Yesterday was one of those special 'good' days, that turn up every now and again, that help give me a real sense of hope.
I'm really getting a sense of mutual positiveness, coming from chatting with other like-minded MS-ers on Twitter - very encouraging, and feeling that I'm not so 'alone' with this.
I spent a few good hours yesterday, also tidying-up/tweaking my blog here-and-there... just some grungy/hackwork stuff I've been meaning to do for months, but one of those "never seemed to get around to it" things. Hey, it wasn't on my "To Do List'!
I've spent a bit of time working on sketching out the framework for this new writing attempt/book as well - as of yet untitled. It's feeling positive to recall some pretty angsty memories... I'm seeing them in a different 'light', so that why it feels easier for me to talk about it now.
I've even been a good boy, when it comes to my eating... two nice home-made green salads in two days! (Pats self on back) (grins).
This week I managed to find copies of some great "The Goodies" episodes (they were huge here in Australia... I grew-up watching them!). Some of the episodes I haven't seen in 30 years - and there's even a few I found, that I have never seen before! Ooooh. Some of the original BBC recordings were lost, but fans and collectors have managed to find re-recordings of these episodes - which is fantastic. I had 16 episodes already on DVD, and about another 6 or so on an old VHS video tape (from about 20+ years ago...), but nothing else! Now I have about 78 episodes - probably all of them! My middle son LOVES The Goodies too, so he'll be seeing them soon as well. Very cool.
We had an amazing thunderstorm come through yesterday evening - just as I was about to pack my music things in my car for jazz quintet rehearsal - of course! Ahh, but what magnificent rain... literally came down in sheets and buckets, for about 30 minutes (it's been SO dry here lately - any good rainfall like this is most welcome!)
I managed to put my guitar, amp and bag into my car between bursts. Driving the five-or-so blocks to our practice venue (Ahh! How I love living in a country town! When I used to live and play in Sydney, it would take me upto one hour to get to our rehearsal space!)... the water was physically gushing down the road - localised flooding! I almost didn't make it across one intersection, as the water pooled across the road. I passed another car while I was underway, and we both made eye contact, and shook our heads in amazement, at the amount of water that had so suddenly pooled across the road. Catch-22... 10 minutes later, it all would have run off into the river.
Maybe it was the sudden change in the weather (I've read things like that can affect...), but my right hand was basically numb from the MS. That's the hand I strum with, whilst playing guitar in our jazz band. My left hand was basically useable, to finger the chords etc. I felt fine playing, despite this setback for today. We had a special guest sitting-in on double bass, which helped everyone play really well together. It's always nice having someone new come in every now and again, and Jon was a delight to play with. Our time together felt "good" - fun, relaxing, and enjoyable - all what it should feel like when playing music with other good players. Yeah! Our beloved Henry (our bassplayer), even tho he's 'retired', is always busy... we're looking forward to when he's able to play with us again. We've got two gigs/performances coming up in the next 3 weeks, so it's always positive to have something to focus toward together. "A good time was had by all".
Afterwards we all were just hanging out in the carpark, just spending time together talking, catching up. Driving home afterward, I literally went "Squeee!" with delight - this was like what we used to do in Surprise (my old band for years ago) - just hang out after rehearsal (sometimes until like 1am!), simply because we enjoyed just hanging out together. It was the same - and it made me feel so energized! Thanks Pengopuss!
Peas be with ewe
Mal
Mal
Good to witness you focusing on the good stuff in a day! I'm sure the band is giving you a sense of belonging on this planet and that one day will surely follow another. Will be interesting to see you progressing with your book, too. Friend Ariel from FB has penned a stack of mind-boggling stories about his experiences with mental illness, but not quite an autobiography yet. And there's an idea for you as well- you don't have to write it all at once or in the right order! Express yourself!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your continued encouragement to me, Kay. I appreciate and value your online friendship. Yes yes... when it comes to writing this thing, I'm sketching out a framework, then I can write bits as they come to me, as they fit on that framework [if that makes sense]. Oh blah blah blah. hahahaaa.
DeleteI'm trrish from Twitter. I'm also a musician. I'm glad to hear you had a good day! those can really help with the hope, as you say. This relapse i'm having has locked up my hands and i can't play. Keyboardist. Still going to rehearsals to keep up but don't know how long this is going to go on. typing is gonna be the next thing to go. i'm researching software to help with it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, trrish. Having MS hands is so frustrating for a musician, isn't it? I play a bit of keyboard, but I haven't tried to play it yet, for fear of, well, the same thing - NOT being able to play it! Oh, silly me.
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