WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?
In a world where people are dying while others cheer, where the unemployed are called "slackers", where we don't even know what sort of country awaits us, these trivial things called "f**king problems" may seem to fade into insignificance. Yet, for those of us faced with them, they are a really big deal. They put a damper on what would normally be, if not totally happy, at least a contented existence. They're the tiny pebble in the sneaker as we trod down the Path of Life, just enough to irritate the foot and make the journey a little more frustrating.
Follow me below the squiggledoodle for this week's submission...
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away -- okay, not that far away but it feels like a long time ago -- I was a pretty active person. Well, not so much physically active (given a choice between going out to play and staying in with a good book, I always preferred the latter), but I'd at least go out and do stuff. In college, I'd hang out with my friends at the campus center or (when I hit 21) the Pub where you could actually get beer (okay, it was usually Bud or Coors, but this was well before the craft brew phenomenon). Post-college, I'd go out for happy hour with the gang from work, or participate in the work bowling league, or hit one of the local festivals during the summer. In my dating life I'd go to clubs and dance, or hiking at local parks, or take in a movie. When my current spouse and I started dating, we'd spend our days off up in San Francisco at the museums, or drive over to Santa Cruz for a rousing session of pinball at the arcade, or go for a walk or hike, or hit the local comedy clubs. Even after we were married and settled into a semblance of domesticity, we managed to spend time together doing fun stuff as a couple, while still taking care of the household duties.
Now? It's been about 2 years since we've been up to the City. About the same amount of time since we saw a comedy show. Hiking? What's that? I think the last movie we saw in a theater was "Return of the King". As for the household duties, well, you don't want to know. Our life (or reasonable facsimile thereof) has become filled with family juggling -- not just our own household but those of my mother-in-law and brother-in-law as well. And it seems that we're taking a back seat to everyone and everything else. Even when we're not on the clock for anyone but ourselves, nothing gets done; I feel at the end of my rope sometimes, and not sure how I can get things turned around both for myself and as a couple. I still love my spouse deeply...but sometimes I don't like him that much.
Okay, I've had my pity party -- I'm sure most of you have deeper problems than mine. Let's hear them.