

Decadian

Homework!!!!!!!

@Former-Member

Thanks Bridget - it is good to rave and rant and it helps let it all out - and I don't think reading here is compulsory

I agree about homework though - I wonder a lot about the value of it - some kids work well at school and I was one of those and yet in my memory I did a lot of study on the train to and from the eletist school I was at - and spent my time on public transport conjugating German verbs

Yes - suggesting extra reading is a good idea - and then there is work that could take a whole term - or semestre even - it seems to me that kids spend less time that I did back in the 50s - but I remember a lot of homework as well -

However - I wonder a lot about year 12 - and the pressure it puts on kids - at university I found - and my colleagues agreed with me - that the Gap Year many kids take between year 12 and university fitted them better for the university because in year 12 kids have the pressure and are forced-fed and at year 1 of university it is a shock to young people because there no one cares if people do their assignments or not - and those of us fitting our working lives around our study and vv had a bit of a start - we were used to having orders and also filling our own time

Quite different

Okay - this has to be my third rave - enough said - I am glad your girl is having a few days at a Youth Camp - I am in favour of that - it will be an experience indeed

Decadian

@Former-Member

Chatting on the forums here has intensified my gratitude for the valuable teaching and life experiences that have shaped my life, outlook, and faith .... if some of that dynamic and energy has flowed through to you, I am ever so grateful for that as well ....

Struggle and adversity come to us in many different forms and strengths .... I feel humbled by many of the life stories shared here and the powerful courage required to keep swimming ....

One thing I do know is that working your way through powerful adversity produces powerful positivity as a return .... so important to keep swimming ..... so valuable .... not only for us but for everyone who knows us .... and as these forums are testament to ..... sometimes it is valuable to those we are yet to meet ....

So glad to have met you all ....

🐠💛💙🐠💛💙 ...... ✅

---

@Faith-and-Hope wrote:

Struggle and adversity come to us in many different forms and strengths .... I feel humbled by many of the life stories shared here and the powerful courage required to keep swimming ....

One thing I do know is that working your way through powerful adversity produces powerful positivity as a return .... so important to keep swimming ..... so valuable .... not only for us but for everyone who knows us .... and as these forums are testament to ..... sometimes it is valuable to those we are yet to meet ....

So glad to have met you all ....

🐠💛💙🐠💛💙 ...... ✅

---

Ditto @Faith-and-Hope. 💜💜💜

..yeah, talkin' to empty room .. lol .. Hi @Faith-and-Hope