A Christmas of confusing and conflicting emotions

I don’t celebrate Christmas. The holiday isn’t full of happy memories for me and, so, my husband and I do other things. This year, I’ll be at work Christmas Eve and Christmas and Paul will likely be finishing The Last of Us Part II and starting Far Cry 6.

I’m still struggling to stay focused. I’ve got an overdue writing assignment I need to write. Well, I wrote it, didn’t like it, and deleted it. Now I have to start over. I am also helping raise another project from its semi-dead state. It’s a great idea and one I support, but when the rug is pulled out from under you, it takes a while to see things clearly again. I had a good doctor’s appointment earlier this week, with everything going mostly as planned. I’ve lost 40 pounds this year and I bought some new pants yesterday. I’ve been going to work the past two months with pants two sizes too big for me, so it will be nice having clothes that fit.

Hopefully, the crap that went wrong at the beginning of December will just be a stupid speed bump in my life. Naturally, when you’re mired in it, things don’t look that way. Many thanks to Paul and my friends, who rallied around me and have made things a little easier right now.

I’m going to make a plug for my substack account, Storytelling on the Plains. If you like the stuff I write here and like my style, you can sign up for notifications to read fun and thought-provoking stories. Right now, it’s free, but I hope one day to have enough subscribers to add a little fee and maybe make some money off my writings.

To those of you who celebrate, I hope you enjoy your holiday season. To those of you who struggle this time of year, I understand and I hope you have a better 2022.

Here are some fun memes and a political cartoon, which aptly show all the emotions I’ve been feeling the past few weeks. Each one could be its own post and I might just do that as soon as I get my brain back in order.

In college, a guy named Mike introduced me to Judge Dredd. He had a subscription to 2000AD, the comic where Dredd got his start. This pullout from issue 64 of Judge Dredd: The Megazine always makes me smile. I wish I could find a copy so I could smile at it all year long.

This political cartoon by Nick Anderson is on point, hits like a gut punch, and is a wake up call to anyone who hasn’t been paying attention. Don’t think the abortion case in Texas has nothing to do with you. Nearly half the states have trigger laws in place with the Texas and Mississippi cases.

On a personal level, I likely would not be here if abortion had not been legal in 1984. When you consider your stance on abortion, consider the fact you would not be reading this blog because I would not exist. You would have never had met me, talked with me, laughed with me (maybe at me, too), went on a hike with me, or asked me for advice. Women’s lives are in peril once again.

Soylent Green used to be one in my top five of favorite movies. It’s still in the top 20. We could still see a world like this because human beings seem to be this stupid and would be okay with it happening.

To cheer myself up, here are some of my favorite pictures and memes. I have hundreds to cheer me up. See you next week with a little more detailed and thought out post.