It’s been a sad week all told.
A troll rather stupidly asked why Ive been talking about death so much recently
I’ve been to two funerals this week and work in a hospice !
Duh
Go figure!
I watched myself interact with my colleagues today, and noted their movements too. A hug here, a touch on the arm there. Ruth’s arm through mine, a rub of a shoulder there by Tracy who was half joking about me wearing my Christmas jumper to the service
Reassuring touches, like Elephants touching trunks when frightened by a herd death
We are all animals really.
Tonight I couldn’t settle, until Mary climbed onto the couch next to me.
Typical of the Welsh , she threw herself backwards into the crook of my arm and there fell asleep with her head up.
Ok It’s not fingers running through your hair until you fall asleep kinda contact you’ve craved all week
But it will do………..
HUGS many and long...scoot over and I will throw my head back as well. Good Mary.
ReplyDeleteShe’s an old girl now, and never rushes
DeleteBless you, it's been a hard week there, John, so be good to you. Bless dear little Mary, too.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
I think it’s important to recognise it’s been a hard week , being frivolous helps no one
DeleteMy wife and I split up during covid
ReplyDeleteI understand this post so very well
I’m still living with my mother’s icy I told you so
Lee
I remember “ the lesbo-hater” mother from Hell
DeletePoor you xx
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteRuth Ellershaw
ReplyDeleteAnimals just know don't they? I've had a few funerals lately and it does make you reflect on your own mortality, however maudlin and morbid you come across to others. We're all going through something. Why not just be kind and supportive instead of being an insensitive numpty. Your reader needs to understand what blogs are all about. They're not there for their entertainment
We need that coffee
DeleteIt will more than do. Unconditional love is the best any of us can wish for x
ReplyDeleteYour softer side always knew this from old xx
DeleteI'm so sorry for your losses and sad events this week, plus recent loss of dear Dorothy.. Dogs can be such a comfort.
ReplyDeleteThe point of the post is all about comfort , we all so need it
DeleteI feel this same sadness this week. A 34 year old nurse I worked with (at the previous school) dropped dead out of the clear blue sky last week, while out to dinner with her family. No one knows why yet. It was such a shock, and she was such a lovely woman. She's left behind a loving husband, a five year old son, and a three year old daughter. It's just devastating to everyone who knew her. And her poor family. It's hard to see so much pain and sadness and not to be touched by it. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to work in hospice.
ReplyDeleteOur shock with ann was similar
DeleteThank you jennifer for sharing this x
Da iawn i ti, Mary..
ReplyDeleteThey have a sense beyond logic.
Perhaps it's body language or mood that they discern.
Who knows, but Diolch byth...!
Alun Rhys Jones
Diolch Alun. Xx
DeleteIn a sad week, the last thing you need is a snide and deliberately hurtful comment from a troll. Why can't they explode like Mr Creosote in "The Meaning of Life"?
ReplyDeleteHow nice of Mary to cuddle up with you when you needed it. Is she taking over from Dorothy? Gigi
ReplyDeleteYes, it will do.
ReplyDeleteA cuddle, wherever it's from, is sometimes needed. Animals sense, maybe not sadness, but moods. Dear Mary is showing her love in the best way she can. If I could, I'd be there to stroke your hair. xx
ReplyDeleteMary looks like she might be snoring a little bit!
ReplyDeleteBorder Collies don't 'snuggle', I'll have to swap him for a Welshie!
ReplyDeleteYou have hard a sad and painful week with the two funerals. I understand well about us needing touch and closeness even more at such a time. I like the comparison with the elephants reaching out to each other to reassure themselves and stay close. I missed even the talking, laughing and company during Covid. Thank goodness for the love of our pets, which is so special.
ReplyDeleteMary knows, animals do..after all we are just another animal.
ReplyDeleteA little snuggle is comforting.
ReplyDeleteLove from our dogs, best thing ever. Love Jan Bx
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise when Elsie threw herself backwards on to us that it was a Welshie thing. Thanks, John.
ReplyDeleteWell, by definition, if you are a troll (especially on this blog) you are indeed pretty stupid. You may recall that only the other day your most incredibly stupid troll accused me of being "obviously a man.' even though my name is Liz. Go figure and take an intelligence test!
ReplyDeleteThe criticism about mentioning death is an interesting one; another of those ostriches who stick their head in the sand and pretend it is not something that touches us all? Or can even appreciate the moral courage it take to be a hospice nurse? Well, silly question: if you get at a hospice nurse for being involved with death you have already failed the intelligence test, having completely bypassed the one for facing real life and understanding the meaning of the word 'empathy.'
Keep going just as you are, John. We love you, and we also understand that tragedy and it's effects always seems to come in waves. This, too, shall pass.
Still going on about the trolls, give it a rest, let it lie, shut up about them
DeleteI wonder if this is the same troll that bothers me quite a bit. Although lately I don't need trolls, there are also quite a few bloggers.
ReplyDeleteLife isn't all frills and roses. Sometimes it's sad and difficult. We must allow ourselves to have down times.
ReplyDeleteSomething, that hug from Mary is all I’d want. It will definitely do.
ReplyDeleteTwo funerals in one week, that is tough.
ReplyDeleteSending you a virtual hug. Bless sweet Mary. She is a special little dog.
Oh, a hug can be quite powerful. When my dad died I felt that I was holding up quite well, until a work colleague put her arm around my shoulders and gave me a gentle hug. That was it ... I was completely undone.
ReplyDeleteA metaphorical hug frim me my dear friend. x
ReplyDeleteHugs from me, too. Jxx
ReplyDeleteIt's all about understanding, touch and interaction isn't it, something that a troll would have absolutely no understanding of. I think it's time you got more ruthless with the Anons and the trolls here on your blog and saved yourself the anger and annoyance at their pathetic comments. Delete is a VERY good button to use.
ReplyDeleteI am not a hugger. Maybe others can't read body language but it can be upsetting to be the recipient of a hug that is not wanted. For some reason society thinks that not wanting a hug means something is wrong with you and is often pursued further as if trying to fix, or at least understand, what is "wrong" with a non-hugger.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed, Anon that more people are asking before hugging...not everyone is a huggy person, especially those who are ASD or ADHD
DeleteWasn't "the troll" just a reader commenting and asking if you were a bit depressed? Isn't a troll someone who posts deliberately offensive comments?
ReplyDeleteAren't we all too quick to label someone "deliberately offensive" if they comment anonymously?
Anon, yes you are right, and the comment was an attempt at subtlety by a troll who asked a banal and so obviously stupid comment in order to make some sort of obscure point
DeleteThey know
And I know the game which is foot ( as I suspect you do, hence this comment)
Sorry but you've lost me there.
DeleteThe game which is foot - is there something missing there? I can only think of football as a game and I don't know how that relates to anything here.
So no, I don't know what it's all about, despite your suspicion that I do.
I just read the comment as being from a reader who thought you might be depressed, if there's some hidden meaning there it's beyond me.
It is an odd time of year, rain and snow ...very little sunshine..hard for me to get out of my own way ..my German shepherd Jake is unsettled and clingy ...God love them, not to mention the eclipse ...hope you will have happy and sunny days ahead.
ReplyDeleteAnimals who know us seem to know when we really need comfort. JoJo, my late grey tabby would throw herself against me and purr, knowing I'd hold her, and she'd purr for a while. She would stay right up against me purring until just after I started feeling better.
ReplyDeleteMy current crop of three felines all have their ways of letting me know they care about me. One jumps in my lap often, one almost never does, and one is somewhere between the two. But if they sense I'm not quite myself they either scatter to let me work it out, or stay in the same room with me, keeping watch.