Light during times of darkness...

[Joe13]

There is a point to all of this but I have to start on the down side and it's a bit long winded...


So I've been going thru a rough patch lately:
-Looking to rejoin the workforce after 6 years as a home dad.
-Selling tools and toys to make ends meet.
-The car breaking beyond my ability to fix (had to borrow some funds from a childhood friend to fix it which was pretty devastating - but he was good with it, even if I'm not).
-Tearing up my knee and dealing with the whole mess of waiting for surgery and expecting a hard road of recovery (which I'm determined to come out ahead on when it's over).
-Not being able to hunt this coming season and some other personal issues have been a constant barrage of "bumps in the road" for me this year.



Having said that, I have found so many good people on this site that have helped me stay positive, helped me to stay motivated, helped me with advice, pointed me in the direction of potential jobs, offered me friendship and a few other things that I won't mention but they have been huge deals to me and have impacted my life in enormous ways.



I'm not going to go thru the list of names - y'all know who you are.

I would just like to say a gigantic Thank-You, to everyone.

I do not have the words to truly express the gratitude and appreciation I feel, so I will leave it as is and hope that my fondness of y'all and this site has been communicated.





Ok, all the gushy stuff is out of the way - now I can say some of y'all are just down right onry and I enjoy the threads here more often then not.

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[Dungannon]

This to shall end.

Worst times in my life were age 19 [Vietnam] and 41 [major depression]. Staying positive at the worst of times is in part the benefit of tight friends and family, and having had good examples in others who weathered the tough times.

Words always seem inadequate to match the reality of difficult moments [or years], but sometimes that is all there is. Pushing on, doing the best in a difficult situation, and knowing that others are counting on you to keep going when doubts crowd in may be all you have for the moment. But in years to come, you, and your family, will look back with satisfaction on having survived and flourished in unexpected ways. Ultimately, your legacy is your family and the example you set for them when you're at the breaking point. But it is a hard road, no doubt about it. Praying for you.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Some times the roughest road leads to the greatest view! You never know what's just around the next curve, but life's journey isn't really meant to be a freeway trip, there wouldn't be any challenges or fun now would there! You have a great attitude, many friends, and you know the road you are on will improve, keep the faith brother! Now lock in the hubs, dig in and grunt your way ever forward!!!

 

[Sgt Nambu]

What a dooshe!

 

[Sstrand]

Joe
Just remember . . . It's always darkest just before it goes totally black!?!?!?!?

Sheldon

 

[Andy54Hawken]

What a dooshe!

Ahhh! Nothing like words of kind reassurance from your Sergeant LOL!
Andy

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Just be careful. the light at the end of the tunnel , might be an oncoming train ...
Andy

 

[Joe13]

Thanks for the support and laughs

 

[salmonriverjohn]

Your a pretty good joe, looks like we're stuck with ya

 

[Stomper]

Thanks for giving me a toothache, and smelling up the place with all that gas!!

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Keep your head up man. i think we've all had a rough patch or three. Ive been around here for a while and feel free to PM me if u need any advice. i'll see what i can do but just know, nothin cheers me up like the smell of burnt gun powder! best therapy out there if you ask me!

it gets better dude... keep on keepin on.

 

[clearconscience]

It's not the burdens of everyday that drive men mad. It's the regret of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves that rob us of today.

Your alive Joe. And believe it or not, your still pretty good. Bum knee, sucks but it can be fixed. Health issues, sucks, but your still breathing.
Can't hunt, hell, go fishing.

A bad day of freedom is better than anydsy day under tyranny.


I have a friend who a couple years ago dove into a backyard pool and snapped his neck. Tons of surgeries, months (almost a year) in the hospital.
Now he's a quad, paralyzed from the chest down. We've been best friends since 5th grade. Thick as thieves. A lot of years my only friend.
It's been a really hard road and I don't get to see him as much as I like.

That's a hard time.

So believe me, as hard as it may be. Your still doing well Brother. Attitude is what you make of it.

Happy people don't have the best of everything, they make the best of everything.

There's a book I read that really hit home for me about 6 years ago. It's called "the Energy Bus" sounds goofy, kinda cheesy, but really opens your eye ls to how powerful just being positive can be.

 

[Joe13]

It's not the burdens of everyday that drive men mad. It's the regret of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves that rob us of today.

Your alive Joe. And believe it or not, your still pretty good. Bum knee, sucks but it can be fixed. Health issues, sucks, but your still breathing.
Can't hunt, hell, go fishing.

A bad day of freedom is better than anydsy day under tyranny.


I have a friend who a couple years ago dove into a backyard pool and snapped his neck. Tons of surgeries, months (almost a year) in the hospital.
Now he's a quad, paralyzed from the chest down. We've been best friends since 5th grade. Thick as thieves. A lot of years my only friend.
It's been a really hard road and I don't get to see him as much as I like.

That's a hard time.

So believe me, as hard as it may be. Your still doing well Brother. Attitude is what you make of it.

Happy people don't have the best of everything, they make the best of everything.

There's a book I read that really hit home for me about 6 years ago. It's called "the Energy Bus" sounds goofy, kinda cheesy, but really opens your eye ls to how powerful just being positive can be.

Yessir, there are plenty of others worse off then I am - neck deep in the mud and I can loose sight of that.

