Get busy living... Or get busy dying..

Hi blondie

Keep doing what your doing my friend,you are a valued member of this site

Gamble frees the way forward

Carl

Hi Blondie,

I hope u r feeling better, u r doing brilliant 🙂

2 days and we complete the 90 day thread, yehhhhh!!

Thanks 4 all ur support 🙂

Have a gr8 nite xxxxxxxx

Evening Blondie

Hope your doing well! I always smile when i come to posting on your diary as it always makes me want to re watch the Shawshank Redemption due to the name of your diary!

Keep strong and positive

Forwards not back

Jewels x

Thank you everyone for the posts it always lifts my spirits

So today I look like a cross between leslie ash and the elephant man and im still feeling lifeless. Work is really busy and im feeling a little stressed and sad .

I think its the time of the year as november gets closer and the 1st aniversary of my dads death approachs I feel the cloud looming.

I know i need to keep talking about how im feeling and not bottle it up but these kind of intense emotions have always terrified me.

I look at the pain my mum is in sometimes at losing the man she loved and adored for 50 years and wish i could take away her pain and i cant, sometimes i just feel so useless.

Gambling is not on the agenda today. Today i will just go with how im feeling and try and talk about it as much as i can to the people i love.

I know it wont last forever and untill it lifts i have my all weather gear on to weather the storm.

Blondie x

Hi Blondie, glad you've still got that sense of humour. Even when times get bad that can give us a lift.

You talking about your Dad's anniversary got me thinking. My Dad died nearly fifteen years ago from cancer and I remember the rawness of those first few years. Every time I'd go round to see my mum for a split second I'd think 'oh Dad's in' because his car was still parked outside (eventually we sold it, when you get to that letting go stage, took us all ages). What I can say though is that the pain lessons with time. The memories and loss become less painful. Yet I can imagine that the first anniversary will be testing because its still relatively fresh or at least it was for me. Hang in there, grieve, be yourself, be there for your mum and take care.

Steve

Hey,

I think sometimes its almost easy to forget we come together on this site as compulsive gamblers! We get through a prolonged period of time without gambling and live this 'normal' life! My point is you talk now about so many areas and aspects of your life ones which may have been neglected before or certainly were not paid enough attention! This is the clearest sign you have come an extraordinarily long way in the last 6 months! As you approach what is going to be a difficult time for you I would very much give some thought to the word pride! You should know absolutely indefinitely that people are so proud of you Blondie! You are a new person and your new approach to life is totally applauded by everyone including your dad looking down on you!

Pride Blondie that's your word for the month!

Flagg

Hi blondie. Thanks for the post. I don't know what to say. It's a tough time for you and I hope you can stay strong and just focus on all the good times that happened with the two of you and your family.

Take care blondie. I agree with Flagg. Be proud of all that you are.

hi Blondie..

Thanks for posting hun even though you are in the sick bay...Leslie Ash?...shes a hottie!

Hope your feeling a wee bit better and are being kind to yourself whilst you are ill....

Thinking of you today...and it is natural to grieve and for you to feel those feelings of missing someone dear to you...

One things for sure.....Your dad would be proud of his girl.. : 0 ) xxx

Lots of love and hugs to you and the Rock...

Hold that Woody tight as he will make a great hot water bottle'..

R and D xxx

So i will reach my 6 month milestone soon and although im struggling at the moment trying to be upbeat and struggling to be supportive I found this today and it smacked me in the face.

Golf Balls are more important than Sand.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else—the small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

No gambling today Im to busy looking after my golf balls.

Blondie xxx

author: unknown.

Blondie.

I have that pinned to my fridge at home and at work , I got it from this forum on the honourable ADE's diary, so glad you found it, brilliant, oh I told charlotte to find it too a few weeks ago when she was struggling a bit.

Well done you for bringing it to the front.

Duncs stepping forward never back.

P.s keep shovelling that sand out!!!

Blondie that story is just brilliant, I will make sure I save that at all cost's! Thanks for bringing that up. Awesome!!!!!

Bet Free we remain!!

day 173 wow.

Thought id do a quick count see where i am as the 6 month mark is coming up wow !!

So its friday and its the last check in on flaggs thread another 91 days gamble free notched up from that, amazing effort everyone, so proud to have been part of it and looking forward to the next one.

I dont know if anyone had a read of the golf balls post i put on my diary yesterday but i think like duncs im printing that off and its going on my fridge and on my desk in work..

So today i committ to keep shovling out the sand and taking good care of my golf balls..

Onwards and maybe even a little bit upwards today.

Thanks for your support and posts everyone its always appreciated.

Blondie thank crunchie its FRIDAY yayyyy xxx

Hey Blondie,

Good luck for that 6 month mark! I'm sure you do not need it there sounds like your in the zone!

btw...I alway's take care of my golf balls!... Hehe. Now on a serious note, I never thought of it like that, really good story and I too have printed that off so I can have a read of that when I'm down and do something positive!

hehe

Have a good day!

JP

...check out the weather....can you tell i'm back ?....lol

gonna read your story when im off this train x

hugs

R and D xx

Hiya Blondie just dropping in, in celebration of completing the 90 day thread. A great acheviement. Like Flag said your a star and i think you are a shinning example to all of how a life can change. I think your doing fantastic.

Just read the golf ball story and its really clever and its spot on to. Hope that story and the big achievement of completing the thread has spured you on some more and lifted your spirits a bit - sounds like it has. I to look forward to the next challenge and will be checking out Flaggs post tomorrow and see what he has planned.

173 days is awesome and so close to that 6 months. Half a year, incredible stuff, keep it going.