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Sadje’s Sunday Poser — Keeping Up Apperances

Fandango5 Comments

For her Sunday Poser this week, Sadje asks…

How much thought do you give to your appearance?

I’m a retired old man in his seventies.

I shower daily, whether I need it or not.

I brush my teeth at least twice a day.

I shave my head, cut my nose and ear hairs, and trim my beard every other week.

I change my underwear and socks daily.

I wear a clean shirt almost every day.

I put on a clean pair of jeans every third or fourth day.

I wash my towels and clothing once a week.

That’s how much thought I give to my appearance.

I think that’s enough.

Written for Sadje’s Sunday Poser prompt.

Dog Gone

Fandango61 Comments

We struggled over the past few months with the diminishing quality of life that our beloved dog was experiencing. Some days were okay, many were not. She spent much of each day sleeping, getting up only when she needed to go out to take care of business or to eat. And we often had to feed her by hand.

When she was up and around, she had difficulty walking, her hind legs unable to keep her backside from collapsing into an awkward sitting position.

Was she in a lot pain? Who knows? Like most dogs are, she was stoic. And if she was in pain, she never cried out or whimpered. We couldn’t ask her how she was feeling and she couldn’t tell us. Not in a way we could definitively understand. And not in a way that could give us any degree of certainty.

That’s what made our decision so difficult. Was it the right time? Were we prematurely taking away days, weeks, or even months from her life?

We spoke with our veterinarian, who came to our house yesterday afternoon. She confirmed that it was, indeed, time.

I suppose we’ll always second guess our decision, always feel a sense of guilt. But she’s gone now and we are heartbroken.

We miss her.

SoCS — Old and New

Fandango18 Comments

For today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday, Linda G. Hill wants us to explore “new/old” and to use either or both of the words — “new” and “old” — any way we’d like.

Typically, one might think of new and old to be opposites, where “new” has a positive connotation and “old” has a negative one. For example, there’s that cool new telephone you bought to replace your crummy old one, that new car that you got after trading in your old car, that new house you moved into after you sold your old house, or that hot new chick you’re seeing after you divorced your old lady.

But “new” and “old” are not always synonymous with the good or bad connotations often ascribed to them. I’m an old man, but after I retired I had to try to reinvent myself and to become a new man, which was a necessary and good thing to do. Now if only I could figure out how to reinvent myself from an being an old man to being a young man.

And there’s the “out with the old, in with the new” philosophy that seems to be embraced by so many these days. New and improved is not necessarily better than old and reliable. And yes, that’s a none-too-subtle jab at WordPress for having shitcanned the good old classic editor and replacing it with that awful new block editor, forcing some of us to decide if we even want to continue to blog on WordPress.

And with all that said, it’s time to greet the new day and to hope, with all the crap that is swirling around us, that it will be no worse than the old day was.

Have a nice Saturday, folks.