tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post424397263775391243..comments2024-02-23T02:03:23.020-07:00Comments on The Eco Cat Lady Speaks: V is for VisionEcoCatLadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-25669337170039483912015-04-28T22:49:08.902-06:002015-04-28T22:49:08.902-06:00Perspective is a very powerful thing, isn't it...Perspective is a very powerful thing, isn't it? I hope it was just a "scare" and nothing serious! :-)EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-52781277366638464372015-04-28T20:33:17.213-06:002015-04-28T20:33:17.213-06:00Wow! That had to be rough to lose two people your...Wow! That had to be rough to lose two people your age like that. What a valuable lesson to learn so young, though. Isn't it interesting what being faced with our own mortality can do for us? I had a pretty big health scare right around my 31st birthday and that definitely changed my attitude about a lot of things, including aging. Danielle L Zecherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01492742250595537348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-59527494130707707682015-04-27T14:22:57.318-06:002015-04-27T14:22:57.318-06:00I think it is genetic because my dad has it too. I...I think it is genetic because my dad has it too. I had no idea it could have something to do with arteries that don't close properly though... I'm actually not even sure what that means, but it's a little bit disturbing!EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-16078638969103051052015-04-27T09:51:55.049-06:002015-04-27T09:51:55.049-06:00Are you my long lost twin? I've never had a na...Are you my long lost twin? I've never had a name put to it, but I think I have orthostatic hypotension, too. (A couple years ago, I discovered my father has always had the same thing, too, and he was diagnosed with a, probably congenital, artery in his neck that didn't close properly. I haven't bothered to talk to doctors about it since it is just an inconvenience, never sent me to the hospital.) I have the being blinded stuff, so I can totally understand how this happened to you. AnnMariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05505967972774910106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-7462879182195492682015-04-27T00:10:16.399-06:002015-04-27T00:10:16.399-06:00Oh Lois, I can't even begin to imagine what ch...Oh Lois, I can't even begin to imagine what childhood must have been like for you. The constant loss, always wondering if you were gonna be next. It must have been very difficult.<br /><br />I can totally relate to the double life thing. It's ironic, my mother came from a very strict family and spent most of her life rebelling against them - so she always had this idea that she wasn't "that king of parent." My father also prided himself on being an open parent. But the thing is, they both had HUGE emotional investments in how I lived my life - and the fact that they wouldn't own up to it didn't make the pressure any less. In a funny way it made it worse, because I always felt like I had to protect my parents from the truth about who I was.<br /><br />Anyhow, I do think that being confronted with the death of those your own age when you are young has a profound impact on people. K & R were actually not my first experience with it. In the fifth grade one of my classmates was struck by lightening and killed, and a neighbor girl a few years younger than me died from brain cancer. <br /><br />Did you ever read the Carlos Castenada books? I read them in college and the one thing that I've always remembered is the idea that you should always keep death close to you and remember that you are mortal because it will guide you to live your best life. Somehow, I think there is great truth in that.<br /><br />Anyhow, I must confess that I'm looking forward to the month being over, but I do think that blogging so much has helped me to take each post less seriously and just write - which was part of my goal - so I'm really glad that I did it! It also gave me a chance to pull a bunch of half-finished ideas out of my drafts folder and make them a reality - like this post. Not sure I would have done that otherwise.EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-32017654941233494612015-04-26T22:53:00.379-06:002015-04-26T22:53:00.379-06:00I often wonder if it's the moment itself that ...I often wonder if it's the moment itself that had the impact, or if it was just the grain of sand around which stuff that was already brewing could crystallize. Either way, I'm grateful.EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-25888080532772589252015-04-26T22:51:35.948-06:002015-04-26T22:51:35.948-06:00Agreed - Grateful for every day!Agreed - Grateful for every day!EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-42616815118738336832015-04-26T21:09:15.463-06:002015-04-26T21:09:15.463-06:00I can relate to the effect K and R's deaths ha...I can relate to the effect K and R's deaths had on you. I had a similar situation although for me it was stupidity that lost the lives of friends but the same disease I have. So many of my close friends died before their mid teens. most between the ages of 11 and 14. I was heartbroken when the parents of one of my closest friend's asked that I not attend the funeral or visit them for a while because it hurt them too much to see me still walking when their child had died. Between the loss of close friends from this disease and my grandparents fears that I wouldn't have a long life they encouraged me to experience everything I wanted while I could. <br /><br />So I did. I didn't let any thing stop me from doing the things I wanted. The problem was at home I was receiving mixed messages. They wanted me to experience life, but they had these expectations of what I was supposed to do with the life I had. I spent so many years living two lives. One my family saw hoping I would gain their approval and the other, the real me. It was hard to keep them separate and I felt like an actor much of the time. It wasn't until I was in my 30's that I realized they were never going to be happy with who I was and gave up the pretense and just figured the heck with it. <br /><br />I never thought before that maybe it was losing so many close to me so young that helped create the person I am. I just always saw it as a constant would that kept reopening each time another died.