jackjanderson: (Crossword)
I am very proud with how well my girls are coping with the lockdown right now.

I know Lucy is really struggling due to her routines being off - she can't go to the gym or any of her support groups. We can't go on any of regular dates (me/Samantha, me/Lucy, Samantha/Lucy, all of us - we have weekly dates). But we're taking longer walks with the dogs each morning, spending more time outside in the garden. We're also having a lot more sex. Twofold - life-affirming in scary, death-filled times, but also the BDSM element helps calm her mental health issues. I'm sure there's some psychological reason but all we know/care about, is that it works.

Mental health wise, Lucy is struggling. I know she's hallucinating more and she's telling us that they're saying both Samantha and I are already dead, she's seeing us as dead. Her anxiety is high and her mood is low. I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying it must be for her. All we can do is support her the best we can. I just want to hold her, and she just wants to clean.

Samantha, on outward appearances, is coping remarkably. She's adjusted swiftly to lecturing remotely and is continuing to support her colleagues and students. She's a shining light. She is, however, having terrible nightmares and, similar to her trauma last year, is utterly afraid either Lucy or I are going to die, and doesn't want to let either of us out of her sight.

Me? Well my trauma response is numbness, supporting the people I love and eating my bodyweight in carbohydrates and sugar. I'll deal with everything after the end of times and I know my girls are safe

May 1st

May. 1st, 2019 04:46 pm
jackjanderson: (Jack & Daniel)
A couple of unrelated points:

I'm sick. I've got some kind of virus, started coming down with it last night - temperature, congestion, coughing, sneezing and very little throat. No appetite and all my old bones are aching. Probably only a bad cold but it's a doozy of one. Today has most been spent curled up on the couch, watching Star Trek on Netflix and doing crosswords on my tablet.

I do not like my twitter name. It's currently [profile] flyingtojack. [personal profile] jackjanderson has already been taken which is annoying because that would be my preference. So, my question, as I'm pondering this, is: how do you choose your social media handles?

I mentioned in my last post that Samantha has been 'suggesting' that Lucy & I start blogging again. With Lucy, it's become less of a suggestion and more of a demand so I suspect Lucy will also start updating her journal again. It helps with her mental health, gives her an outlet and she enjoys being able to talk to people about fandom things. I know I do enjoy blogging when I'm doing it but always struggle to think of things to post so I went onto the Pinterest and found one of those 30 day writing challenges. I was going to answer the first one in this post but honestly feel like I'm about to go back to sleep, so maybe later
jackjanderson: (Crossword)
Samantha and Lucy have been all about self-care lately - massages, spa days, yoga, meditation, guided relaxations... that kind of thing. It made me stop and think about what self-care means to me.

It doesn't mean any of that to me. Although I'm not going to turn down a good massage.

To me, it's more about making time for me in my daily life. It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day stuff, in the routines of life, in the things that are important to be done. It's about taking the time to stop, put some music on, a mug of coffee and a good book or going out for a meal and a movie with my girls. Sometimes, it's bigger and it's going fishing for the weekend, going to a football match.

I definitely feel better when I take time to connect with people - with Samantha and Lucy, with my son, with my friends. My relationships with the people in my life are important to me so it seems just as important to make sure they're healthy as well.

As I get older, it's important to me to take care of my physical health. I have a number of old injuries that need to be cared for properly. It's been a long, slow, process but I am learning that if my back or my knees start to hurt, I need to stop what I'm doing and care for them - whether that's taking a little break, some gentle stretching, applying heat or ice, or taking painkillers. Sometimes it can mean a massage or a trip to a chiropractor but it's about knowing my body and what I need to do for in that moment.
jackjanderson: (A Little Piece Of Heaven)
Those of you who read [personal profile] quantumcupcakes blog already know this but I broke my wrist at the weekend. I slipped on a damn LEAF, put my hand down to break my fall, broke my wrist instead and knocked myself out. Spent a day and a night in hospital for reasons of concussion and frightened the life out of poor Samantha who's been texting me all day to make sure I'm ok.

Today I'm looking at A song that moves you forward

There's something about Bach - Toccata And Fugue In D Minor that always gets the blood pumping

I had intended on posting a meme I've seen floating around but this cast is too cumbersome. If I thought I typed slowly beforehand, I'm even slower right now. I'd still be here at Christmas - and probably the one in 2018!
jackjanderson: (Han Solo)
Apparently I've lost a stone and a half of weight since I've retired. OK there's no apparently, because I stood on the scales and they're the ones that told me I'd lost the weight since the last time I stood on them. I guess I should say that I've accidentally done it, unintentionally.

Regardless, I've lost 21lb. Or 9.5kg depending on which form of measurement you ascribe to.

I'm not saying I couldn't have done with losing the weight. Samantha has in fact been nagging me to lose weight for months and now that I've lost some I do feel better. If more continues to drop then great.

