Unplugged and Unleashed

Last Friday turned out to be quite a downer. Just about every post on social media revolved around heartbreak or upset, either physical or emotional distresses.

No doubt presented a photographic review of 2018 as I saw others share on FB, one dear lady’s heart broke anew over reminder of a young cat killed in the road. She spent this past summer nursing that little rescue and his mother to health, documenting them in daily pictures. A few weeks ago she turned them over to her brother, who proved less responsible.

Little Cleo never reached adulthood.

Three local mothers shared deep concern over their daughters. One, college aged, is suffering mysterious gastrointestinal misery and we’re waiting to learn what her dual invasive tests reveal. The second, a few years younger, has serious behavioral issues. A grandmother of the trio sees her adult child suffering intense neck pain.

These poor moms feel helpless, their hands all but tied.

Another friend, who moved from my area to Ireland with his new bride, found himself unprepared for the roles of husband as well as father to his soul mate’s teen-aged son. He undertook it like other endeavors, I’ve learned, planning to emulate good dads he’s known. Finding himself unable to maintain the sort of mask that exhausted him at the end of a normal workday, he exposed a side his lady love could not handle and has since been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

I believe his uncertain future includes an annulment.

So on Saturday the fifteenth I fired up my laptop, disconnected Internet connectivity, and focused on a short story. My husband gently teased that I was going to my ‘safe space’.

He wasn’t wrong.

On the bright side, my freedom from the usual digital barrage allowed my muse to soar. I’ve since furthered an incomplete story and fostered ideas for future chapters.

I should focus on the positive fact that all these struggling with grief at least knew/know love, shouldn’t I? How was your weekend?

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