Positivity, focus and motivation are my mantras moving forward.

Loosing weight, gaining muscle and stamina (along with the dog) will be my main goals over the next few months.

And I landed a part time job interview even after disclosing my upcoming knee surgery so things are headed uphill it would seem.

Even if I don't get the job (it's not 100% ideal), I figure it's good practice - 95% of my interviews have been company's chopping at the bit to hire me so this will be a new experience for me.


Sorry to hear about your friend, I have a buddy that was in a similar situation with his childhood friend but lost him a few years ago to complications.

 

[clearconscience]

 

[clearconscience]

I feel you though Joe. I've suffered from back pain for my years and it's only gotten worse.
I know I could make it better with exercise, but with two young kids and my wife's work schedule I don't have time ( don't make time )
It's gets me really down sometimes, I'm quick to focus on the negative and beat myself up.
But my kids are so amazing. They kid me positive and knowing my best days are ahead of me.

I was getting really negative about work for a while too. Starting to hate my job, mad I wasn't getting promoted.
Then I quit and my wife and I moved to Kentucky to be near her family. In 2009 we made around $130k combined the year we were in KY 2010 we made $40k combined. Talk about a game changer.
And worked the worst jobs I've ever had.

Our company we worked for in OR/WA offered both our jobs back in 2011, and we ( I ) jumped at the chance.
We moved back and been so much happier. Just the change of perspective was an eye opener.

 

[Member 5605]

Some on here may be gruff on the outside but be damned if they don't have teddy bear insides.

 

[salmonriverjohn]

I have a friend who a couple years ago dove into a backyard pool and snapped his neck. Tons of surgeries, months (almost a year) in the hospital.
Now he's a quad, paralyzed from the chest down. We've been best friends since 5th grade. Thick as thieves. A lot of years my only friend.


Happy people don't have the best of everything, they make the best of everything.

Your friends last name wouldn't be
Manning would it?
Either way it shows your great character to stand by your friend,
Something that is painfully lacking these days in so many.

 

[Medic!]

Sometimes I just need to stop living in my head. And see the beauty of the world for what it is.
H. D. Thoreau was on to this.

''It is remarkable that many men will go with eagerness to Walden Pond in the winter to fish for pickerel and yet not seem to care for the landscape. Of course it cannot be merely for the pickerel they may catch; there is some adventure in it; but any love of nature which they may feel is certainly very slight and indefinite. They call it going a-fishing, and so indeed it is, though perchance, their natures know better.

Now I go a-fishing and a-hunting every day, but omit the fish and the game, which are the least important part. I have learned to do without them. They were indispensable only as long as I was a boy.

I am encouraged when I see a dozen villagers drawn to Walden Pond to spend a day in fishing through the ice, and suspect that I have more fellows than I knew, but I am disappointed and surprised to find that they lay so much stress on the fish which they catch or fail to catch, and on nothing else, as if there were nothing else to be caught''.

Henry D Thoreau

 

[clearconscience]

[QUOTE="clearconscience, post: 1

I have a friend who a couple years ago dove into a backyard pool and snapped his neck. Tons of surgeries, months (almost a year) in the hospital.
Now he's a quad, paralyzed from the chest down. We've been best friends since 5th grade. Thick as thieves. A lot of years my only friend.


Happy people don't have the best of everything, they make the best of everything.

Your friends last name wouldn't be
Manning would it?
Either way it shows your great character to stand by your friend,
Something that is painfully lacking these days in so many.[/QUOTE]


No, it's Lee (but not Asian) he's a big inspiration.
He had gotten into real estate about a year before his accident and luckily got really successful at that. He has been able to still do real estate now and has been doing great at it. His attitude throughout the whole thing has been great. I know he's had some dark days and times. But being able to work and make money has help make him feel normal. Keeps his mind off things

Not sure if I would be that positive.

 

[etrain16]

I've been through a few rough patches myself, interesting how you can know, for certain, in your mind that these things will pass at some point, but at the same time it feels like it never will. I remember suffering from bad carpal tunnel in both hands and plantar fasciitis in both feet. The CT was so bad that it was inflaming nerves in my back and I was only sleeping an hour or two a night, for months on end. And when I did get up it hurt so bad to stand I could hardly get out of bed. Working in the field with the tools at the time made things intensely miserable. I was in an increasingly sour mood day after day. And meeting with doctors that couldn't seem to diagnose either issue.

After months of this, my wife got me into a neurologist who finally diagnosed the issue and got me into surgery for the CT which finally gave me the relief there. Then she finally found a podiatrist that diagnosed the PF and solved that.

Point of all that is that, knowing I would come out of it, I still found myself feeling pretty down, depressed and often pissed off at just about everyone and everything. Having folks around you can chat with about that stuff really does help, and did help for me.

I'm glad the community here has been a source of relief for you in the midst of your difficult times. Yours sound much worse than what I went through, so I can only get a partial sense of how you're feeling, but good on you for pushing through and keeping your head up in the midst of those difficulties. I hate telling people "it's all going to work out" because, how the heck do I know? But that said, from what I've seen about you here on the forum, I'm pretty certain things will work out because you don't seem like the kind of guy to give in even when things are tough.

So I'll raise a glass, or maybe a cup of coffee this morning , and say "here's to the end of troubles sooner rather than later!"

Stay frosty!