How have you unintentionally lost 21lb in 10 weeks, Jack? I hear you asking.
(You are asking, right?)

I'm not exactly sure. I'm drinking less coffee, I'm eating less cake and biscuits, I'm snacking less in general - and when I am snacking it's on the healthy things in the house; fruit & veg mostly.
This is all directly related to not being in the office. Also connected is getting more exercise - longer walks with the dog in the morning, not sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day, helping Lucy with the housework, more sex.

Shocking, I know. Eating healthy and more exercise = weight loss. I'm just not used to losing weight without making an intentional effort to do so.
jackjanderson: (Crossword)
It's a little before 6am on a Sunday morning, I'm full of cold, home alone and wide awake. The wide awake is mostly a combination of an empty bed and not breathing - but the home alone/empty bed is no related to having a cold.

Lucy's sister Susan went into labour early, two beautiful girls born late Friday night. Amelia and Olivia (Millie and Vivi). Small but healthy as expected for being born 2 months early. Samantha has taken Lucy to be with them and will be back later this morning.

I'm killing the sleepless hours online and came across this 25 Questions survey. Answering and sharing it seemed like a good idea.

1. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? Closed. Leave them open and it'll cast weird shadows and freak the dog out, or one of the cats will get in there.
2. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? Bullet journal layout idea
3. Do you sing in the shower? Yes I do. This morning the girls were very entertained by my rendition of Time To Say Goodbye
4. What inspires you? Passion
5. Would you bungee jump? 'Would'? I have and it was great fun
6. Do you have any pets? We have four right now - two cats and two dogs. Samantha would have horses if she could/we had the land and I know Lucy wants rabbits so this may change
7. What book are you reading? Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol
8. Last book you read? Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code. Jack re-reads Robert Landgon 2017
9. Are you a sports fan? Yes. I support Manchester City and my local team in football. I also enjoy rugby, ice hockey and formula 1 racing
10. Last Person You Talked To On The Phone? Samantha
11. Favourite foods? Roast beef, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, parsnip, broccoli, peas, carrots, mustard and gravy.
12. Mountain Hideaway or Beach House? Can I have a place on the beach with the mountains behind it? No? Oh just the beach house then
13. Last thing you listened to? Strauss - The Blue Danube
14. Growing up, which were you favourite cartoons? Oh God. Woody Woodpecker, The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons... I was a big Hanna Barbera fan
15. What are you listening to now? Birdsong from the garden
16. Relationship Status? In a committed poly triad
17. Biggest Fear? Losing my mind
18. Dream destination? I would love to experience Las Vegas
19. Are you in school? If so what are you studying? I'm thinking of taking some online classes in psychology
20. What is your favourite song at the moment? I don't think I have a favourite per se. Bring Him Home from Les Miserables has been rattling around inside my skull recently.
21. Favourite Movie? Star Wars
22. Favourite color? Green.
23. Where do you want to be in 5 years? Alive
24. Batman or superman? Yes.
25. Who is your favourite villain? There's so many good ones to chose from. Darth Vader, The Joker, Hal 9000, Voldemort, Moriarty, Red Skull, Loki, Ra's Al Ghul, Magneto, Lex Luthor...
jackjanderson: (Black Canary)
As much as I like to try and stay young at heart, every once in a while my body decides to remind me of my ever-increasing age. Today is one of those days where my knees and back are quite loudly pointing out that I am in my 60s and have injuried myself numerous times over the last few decades.

I have spent much time today enjoying the relief brought to me by various analgesics and strategically placed hot and cold packs. My day has been mostly spent on the couch, with my legs up, a cat on my lap and my dog at my feet. Samantha and Lucy have been alternately curled up with me and caring for their old man. There was also some napping and some adult activities.

I've been reading 1984, playing Candy Crush Saga, listening to the Top Classical playlist on Spotify (50 best classical recordings from today's leading performers, including 2016 Grammy nominees) and watching season 1 of Bones. It's not a show that Lucy's a fan of but Samantha is a big fan of the 'here's a dead body, lets solve the case' type stories and I love detective.

Normally all of that would add up to the perfect rainy Satuday afternoon. But. Days like this when I'm feeling every single one of my years I start to wonder why my beautiful girls are with an old man like me. They're both younger than me and I can't help but think one day they'll wake up and realise I'm not in my 40s like I used to be. I've mentioned it before and Samantha always says she's not in her 30s any more either but I still think she's beautiful, which she is and I do. And then she smacks me and tells me to stop being so stupid.

And so I do.

About Me

I'm Jack, a recent retiree looking for a new hobby. Apparently 'annoying my girlfriend' isn't the best use of my days. Her opinion, not mine

I'm a life-long science-fiction and superheroes fan, and a voracious reader. I enjoy movies, fishing, astronomy, and gardening.

I live in Wales with my wife, our girlfriend and an ever growing collection of four-legged friends.

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