4 ms·
Staying sane by staying busy. My wife is slowly dying and is a thousand miles away at a hospital, hoping they can save her. Today I cleaned a workshop area that
by geocrasher 7y ago
Staying sane by staying busy. My wife is slowly dying and is a thousand miles away at a hospital, hoping they can save her. Today I cleaned a workshop area that I'd been using for storage so that I could use it as an actual workshop. I have car parts to rebuild (Chevy 350 TBI at least) and I have things to build, like a recumbent bicycle from scratch.
I am also working on learning CW (aka Morse code), learning to play bass (already play guitar) and am trying to stay busy helping others too.
In addition to all that I do breakfix computer work on the side and a freelance gig writin technical tutorials for a site that specializes in selling small to medium sized, low budget VPSs. That has me learning things like Nginx and Redis, which I've never really spent any time on. It's great fun and my first professional writing job.
I also have a blog where I document my ham radio, automotive, and other misc projects, although I'm woefully behind on it. I built a 20 meter CW transceiver last week (from a kit) and have yet to post about that. I also had to repair a cracked body on the bass I am learning to play, but didn't even take pictures. Writing about things while you do them takes twice as long, at least. I'm lazy.
Lastly I took a recent promotion. I work remotely, training new employees at the web hosting company that I work at. I also develop training materials and am revamping how we approach that stuff. I've never done that before. It's the first time I've been off the front lines, and I like it. A lot.
Thankfully I have a lot to keep me busy so that my mind can focus on what I'm doing rather than on the troubles that plague my wife. She'll either survive or she won't, and my worrying won't affect it. All I can do is support her. Our adult daughter is her full time caregiver (I am not cut out for that, and we're all okay with it, I promise) and is with her, and that has to be good enough.
I've been blessed with an amazing support network and a few extra bucks to let me stay busy on projects. If I didn't have those to keep me going... eesh.
Lastly, I'm glad somebody asked this question. I had a lot to get off my chest. And if this didn't make a lot of sense, I apologize. It's a bit of a brain dump.
- jessehorne 7y agoI ask a lot of questions here sometimes. None of them have been nearly as rewarding at this. If you ever need a remote-buddy to discuss/hack on things, let me know. I can't imagine what you're going through but it's good to remain positive and productive. My email is j.horne2796@gmail.com
- geocrasher 7y agoI appreciate your kindness :)
- OrangeManBad 7y agoMost psychologists would recommend mindfulness techniques to deal with traumatic events, suppression usually comes back to bite later. please take care of yourself.
- sjroot 7y agoThoughts going out to you and your family. I’d be interested in checking out your blog!
- geocrasher 7y agoThat's very kind, thank you. https://miscdotgeek.com https://miscdotgeek.com. I didn't post it because it wasn't relevant, but now it is I guess :)
- mceachen 7y agoHaving loved ones have health issues is the worst. Consider keeping a daily log/diary just to have some place to put down what you're feeling, or just tactically what you did that day. That routine helped me when my Mom passed from cancer and I was one of her caregivers. Good luck to you and your family.
- fevziomurtekin 7y agoI hope all your wishes come true. Your wife can save.