IB M

- might have been a system reaction?  I don't know... made me laugh... 

For both of my pregnancies,

When I arrived at the hospital

And told them I was giving

Birth, they did not believe me.

Apparently, I was too cheery

And laughing too much to be

In labor, so when they checked

Me out, they were surprised

I was indeed very much in labor.     (gave birth a few hours later each time)

The nurses were taken aback

By my demeanor, asking me

How I could be laughing like that.

Honestly, not sure why it made

Me laugh, but it did even though

It wasn't exactly painless.  They

Were confused, couldn't get over it.

So I asked them if it'd be better

That I scream and double over

Instead? They seemed so bothered,

It was a bizarre reaction, I thought.

I guess it's a very unusual thing for a

Woman in labor to show up laughing.

For whatever reason, contractions

Tightening spurred on laughs for me.

I can't explain it too well, and

As I said, it's not like it was

A painless affair or anything,

But it's just how it went for me.

I couldn't help myself from laughing.

-  pic:  early morning bird watching at the window... 

As you know, another great joy

In my life is my feline buddies.

We're still sad about Lilliput and Abbey,

And of course, they'll never be replaced.

But the house was so heavily empty,

Not having cats in our space was awful.

So we got ourselves two new buddies

From the shelter, one in 2024, one in 2025.

We first got a little girl of one who'd

Had a pretty rough start, found in a colony.

She was so scrawny and tiny when we

Got her, we decided to call her Mini.

Recently, we got a little boy of 7 months,

We kept the name he was given : Douglas.

He's the gentlest, sweetest cat, so affectionate.

He likes pets, belly rubs, kisses, and rubbing

His face in yours.  He's an absolute purr

Machine, instantly and constantly purring.

Mini is a sweet cat too, she's more reserved,

And a little more nervous than the other,

But she's our little shadow in the house,

Around us and curious about what's going on.

She wasn't too thrilled at first when Douglas

Arrived, it was a bit tense for a few weeks.

But this boy is zen, he never responded once with

Any aggression, he just laid down in front on her.

And last couple weeks, they've been playing

Together, having run sessions around the house

Or tapping the wiffle balls around and pulling

The strings from both ends together, things are good.

Even caught them grooming each other,

So I think things will go ok from here.

These two bring so much joy to me, I adore

Them.  Life with cats is simply the best!

Out of nowhere, you blurted out:

"You live your life as if

It owes you something!"

No idea whatever would give

You such an impression, it's so

Off, it's like you don't know me.

There isn't any part of me

That believes anything like that,

And I sure don't carry myself

In any such manner, either.

Life doesn't owe me anything,

And I've never contemplated it.

If you knew more about my life,

You'd realize how little space it

Had to reflect on such ideas...

What a bizarre thing to say.

Feels like it was said to you

And you reflected it my way.

There's no connection to me,

And it just doesn't apply at all.

I'm sorry, my friend, you're way off.

And to be honest, not really sure

What it means to live life as

If it owes you something... ?

Please forgive my bluntness,

But that sounds completely

Ridiculous as any sort of notion...

I don't know what to do with that.

Becoming a mother

Allowed me to create

My own world of love

And tenderness, so I did.

I did not have a model to

Base anything on, only how

I'd dreamed it, and with

My kids' love, it led me.

Love and tenderness,

It's all I'd ever wanted.

My kids made it possible,

So it's the world I created.

Love, affection, care,

Smiles, laughs, hugs,

That's the world I wanted

For my boys, it's the one

That we still enjoy today.

I feel fortunate to have had

The opportunity to build

This world so far removed

From all I'd ever known.

Being a mother allowed me

To be myself, to love freely,

And make a better reality.

My kids, they are my everything,

My greatest joy in life, my pride.

They've never been told, but

They've also been my saviors.

Today my boys have grown

Into fine young men indeed

Who are kind and thoughtful,

Very loving people to others.

Our world carries on...

My heart's in smiles.

Please don't congratulate me

For having "stopped the cycle",

'Cause that implies I put in

Efforts to not mistreat my kids.

No efforts were required,

And even though I had no

Model to emulate, it was

Always a no-brainer to me :

You don't do that to kids.                (or anyone else, for that matter)

So please, don't congratulate

Me for something that was

Never a problem to begin with.

Congratulations are for efforts,

And none were needed here.

That I did not repeat what was

Done to me is not an achievement,

It's only natural and too obvious.

The world needs to learn to live and let live,

And if we don't like each other, be kind, at least...

It's incredible to me how

You are comfortable and

Satisfied with these ideas

That make absolutely no

Sense in the realm of facts.

You believe our lives are

Overshadowed by these

Conspiratorial machinations

Designed to fool and control us,

You trust nothing and no one.

And how you base your beliefs

On things with no evidence, and

How sure you are that they're real,

Is absolutely mind-blowing and

So very difficult to understand.

I do listen to what you present,

But it doesn't take a high intelligence

To realize what you say doesn't hold

Any water, it's so ridiculous, you can't

Help feel like your leg's being pulled.

It's sincerely frightening that anyone

Can believe such made up nonsense.

The associations and conclusions you

Make are so incongruent with healthy

Reasoning, but you can't see it at all.

You're so obviously stressed and on edge, 

And anyone who disagrees with you

Is in on these conspiracies to fool you,

So you outright dismiss them and convince

Yourself those who disagree are the proof.

What kind of logic is that?

It baffles me that it satisfies you.

Was not feeling great 

About this news, so

Out of curiosity, went

To search the web for

Possible treatments that

Exist for this problem.

Stumbled upon this

Procedure : arthroscopy.

The Google AI definition

Describes it as follows :

Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used to diagnose and treat problems inside a joint, where a surgeon uses a small camera (arthroscope) and specialized instruments inserted through tiny incisions to visualize and repair damaged tissues. 

That seems like something

That could work for my

Problem, less drastic

To me than what the doc

Said, but now I'm left

Wondering why he didn't

Mention that before the

Hip replacement option.

Labrum issues have been

Repaired with this procedure.

Will have to ask him.

Asked the doctor how one

Goes about healing a split

In the labrum, and he said

There actually isn't a way

Known to heal it, and the only

Option, if things get bad enough,

Is a hip replacement surgery...

Not what I was hoping to hear.

He froze in his tracks when he saw Matt.

Stood there, and stared for quite a few

Minutes, trying to register what he was

Seeing.  It was definitely him, but how?

It's at that moment that he fully realized

What Élise was going through that night.

He tried to get closer to go talk to him,

But the pedestrian traffic of this city

Made that ineffectual, so he lost him

In the crowd.  Annoyed with himself

For having lost sight of him, he headed

Back home with this mystery hanging

Over his head, knowing this wouldn't be

Something he'd stop thinking about.

He'd have to find another time to

Catch up to him, there're so many

Questions that are heavily hovering,

And right now, they're unanswered.

This man supposedly died 4 years ago,

But that clearly didn't appear to be so.

When he got home, he called Élise to let

Her know that he too saw him today,

And they need to get together to find

A way to get closer to him so they

Can talk about what's really going on.

He was determined they'd find out.