I told someone I have a blog. I did not mention it’s rotting away. Oh the shame.
Whatever you do, please don’t leave a comment like “Joey’s back!” Last time I tried to come back I woke up with the plague the very next day. I would never accuse any of you of jinxing me, or of not washing your hands before reading my blog… Just, I can write this post and not come back for a year and a half because it’s my page and I can write when I want to, write when I want to…
There’s an entire catalog of things I should do every day.
For my own benefit, mind you.
About fifteen years ago, I answered an intensive lifestyle questionnaire to assess my wellness and my expected lifespan. In the conclusion section, it reported most of the respondents spent more time and effort on themselves than I did. I guffawed and asked the questionnaire how many of those respondents had four kids and a deployed husband. The questionnaire did not answer me, which was surely a plus in the mental health column.
My mental health is pretty good these days. I’d never claim I’m not neurotic or that I’ve become neurotypical or anything alarming like that. Mostly my kids don’t live here and my husband is never deployed.
Hi, I’m Joey and it has been 28 days since my last panic attack.
My brain malfunctioned while doing dishes and singing Space Dog by Tori Amos. Panic attacks while having a good time are absolutely unacceptable. Such a brain betrayal had not been felt since the bathtub panic attack of 2013. Regardless, I carried on, having done dishes and sung Space Dog since.
Anyway, the things I should do every day are generally the same things you should do every day and we don’t do them all every day. I mean, I do some and you do some, but no one is doing all the things every single day. It falls into that area of “If everything is important, nothing is” — and y’all, I trekked into the interwebz to bring you that in a gif and that quote is attributed to at least five different men. So, probably a woman said it and no quote art for you. Good mercy. Have one of my unrelated peony photos:
Maybe you’d like to tell me how you’ve slept 7-8 hours, made your bed, taken your pills and/or supplements, ideally hit 10,000 steps, meditated, double-cleansed your face, applied moisturizer and sunscreen, eaten 5-7 servings of plant life plus your required protein and some seeds and nuts, sipped your optimal water intake throughout the day, enjoyed some fresh air and green spaces, called your mom/kids/dearest friends to let them know how much you love them and how much they mean to you, exercised and brushed your pets, tidied up the house, aired out the house, checked your email and social media only briefly and with intent, and participated in your hobbies. Today. Did ya do all that today?
While I have already missed some of the things I am supposed to do every day, I did write on my blog.
joeyfullystated 
No jinx. Mostly my neighbor and I bitched about a lot of things today. We felt better. All is well. That’s about it.
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Nice, Lois. A good bitch session can really improve one’s mood.
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Of course I did all those things…and more. 🤣🤣🤣. Worked in a puzzle and got some good deals at the market. I’d say that a good day. 😘
janet
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I love puzzling! Glad you had a good day!
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hshsa – nice to read your post, Joey, and can feel your same ol’ pleasant and original humor.
Also, I would not say the blog is “rotting away” when you have long breaks – it is just paused and hangs there for search engines to index as needed – and for some of us to maybe come back and check on.
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Kind, thank you, prior.
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:o)
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I’m relatively sure I’ve never had a day of doing all those things, though blogging is pretty high on my list.
Peonies are such lovely flowers. Wish they bloomed all summer.
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Your dedication to blogging is admirable, definitely on your important list.
I also wish peonies bloomed longer. Also, I want some white ones.
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If weather allows, I work outside in the gardens and make it okay to tidy up and keep things neat inside. Please don’t ask if I then come in and make dinner with the necessary plant life. 🙂 Glad things are good most days with you because ‘most’ days is an accomplishment. 🙂
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I LOL’ed at come back in and make dinner with the necessary plant life! I feel that. Most things on most days is the best I can do. All things on all days is for experts or somethin.
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Let’s just say it does my soul good to feel your vibe here, Joey. Do you the best you can and share if and when the spirit moves you. My calendar having flipped enough pages to be a
Retired Guy now, I’m happy here doing that and this when and where I feel the groove.
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I love that you’re enjoying your retirement, Mark!
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Thanks, Joey. It took a lot to get here for sure.
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Interesting. I was thinking about you and select others who went silent over the years. I’m glad you’re still around and kicking. I did not make the bed this morning.
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Thanks! No doubt you will still have a productive day with an unmade bed waiting for you!
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Doing all the things we have to do every day, seems like work to me. Like I have a job, and I don’t want one. No jinx intended, but it’s good to see you. I also appreciate the photos you put on IG.
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Thank you, Dan. I like to think you’re living your dream a bit now, yeah? All done with “J-O-B.” Writing and writing about writing quite a bit. Not so much with the commute. I like to think you’re happy 😀
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Thanks Joey. I am happy. Of all the things I don’t miss, the commute is up there. Still, meetings hold the Number-1 spot.
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Hi Joey! I give myself a month to accomplish the things you list. Makes me feel like less of an underachiever. If I don’t get them done in that month, I move them to the next. Something to look forward to? I won’t say the “back” part because I’ve seen your IG posts so you never left, but I do also like reading your words. If you see my blog you’ll know I’ve been a little hit and miss lately too. We do what we can with what we have, right? Janet
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We absolutely do what we can with what we have! We are SO good at that! Sometimes other things require our attention and that’s just how it is. I appreciate your support, and I offer mine to you. If you need to express anything into a safe space, I’m here for you.