<br /><br />As for the hair styles. I had the Farrah hairstyle briefly. I was studying cosmetology so all my friends had me do their hair the same. One night at a football game I happened to realize that the group of friends I was with that night all had the same hair style. I went home and cut it off. I always wanted to be different. :-)<br /><br />I just noticed on your sidebar how few times you normally blog in a month, or for that case in a year. How are you holding up with the challenge of blogging every day?Loishttp://theecograndma.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-17913344701778050342015-04-26T11:55:58.193-06:002015-04-26T11:55:58.193-06:00What a beautiful story! I just found my way here ...What a beautiful story! I just found my way here from The Eco-Grandma, and I will definitely be back. It is strange, the moments that stick in our mind as times of change and realization. I can think of many such times in my own life.Bethany @ Online Therapy and Coachinghttp://onlinetherapyandcoaching.org/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-45925732378708909512015-04-26T00:43:58.293-06:002015-04-26T00:43:58.293-06:00Let's be grateful for what we have achieved so...Let's be grateful for what we have achieved so far! Naqveehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17815073544766423243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-15320206726139882322015-04-25T20:10:34.982-06:002015-04-25T20:10:34.982-06:00Wow... that's fascinating and a bit disturbing...Wow... that's fascinating and a bit disturbing about the news anchor thing. Whenever I watch the news, I tend to be... what's the word... "curious" (maybe?) surprised? horrified? about what the women are wearing - I especially notice it in the weather department, but maybe that's just because that's the part of the news I pay the closest attention to. <br /><br />Some of the clothes they choose seem almost bizarre to me - plunging necklines, figure-hugging dresses, heels so high I couldn't walk in them, lace sleeves & bodices, giant pieces of jewelry - like they're dressed for a cocktail party or something. <br /><br />Perhaps the fact that I notice makes me just as bad as everybody else, but I find it really distracting. Wouldn't it be better to just wear something simple and professional? Maybe our culture just hasn't adopted a "uniform" for professional women like we have for men.EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-65162798076011306222015-04-25T18:20:54.693-06:002015-04-25T18:20:54.693-06:00I was at my friend's 50th b-day party a few we...I was at my friend's 50th b-day party a few weeks ago (I hit the big one in a couple of weeks ... ) and I got a kick out of her school pictures from high school. My own outfits and hairstyles from those years looked eerily like hers ... the blouse with the ribbon tie around the neck ... the peasant-style, huge sleeved blouse ... and HER mom was more hip than mine--she allowed my friend to have those peel-n-stick initials on her glasses lens (the glasses were sooo big back then that you didn't have to worry about them obstructing your field of view). <br /><br />I think style is fascinating. A few months ago, I saw of clip on tv about a male news anchor who wore the same suit every day for a year just to see if any viewers would notice ... I don't think anyone did ... his point was that viewers watch female anchors with a highly critical eye but pay almost no attention to male anchors if their "uniform" is socially acceptable. Krisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-31683532678766231912015-04-25T17:32:00.964-06:002015-04-25T17:32:00.964-06:00Ha! Well, I think this photo was taken about a yea...Ha! Well, I think this photo was taken about a year or two before the Farrah hairstyle gave way to the shorter 80's dos - because I had one of those too! Fashion is such a ridiculous thing, isn't it?EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-84973856100062025132015-04-25T16:27:42.823-06:002015-04-25T16:27:42.823-06:00I use people like that as "object lessons&quo...I use people like that as "object lessons" for my kids--I want them to have empathy for the victims of bad choices, but I also want them to develop critical thinking skills so they can avoid similar scenarios in their own lives ... is that possible for adolescents? <br /><br />Add me in as your third person chuckling at the Farrah hairstyle. You were more cool than I was--I had no athletic skills whatsoever, had a short 80's style hairdo and those HUGE glasses with the bows at the side (the part of the glasses that hook over the ears) that were in the twisty-turny style that was so popular then. And I wondered why it was so hard to get dates ...Krisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-40848496641158038162015-04-25T14:26:05.735-06:002015-04-25T14:26:05.735-06:00Ha! Well, "teacher", "object lesson...Ha! Well, "teacher", "object lesson" - pretty much the same thing. I do feel grateful to have survived all of the stupid things I did in my own youth though! :-)EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-62454086817302077702015-04-25T14:24:19.519-06:002015-04-25T14:24:19.519-06:00Ha! I think it was a requirement for being a teena...Ha! I think it was a requirement for being a teenage girl back then!EcoCatLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704811319510740473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-75075743804180165592015-04-25T06:22:50.048-06:002015-04-25T06:22:50.048-06:00What a thought-provoking post. I've always tho...What a thought-provoking post. I've always thought of people who meet an untimely death doing something stupid as "object lessons" rather than teachers but I guess it's just semantics. <br /><br />live and learn - The Farah Fawcett shags were the first thing I noticed, too.Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05948800298547471988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7685979597473858413.post-55106162702188508972015-04-25T05:46:34.071-06:002015-04-25T05:46:34.071-06:00That is a very powerful story which gives us all p...That is a very powerful story which gives us all pause to think about our own lives. Thanks for sharing these very personal experiences.<br /><br />Now on a less serious note. When I looked at your team picture, I wondered if having a Farrah Fawcett hairdo was a requirement to be a member of the team. :)Live and Learnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13493777474885053903noreply@blogger.com