In which your host is still pretty fucking furious but has decided to stick around for another week.

On Remembrance Day I took time to think about both my grandfathers who served in WWII, though neither of them were in combat positions. They both were also way too fond of a drink, my dad’s dad especially. You could blame it on the tough lives they led before they got to enjoy adulthood, or on them being Irish/Scottish, or multiple other excuses that the addict can conjure up. But this week I’m thinking about how I’m sorry I didn’t get to know my dad’s dad better (he died of a heart attack when I was four). And how I’m sorry my beloved maternal grandpa didn’t get to enjoy his retirement longer (he died of colon cancer at age 71).

While I’m disappointed (to say the fucking least) with choices made all over last week — including here — it’s good to remember that in spite of personal foibles people can stand up to help, to volunteer, to serve. The perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of the good, and so forth.

This isn’t a new thought — it’s been expressed multiple times on The Avocado just in the last week, not to mention the last 8 years — but in the context of this thread I’m thinking about helping as a habit. (As Mr Rogers said, look for the helpers.) In the context of ::gestures around:: is there a way to make helping a habit even when one’s own house is not in order, or should one even try under those circumstances?

Anyway. Rambling a bit. I didn’t quite manage my goal of staying entirely away from the PT, but I reminded myself to get out when I found myself mindlessly scrolling, and I did check out several other threads that I need to remember to follow more often. Yes, this is the extent of the good habits I’m cultivating this week, but: baby steps.

How are you all doing?