Ya gotta feel what you feel, acknowledge it, and try to navigate the fricken waters.....by processing it, figuring it out if you can (digging deep sometimes), and then after a good amount of tear-shedding.......

pick up your boots, and kick it to the door, until it comes back again.

Then you rinse, and repeat. I think life is full of cycles, sometimes full of shit, and shitty cycles. But that is the way it is, and with that, comes moods which come in cycles. Some which come and go, some emotions which have to be washed 100 times, and then finally put into the dryer, folded up, put away on a shelf for a while, only to be worn, again, washed again.....


Like i said rinse, and repeat! I got a lot of loads of laundry to do! Problem is, sometimes I don't know how many washes I got do, before it's time to dry, fold, and put away!

Men have just as much right to sadness as women.... I don't beleive that any gender is stronger than the other and I hate stereotypes...

Yes, Rman, you have permission to be sad.. to cry and to vent!

If you have responsibilities to children, then yes, you must continue to function for their sake. Still, it is not innappropriate for them to see that you are every bit an emotional being as the opposite sex. I have never hidden that from my children...they have seen me at my weakest and at my strongest.

What I am dealing with now is, they don't call me to ask how I am feeling since my surgery and that makes me sad. I know they are just kids and consumed with things kids should be consumed with, but, if the roles were reversed, I would be having them call the ex more often to see how she was feeling.

Struggling to let my feeings about this go...

Sucking it up and man-ing up doesn't make the feelings go away, it just means you drive on!

There was a day when the company was doing land nav in a driving rainstorm. Everyone was getting lost and bitching. One of the drills said "Embrace the Suck"

It didn't change that it sucked. It sucked like a vacuum cleaner. But we drove on.

So be sad Rman. Embrace that sadness and then gather what you can of yourself and drive the fuck on.

Feelings are what they are.

I feel panic about the future about once a day. So ok, I learn from that and know that I have to work and study and drive myself.

But I also take time for happiness and gratitude.

@Desertmouse I bet that desert can be really pretty at times.

stellar

Rman - You worry me. Emotions do not make you weak. Express your emotions in private if you don't feel comfortable about expressing them in front of your family. If the sadness is overwhelming, then please make an appt to see a counselor.

Sylph - I hope your surgery went well and you recover quickly. Call your children and tell them how you are doing. It doesn't accomplish anything to sit around stewing about it.

Not this desert.

We don't get to be out in it really. Too much gear, too many check points, too much wire, too many other things. It is a barrier between us and the desert. I did one see a blue and biege bird that had this triangular point on its head, like a crown.
So it is a wounded desert, but I imagine at one time...