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It’s good to see you here! Not jinxing you or the blog! No way did I do all those things. Firstly, I slept in today until 7! I was up late last night way past my bedtime because we went up to Reno to watch the Aces play ball.
We were going to go kayaking this morning but, the wind has kicked up and there’s a wind advisory at the lake so that’s out. I didn’t get a door post ready for today either. The only other thing I have planned today is to wash my hair. It’s a once a week affair that takes forever…with a blow out it takes over an hour. See forever! 😊
I hope the rest of your day is better than mine has started out. 🥰
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I would never, ever, in my wildest dreams have imagined I would become an early riser and am still shocked to write this thing as I write it: Sleeping in til 7 sounds marvelous. I don’t understand why my clock needs me to look at it at 5:28, 5:32, like WHYYY???
Anyway, glad you got to take in a game, hope your weather for that was gorgeous! (Unlike kayak day)
Would love to see your blow out sometime. Unless I gym too hard, swim, or garden glisten, I’m a twice a week hair washer and not always a blower-outer. Lately I’ve been on a twist-it-and-clip-it kind of mood.
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Self-care sounds like hard work! Going 28 days without a panic attack would be a major accomplishment for me so — you go girl! Glad to hear you’re still feeling up to posting an update every now and then. Always a pleasure to “see” you.
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Right? I feel like 28 days has got to be near a record if not the record for me. I’m sorry you suffer as well. I can say I’ve gotten better but I don’t know how or why to a degree of certainty that allows me to take any credit for it. And because it remains elusively woo-woo, I believe anyone can get better at any time. Your writing is tops, so I’m always glad to be read by you.
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Hugs, my friend . I love your clever writing!❤️
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So kind, thank you ❤
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Joey’s back!
(There’s a smartass in every bunch, and yes, I’m that guy.) But in all seriousness, I’d be happy accomplishing one-third of those things. I usually hit 10,000 steps, but that’s about it.
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My husband is also that smartass in every bunch, Mark!
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Sounds like your husband would be a good guy to grab a beer with!
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You did one better than me – you blogged today. I’m erratic, still writing fiction, slow.
I get about 2500 steps every day in trips to the kitchen and the other place.
I manage to feed myself. Take naps. Struggle through a long night to get enough accumulated sleep to function – sort of.
Why bother to make your bed if you’re going to take a nap in it within about an hour?
No changes – the scientific research that was supposed to accomplish that has been kneecapped. Funds disappeared over night.
Surviving – still doing that.
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Good to “see” you! Some writing is better than no writing. Naps are doing you good. Made beds are nice, but oft overrated.
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The bed looks so nice when my assistant has just changed the sheets – I can’t manage the lifting any more. But I can – and do if necessary (rarely is) straighten it out to look decent. The secret is navy blue printed sheets and solid navy blankets!
I have over 700 blog posts on liebjabberings, many if not most about writing techniques for writers with damaged brains (which I reread when I need to remember), and a decent number of them on prideschildren dot com (about the trilogy), so there’s always something to read, and some short stories. Maybe I don’t have quite as much new stuff to write about, as LIMBO is the third book.
I’m eschewing most politics – my commenters sometimes get caught in including their political views. There are better places for that.
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Well, hello Joey! It is good to hear (read) from you. Seriously, it is. But me too on the blog issue, except for Aprils, when I posted poems to the NaPoWriMo prompts.
My excuse is that I have self-published two books of poems. There is other stuff, but this is not the time or place for that. I have upped my photography game, and I think of your (Thursday?) doors pics often.
You did write on your blog and so did I (we). I’m glad about that.
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Wow, Bill! WOW! Two books of poetry is ample reason to neglect your blog a bit! Congratulations! I only wrote one measly poem in January 2024, but look at me now, responding to blog comments! It could be momentum!
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Those poems were all written. Organizing them was the hard part. I am playing around with two more when I feel like it. It is a lot like work 🙂
Good for you and good for me to see you here.
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Will it amuse/relieve you at all to know that, while I was reading your blog post, I was simultaneously on hold with my doctor’s office trying to get a last minute renewal of a medication prescription you’ve just run out of that you don’t find out was the LAST refill until you are facing a three-day weekend and no happy pills to keep you calm? And that I spilled my hot tea on my keyboard when I went to pick u the phone when someone finally answered? And that, “No! At 4:15 on a Friday before a weekend you cannot get the prescription refilled. It takes 48 hours minimum to get a refill request processed.”I will be white-knuckle coasting through this weekend or hoping there are enough pills to get me through until Tuesday arrives.I did not write a blog post. Though, I did read one. That feels like progress of a sort. Thanks for being my contact with the outside world–not including phone tree damnation exchanges.
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Oh now you KNOW that’s much more relatable and believable than the people who claim to have all their ish together! Hah! I hope you made it through the weekend, white knuckling cups of tisane. Your humor is a happy pill. Thank you for replying. I miss you and think of you often.
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Thanks to Pistachio I just found out you’d written a blog post. Yay! Lovely to see you back in blogland for however long you decide to be a blogger… who has a blog. Happy Summer, Joey!
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Thank you! Happy Summer Ally Bean!
I’m feeling a bit sheepish in asking, but what do you mean by “Thanks to Pistachio?”
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The blogger who writes Pistachio Conspiracy #63 wrote a post. I stopped by to read it and saw that in her “recently read” column she’d read this post that you’d written. I clicked through and found you back to writing.
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Oh. Thank you.
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