Friday, December 30, 2016

Get Out, 2016!

This year has been awful. All the deaths, both friends and famous, feel like continuous piling on. There's no time to ease from one death before another comes, forming one huge pressing weight. Then the stressful every-two-weeks threats of moving, and finally the move to this place, which is a blessing and a curse. The constant changes in Billy's deteriorating health, and my own increasing inabilities. Beest's ups and downs, and now her surgery coming on the 19th. So much loss, grief and heartache in my circle.
And Trump. That pile of festering excrement.
The entire world is in turmoil.
There aren't words. Well, there are, but I don't want to go into it.

With all that, I find that I can't face 2017 with much hope. In fact, for the first time, I dread the new year. What the past few years have shown me is that not only can things get worse, they rather surely will. Everything is precarious.

But in the midst of uncertainty about Herr Drumpf and the new Congress, I find hope in that they're all so hateful and shifty they won't be able to work together to really change anything for the worse. I wish them on themselves, as Herman used to say.

As for the rest, que sera, sera. I'm certain surgeries to remove the masses on my arm will be coming. Perhaps that'll relieve issues and I'll get the use of my right thumb back. Beest's surgery will, with any luck, end the cycle of the bubble on her head and she'll be back to her normal Tortie self. It's time to trust doctors, something I unlearned a while back. But there's no choice now. Even if I decide to not go thru the colon cancer screening again, the masses on my arm must be addressed. Not having a functioning thumb is annoying and scary. And it's not easy going, alone.

So, with apologies for being a dreary Debbie Downer, I say to this year goodbye and good riddance. If nothing else, there is reassurance that those we've lost can't be lost twice. For good or ill, we're still here, and as for me, I'll take Gandalf's advice:
 "I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo.
'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

I wish us all a happy, healthy, brave new year.

x
And may I add this very rude salute to the year:

10 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Brave you have are whatever the circumstances. It is as integral to you as your skeleton.
Sending cyber wishes for health and happiness to join it.
Hugs.

Austan said...

Hugs back to you, EC. We've made it thru everything so far, a 100% track record. :)
Thank you, I hope your New Year is surprisingly wondrous.

Twisted Scottish Bastard said...

Look at it this way.
2017 HAS to be better than 2016.
Hope your health improves. Why is it when one gets older, bits you used to take for granted suddenly stop working or fall off, and unwanted extras start making an appearance.
They never mention those things in the manual.

Have a Really Good New Year.

Geo. said...

I identify closely with the "2016 Song". Thanks for posting it! I sure hope you keep transmitting this coming year --as I hope I do too. There is a community of good minds that has strengthened us here. If we push a bit, this new year, it will continue to do so. Do you think expanding to Facebook would help? I'm scared of it, but reason and compassion must be made ubiquitous --what do you think?

only slightly confused said...

It's been a b**** of a year for so many. Oh if only we could hit 'reboot' eh? Well, we can't, so onward and upward we go. May this year bring us peace and joy, good results for the kitty, blessing on you and on Billy and on all those you love. Happy New Year from the temporarily frozen North.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

There is good and bad in every year, but this year sadness and turmoil seemed to scream so much louder. All I can do is to make my little space somewhat calmer and kinder and hope that those around me will do the same. Hope is what drives me forward, because there is no alternative. Take care, dear Laura, and let us all hold hands and pray that reason will prevail. We really need a super hero now.

Austan said...

TSB- All too true! They left too damn much out of the manual, and nobody's updated it in milleniae. Milleniums? Millenio?

Austan said...

Geo- will do, and hope you will too. FB is larger and I think even rewires your brain, but it's a roiling stew of humanity and often very nasty. The bloggers we know are a soft cozy bunch of lovelies. Were it not for family and some friends who use only FB to communicate, I'd leave it.

Austan said...

Lawless- we've got beautiful snow, at least for the moment. With rising temps it could be an icerink soon. But today, in this new year, it's nice to see such clean bright perfection. I hope we can hold such bright thoughts throughout the year. All the best to you and yours up north!

Austan said...

Arleen- consider me standing in your circle, holding hands, sending out kind vibes and insisting on reason in this mad world. "No more mean in '17!"