Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on August 26, 2025, 03:30:53 PMHi @Cmacinko , my daughter wants to be a paleontologist

I hope she starts going on adventures. There's no time like the present, and it gets more difficult each year with expanding Townsends. I hope for her all of the fun in the world

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on August 26, 2025, 06:50:22 PMWelcome CJ, it is delightful to meet another person from the American South. I have a brother who has also gone through a number of reconstructive surgeries, due to cancer. He struggles with chronic pain due to those procedures. If you experience the same what strategies do you use to cope with it?

I find that reaching out and finding new activities that use the parts of my body that still function best has been very effective at coping. Sometimes just finding a new way to socialize or a more happy job can quickly distract the brain from consistent pains or traumas. Id love to talk more about this at anytime. And thank you for opening up.

    My father is anything but proud of the two small hotels he owns in Colorado. They are beat up and need many things fixed. Due to this unfortunate circumstance, I have grown up with a hammer and a toolset. Albeit he works a large amount of time, I have learned many things. This circumstance lead to one of the most fun days I have had in a long time.

    One day, just after Christmas, we headed to one of the my father's properties for some work. Our job was to remove a wall. There at the unit, what awaited me was the most wonderful gift; a Sledge Hammer. When my patience had run thin waiting to break through and destroy a wall with dust that flew everywhere like a blizzard in the Himalayas. I shined a light down the crater that I had created and saw that dirt was below the wall, and vines grew up the hollow portions of the wall.

    Swing after swing against the wall I would put all of my anger and emotions into each launch of the Sledge Hammer. I could create a single earthquake with a slingshot of the hand. The high that was created felt perfect, and it was only created by the chaotic motions of the Sledge Hammer. But as quickly as it began, the last wall was demolished and it ended.

    Then we packed up and headed home, and nothing had changed. Yet for some reason I expected a change, an applause, or maybe gratitude. But it was only a narcissistic hope.