Depression Getaway

For this week’s ‘Memory Mondays’ story I am going to tell you about the kitchen in the house where I grew up.

Why?

Well, I am reading a book called “Writing Through the Darkness” which is all about writing to help depression. I am not ready to recommend this book yet as I am still working through it.

However, one of the first assignments in the book is to describe the kitchen where I grew up. I can remember it but not vividly even though it was our family kitchen for 11 years. But, when I turned 17 we remodeled the house and built a much bigger nicer kitchen and that is the one I have the vivid memories of. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week on ‘Memory Monday’ I shared a little story from my own very sheltered childhood.

I decided when I became a parent that I did not want to shelter my children as much as I was sheltered. I wanted them to be more prepared for the realities of life.

This decision kind of backfired in one instance. Let me tell you about it.

Having never been to a funeral until I was 19 years old, I decided that I would expose my children to that experience at the first appropriate opportunity. Read the rest of this entry »

For ‘Memory Monday’ I would like to share with you the story of my 8th birthday party.

This particular party looms in my memories only because we have family movies of it. Otherwise I would not have such a vivid memory of it at all. As a matter of fact, I can’t really remember it, I just know the movie version.

What is interesting about this party is that my mother is not there. She was in a ‘home’ having a nervous breakdown at the time. But this was 1958 and people didn’t discuss such things with children. Read the rest of this entry »

For ‘Memory Monday’ I am going to reminisce about shopping with my dad. Interesting that when I googled for a picture of a ‘little girl shopping with her dad’ there were few choices. I guess girls and dads don’t typically shop together. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, okay, maybe I am just using my blog as a soapbox to talk about my grandchildren, especially my newest one, number four… isn’t she a character?

But today for Memory Mondays I would like to remember when I became a grandmother for the first time. It was the fall of 2007. Nothing could have prepared me for the thrill, the joy, the physical excitement, the emotional high and the peace to my heart each time I held that little one.

Even if I wasn’t having a good day, seeing that little one would make it into a good day, a great day. It even got to the point that if I WAS having a bad day, I would make arrangements to visit just to boost my spirits. Read the rest of this entry »

It is ‘Memory Monday’ where I indulge in reminiscing about something pleasant. Too often when I am depressed I will dwell on negative memories. Not a helpful way to think. So ‘Memory Monday’ is not just fun, it is therapeutic!

Recently I came across an old story which inspired me so much I decided to share it with as many friends as I had on my email account. (I will share that same story this week with you on ‘Faithful Friday’)As a result I had some nice chats with some old friends. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s ‘Memory Monday’ where I choose to force my negative brain to remember some positive story. Not so hard in some ways because I have had some wonderful people in my life.

Today I would like to remember my graduation from university.

You will need a little background information to get the main point of this story.

I was a poor student. I must have some learning disability that was never diagnosed but whatever it was, I found it hard to learn, I found lots of concepts difficult to understand. I still do…. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s ‘Memory Monday’ again and I have yet another cat story. We really are cat lovers in my family but we have had some unfortunate incidents.

Here’s another one.

One of those kittens I wrote a story about last week was about to have babies, or so we thought. She was really pregnant and each day when my girls would get home from school they would run around looking for her hoping to find her with kittens.

Finally one morning she looked ready to burst and even had a few other signs. I told my girls with confidence that there would probably be kittens by the end of the day. But there were not.

I was home all day and kept checking the cat. By now she had been in labour for a long time. I called our friend who was a vet and asked him what I should do. He said that if I had the nerve I should cover my baby finger with some vaseline and reach in and see if I could dislodge the first kitten which was probably stuck.

I didn’t have the stomach for that but called my neighbour who was a nurse and she came over but by then we could even find the cat. The vet had said that if she didn’t have the kittens she would die.

We were country people who did not take barn cats to the vet and so…. My husband got home before the kids and found the cat, she was in bad shape. He prepared to put her down. In the country that is what you do. It wasn’t a job he liked to do but he did it.

In meantime the girls arrived home from school and I was trying to explain to them what was happening, when their dad walked by our big front window with the still alive cat under one arm and a loaded gun under the other. To make light of the situation he made the mistake of smiling.

The girls misinterpreted that smile, they thought he was looking forward to shooting the cat! (by the way, the photo above is not my husband who put the cat out of her misery, it is just a photo I found on google…)

They didn’t speak to him for awhile. Not longer after that another cat had kittens and we had something wonderful to watch.

I have one more cat story to share.

I am so glad you dropped by today!

Join me again at ‘Depression Getaway’ and together we will…

…live, care, laugh, share, learn, discover, forgive and recover.

Don’t give up, I’m praying for you!

Wendy Love

It’s ‘Memory Monday’ where I share a good memory, forcing myself to remember that I have had a good life, some fun things have happened, and I have NOT been depressed every single day!

You might wonder what is so good about remembering a headless cat?

My girls were about 6 and 8 and they each had their own little kitten, Blacky and Bandit. As with all baby animals the kittens were small and fun and playful. The first thing the girls did after school everyday was find their kitten and play with it. Now we lived in the country, so kittens were abundant. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s ‘Memory Monday’ again. Last week I shared a memory about my own graduation and a wonderful thank you note that my mother gave me.

This week I would like to remember another equally meaningful graduation story for me.

It was my stepdaughter’s graduation from university. I have known here since she was 12 years old and have been honoured to be part of her life. She has turned out to be a fine young woman.

She did something unique and so special on her graduation day. I had never heard of anyone doing this before. Her best girlfriend was sitting with her dad and her mom and I and as soon as my stepdaughter received her degree on the stage her friend handed each of us a note. It was a thank you note thanking each of us for being part of her life and giving us some sort of credit for helping her to get that degree.

Now isn’t that a neat thing to do? What a thoughtful gesture!

Remembering wonderful things that have happened is great therapy!

I am so glad you dropped by today!

Join me again at ‘Depression Getaway’ and together we will…

…live, care, laugh, share, learn, discover, forgive and recover.

Don’t give up, I’m praying for you!

Wendy Love