Makes sense Eric, I'll try, I know she's worth the try,

AAAAHHHHH, Eric, spoken like a very wise person......

I don't have HD but my phd does and he's having a hard time since stopping working. I ask him each day what he has done (just out of acting interested- not checking up on him) And he's not doing much but watching tv. I hope getting thru winter and getting into spring & I will be able to get him interested in doing more, like putting in the spring garden etc. I think he's in a slump. I did buy him the computer game "mind games for Dummies". We laughed - he wasn't insulted by the title as I myself have difficulty doing it. I'm thinking of getting a WeII (sp?) and get him moving.

Thanks for pointing that out Eric, I had no clue.

Jemi

I think enjoying our cat and dog has helped my hd spouse. He loved walking the dog and petting both animals has been very comforting. I believe pets can help everyone feel better. I trained the dog so she is gentle. Some pets can be too rough if not acclimated to the family but it's worth the effort to have a new four legged family member. Other pets can be enjoyable, too, like a hamster, fish, or bird which require less work.

Eric, that is my conclusion, and I feel very much that JL is right in in her own right, and I even understand her irritation that others keep goading her into saying what she actually needs to say. My feelings go out to JL, and I feel sad when Marsha or whoever blames JL for messing up the thread. It always takes two or more to tangle.

Dove, I agree that pets are and can be very important in our health, both physical and mental. Good point!

Wow, i've been in bed for a few days, good thing maybe? lol This is what i think. Fred, i absolutely loved your humor, and anyone, including you, was welcome on my thread. I'm sorry your son was brought up the way he was. I know you must feel sensitive about him. I had been wondering lately how he was doing, and was thinking of asking you that, so i am so glad to see the things you wrote. You sound very proud of him, sounds like he's a smart one for sure I'm glad Marsha tried to calm things down, it's so good knowing she cares about all of us, and tries her best. I think Eric's reminder is a good one, this is an hd forum, and some of us express our hd sometimes, including me, we're even more human on this forum than other forums, because we have phd's, we also have caregivers who can be stressed out at times, sometimes we have people that just need a good laugh, and other times people get hurt. But isn't this all part of life and getting along? It is the way we are, because we are people dealing with hd, and so i think under the circumstances we do really well, we all have frustrations, we all say we're sorry, we all love each other, and we can laugh together too.

Something i do that has helped me with my hd, is learning to laugh. I've always been such a serious person. Good friends here have taught me to laugh, and have also taught me it's ok to have a sad day, it's ok that i don't do everything for my family i used to do, and it's ok for my family to do for me now. And it's ok for me to just relax and enjoy the moment.

I think it is amazing who can joke and who can not joke on this website. I remember now why I have stopped daily reading and posting because in general my first response is to respond to someone, I go as far as typing and then before I hit the button I think WWJD? What will JL do with this post???? And then I think NAH it is not worth it.

I will stick to pm'ing too.

GEEZE

It was a joke. Anybody that could rub two brain cells together could tell I was joking.

Next thing I know, I'm a bad parent and a terrible role model and have no socially redeming qualities.

Eric said it best when he stated that there are "hot button" topics, but I thought joking wasn't one of them.

I could go on about how long it took me to lose all the weight I gained in my depression from the long caregiving time I spent with my wife. I could also go on about how I have to have surgery soon, and have postponed it so that I can try and help my company stay above water, even taking a pay cut so others could work.

I have pre-cancerous cells in my colon, and I need a bowel resection. It's a very extensive surgery, but I need to get some profit making programs online and my boss is counting on me to do it. I have to manage over 10 million dollars worth of equiment comming in and making sure that the existing programs say profitable in these bad times for automotive manufactures. A lot of people depend on me.

I could go on about how I found out my back is degenerating and I have to double my efforts simply to stay walking and it's making it difficult to continue at the pace I had grown accustomed.

I might also go on how much I miss my wife and how I have traveled to see her. I had to go and drive up 3 states and back to get her sister just to visit her twice in the last 3 months. And how all of feel over the condition she's in now. It tears her sister apart, and me, and our son now understands the ramifications of the illness since he's taken genetics in science class.

He got a 98.7% for the semester in Science. I think he understood the material.

But instead I made a joke.

Are we all depressed now?

Fred, Go get your surgery please, think about what the company would do WITHOUT you! Better yet, what would that boy do without you. You can't save the world, I've had to learn that too.. get that surgery, we care! (((((((((( FRED ))))))))))))

Don't worry, I'll be okay. Doc said I could wait for a few months. I deal better with only one crisis at a time.

Besides, If I'm gonna be out, I want it to be in nice weather so I'll wait until June. I can enjoy the heat and humidity of TN much better with long days.

How long ago did you get your results Fred? They say colon cancer is easy to beat if caught in time...i hope you're not waiting too long. But i know what you mean when a person has things they want to get done too. My daughter's fiance had colon cancer a couple years ago, he seems to be home-free now, we hope. His was caught early. I don't think he needed a bowel re-section or anything, i'm not sure what that means. I know he didnt end up with a colonoscopy bag. I'd like to hear more Fred. Are they giving you anything meantime like chemo or anything? Wonder how long your recovery will be. Do you think you'll need chemo and radiation? Thanks for telling us all this Fred, i like hearing how you're doing.