It’s possible to live without any objects. Material items are not necessary to life. Air, water, and food are absolutely essential to maintain life. Shelter is also essential to keep us from the extremes of hot, cold, and the various forms of precipitation.
Clothing is also pretty important for survival. As is healthcare, which is denied to many. Those of us who are privileged enough to have healthcare undoubtedly survive longer than those without.
They say you shouldn’t, that it’s not good for you, but you can live without human interaction. I don’t think you should either, but it is possible to survive without it.
I suppose I could survive without my migraine medications, but I wouldn’t want to, to be honest. It would not be a life of quality nor quantity. I am grateful every day for advances in science, and for the privilege to not be denied them.
I’m taking this prompt literally, which isn’t usually my style. I like to answer with a quip or a heartfelt response. But today I feel that to answer with anything other than the basic necessities to survive feels bougie to me. It feels disingenuous, flippant to the people who can’t have these things for whatever reason. Today I will just say that I am grateful for all that I have. I do not take them for granted.
What experiences in life helped you grow the most?
I helped my neighbor out yesterday by clearing out trash and debris in her front yard. and by disposing of a dirty, vacant cardboard box that once housed a neighborhood cat, possibly a stray, but I doubt it.
My neighbor was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis early last year. I took care of taking out and returning her trash cans each week and getting her mail every day until she recovered enough to be able to do these things. She had a benchmark birthday in August and was looking forward to this upcoming year. I am claircognizant, and so when she said this, there was a twinge inside of me and I kept quiet. She was finally got her strength back from being hospitalized for the RA. I surely wasn’t going to ruin that.
In November I started noticing a lot of cars at her house. One day around Christmas I saw her relative outside. I asked the woman if my neighbor was OK. She told me my neighbor had been diagnosed with leukemia and was in the hospital, and that she would likely be there for quite a while. In January, I asked again how my neighbor was, and was told that she caught Covid while in the hospital. There was someone staying at her house, and it became a bit untidy. Trust me when I tell you that “untidy” is an understatement..
I found out a month ago that my neighbor was cured of leukemia and survived Covid. She went to a nursing rehabilitation facility to gain strength. She returned home earlier this week. She is very weak and has to build strength to be able to get back to walking. She told me that Covid almost killed her. I have no reason to doubt it. I consider it a miracle that she is alive. And I am so thankful that she is.
I woke this morning with a bad headache, probably a migraine type, with my usual dizziness. But I am awake, I am alive. My neighbor is alive. I will once again take up my duty as trashcan coordinator and mail distributor. And I will do it gladly, for as long as it takes. I’m sure my neighbor will recover and be able to take her dog for walks again. Maybe as spring turns to summer, and the days are a little warmer, I’ll see her out there being walked by her dog. Yes, I’m sure of it.
I thought of this song when thinking of this prompt. I don’t know if anyone will remember this song, but it was one of my favorites at the time. I still think it’s a great song. Let me know in the comments if you remember this song, and/or if you like it.
Almost Lover – A Fine Frenzy
Your fingertips across my skin The palm trees swayin’ in the wind Images
You sang me spanish lullabies The sweetest sadness in your eyes Clever trick
I never wanna see you unhappy I thought you’d want the same For me
Goodbye my almost lover Goodbye my hopeless dream I’m trying not to think about you Can you just let me be? So long my luckless romance My back is turned on you Should’ve known you’d bring me heartache Almost lovers always do
We walked along a crowded street You took my hand and danced with me Images
And when you left you kissed my lips You told me you’d never ever forget these Images No
But I never wanna see you unhappy I thought you’d want the same For me
Goodbye my almost lover Goodbye my hopeless dream I’m trying not to think about you Can you just let me be? So long my luckless romance My back is turned on you I should’ve known you’d bring me heartache Almost lovers always do
I cannot go to the ocean I cannot drive the streets at night I cannot wake up in the morning Without you on my mind So now your gone and I’m haunted And I bet you’e just fine Did I make it that easy To walk right in and out of my life?
Goodbye my almost lover Goodbye my hopeless dream I’m trying not to think about you Can you just let me be? So long my luckless romance My back is turned on you Should’ve known you’d bring me heartache Almost lovers always do
This DIY project is a lot more than I bargained for. The structure is OK, except for the neck area. That area has been condemned. Overall though, the structure is solid, though antique. It’s a registered historical site. The progress is slow, but the work continues. (The neck might need some scaffolding, though.)
If I knew that, I would know how to make these blog prompts better.
No one can know the answer to this question. You may think you can, but you cannot. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. You can lose everything, you can gain everything. You have no idea what your biggest challenge will be in six months.
Edit: after I wrote this this morning, which will now be yesterday morning as this is a scheduled post, I got into a car accident. It was a normal day, I was coming home from the store, and Bam. A car accident. A cascade of unpleasant events occurred from that point on. I am OK (I think) and the person involved the accident was also OK. But what I’m saying is, life can change in an instant. There is no way to know what your biggest challenge will be in six months. There is no way to know what your biggest challenge will be today.
It’s OK to feel like you don’t fit in. Please don’t pluck your eyebrows so thin. They will never grow back. Learn how to drive mom’s stick shift. There will come a time when they won’t exist anymore. Crazy, right? Do not get rid of your white denim Guess jean jacket. In 2024 you’ll be wanting it back. (But thanks for keeping the blue denim Guess jean jacket.) Don’t worry about that boy. Or that other boy. I know, it was sad when Matt moved away. You’ll never know what happened to him. But remember that day when he put a dime in your penny loafers and jammed it so far in you couldn’t get it out? Well, when the shoes got too old and you remembered the dime was in there, you spent an hour digging it out. Then you taped the dime to your journal. It’s still there. You should’ve asked Mark R. if you could’ve had a ride in his Cabrio. He would’ve said yes. Remember how you and your friend would pass notes to him in the hallway? You’ll keep those letters. But you’ll never look at them until now when you’re writing this and you’re thinking about it.
The whirlwind that was junior, senior and then freshman college year will be worth it. Because of all of that, you learned to see everyone equally. And you’ll never forget hiding in the dorm closet with the alarm going off. Don’t worry about being shy. As you get older, you’ll learn to be more extroverted, even though inside, you feel the same as your teenage self. Still misunderstood.
Enjoy the friends you have, because as you get older, it becomes harder to make new friends. Never lose your love for animals.(Spoiler: you don’t.) You will keep the friend you’ve known since you were seven. The one that made mud pies with you. She also threw up on you and your stuffed panda on the bus in third grade, but we won’t talk about that. It remains a sore subject, and she still laughs about it.
You’ll reminisce about high school, but you won’t ever want to go back. And when you get to sophomore year college, daddy dies. It happens before you can fix your broken relationship. So you’re stuck with a lot of loose ends. You will work the rest of your life on that, and many times, not know what to do with them.
There will be a point in time where you will regret arguing and fighting with mom. Try not to do it too much. You can’t get that time back. Please, please listen.
Your life will not turn out as you planned. Nothing usually does. Your braces will come off and your teeth will look straight but then 15 years later, they will go back to where they were. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you that part. Sorry.
You’ll go to some tennis tournaments and have the time of your life. I’m not even gonna tell you what happens. I’m just gonna let you live it.
P.S. Do not get rid of the peach high top Converse. You know the ones where you wrote “I love Johnny Depp ❤️” on the sole? Don’t get rid of those. (She did.)
Just always remember to keep smiling and laughing even when things get really difficult. We got this.
16 year old Amy, you should have kept this velvet newsboy cap…
“It's Amy,” I said. 