Context: I felt quite overloaded at times this work-week, but quickly realized I was carrying others’ (and, I’m not referring to clients) emotional baggage…so…

Am I glad to see you, Wonderfuls…I’ve been sitting here mulling some things over; and perhaps you can relate.

Having said that, with Halloween just around the coroner—this tricky treat has (lowered/sinister) shades of a cautionary tale about the perils of shortcuts best not taken…

So, “Welcome To The Hotel Cali-Warn-Ya”.

(*And, I’m hoping you won’t resort to checking out if you don’t get my wordplay right away…I’ll fill you in at the end. 🙂 *)

Here we gho(st)…

Do you ever have those days when you think you’ve pushed your luck too far?

Well, upon arriving home from work, I realized the wind hadn’t blown my leaves away…and, I wasn’t impressed (blown away) either!

However, seeing that my neighbors to either side seem to be as (*ahem*) relaxed about raking as I am,

I’ve deflected personal responsibility by wondering why it’s only my grass that’s litterally stuck with double the,

“Look-at-me!  Look-at-me!”, negative-attention-seekers.

It’s as though, having felt the wind tugging at its leaves’ sleeves,

the foliage shrugged off its coat and lazily let it fall to my,

“Vell-there-crows the neighborhood!”, lawn.

(*That last bit is a nod to Dracula’s accent and Edgar Allen Poe’s grimness.*)

And,

while I’m tempted to shake a brisk fist at the wind,

I don’t want to get on its bad side,

so, I’m giving that big Blast-turd a (passive-aggressive) pass, and leafing it at that…

(*If you’ll indulge me, Terrifics…let’s take a time-pout for an apology for the preceding vulgarity and  lack of forthwritefulness.  You see, hopped up on Timbits, my sense of humor isn’t always in league with my sweetness-and-light heart…so, I’m absolving myself by resorting to a Flip (my lid) Wilson defence…“the devil(‘s food cake) made me do it”.  Second, if you’ve ever fallen victim to an ill wind, you’ll understand I can’t face that blow-hard for, last winter, I caught the flu as quickly as time flies!*)

As for my neighbors’ leaves, I figure that—

having been swept up in a turf-guy tug of war —

a truce had them settling on middle ground (AKA, my property)…

And, for my (center) part, ‘truth is—me failing to rake my lawn is a combo of laziness, weariness…and, priority-setting…

I often accomplish the bigger things by letting the little things slide.

Case in Point:

Swamped by an avalanche of case/work notes, I was telling my colleague/friend that,

because I’m a writer at heart,

recording other people’s challenges can be akin to eating cake by power-lifting a 50 pound spoon to your mouth…

It’s like a clothing designer having to create uniforms for an oppressive regime…

It takes all the good feeling out of the task!

And, just to be clear—I’m not saying that my workplace/organization is oppressive—

I’m speaking to the societal ills that maintain an unequal distribution of privilege…

Privilege (and, lack thereof) that directly impacts the mental health, and soul-nourishing opportunities of those I support in my counseling role…

So, I’m here to remind myself that I need to focus on turning my personal (head) space into an (emotional) conservation area….

And, given my determination to be my authentic self,

I’m following my—

“When a problem comes along, you must snippet”—

Devo/comic relief frame-of-reference.

And, speaking of witch…

In the continued spirit of Halloween, here’s the skinny on some of the lighten-my-heart snippets that occurred to me this week…

(*Admittedly unsophisticated, they’re a bit of a (taffy apple) stretch…but, they cancelled out many a grave thought this week 🙂 *):

—Sang the skeleton crew of Cheap Trick roadies, “I want you to gaunt me. I (knock) kneed you to need me. I’d love you to lug me. I’m beggin’ you peg-leg me…”

—Dracula’s admission…”I gaunt to suck your blood….”

—I know I said not to let me near the Halloween candy, but, “don’t you haunt me, baby—don’t you haunt me, woe-oe-oe..”.

Speaking of Cheap Trick(s),

These puns also played a (I’m on an early morning/jot these down before you forget them) roll in my recovery…

—“Feelin’ all alone without friends, ya’ know you feel like dryin’ (out).”

(*One of my greatest motivators for quitting drinking eons ago.*)”

—He started swinging wildly for the fences, in the hopes customers wouldn’t picket his pawn shop.

—Do you know any British slang?  “Does, ‘U ‘kay?’ count?”

—Not always one to be Poe-like…I rudely dismissed the inaccuracy of my raven/Edgar Allen Poe pun.

(*This one goes way back to my, Vel-there-crows-the-neighborhood, (Velcro) pun.  Strictly speaking, crows and ravens are different, but, as I said….today’s theme includes the– falling-short– perils of shortcuts 🙂 )

However, in the spirit of indominable…spirits…

As ever,

saving graces ensure that times/tables will always turn

(*Thankfully, not for the hearse-t*).

When least expected, we can “receive beauty for ashes”, and find our blessings multiplied.

Such was the case when I read the comment fellow optimist, Dr. Jonathan, left on my last post…

His generosity of spirit tore a grateful and relieved sob from my soul as he put any of my self-doubts to bed (side manner).

I had the same weirdly-wonderful reaction to Adam’s comment.  He’s one of the most charming, amusing and sensitive “weirdos” you could ever hope to encounter. 🙂

(I’ve included Dr. Jonathan and Adam’s blog links at the end…you’d do so well to connect with them!)

And, Amazers, you, too, spur me on as I share challenges related to being my best self—

Which includes searching for—and finding—protective and healthy emotional boundaries…

And these give me the peace of mind that comes from taking ownership of my own leaves (issues), and not the issues (leavings) of others that happen to blow onto my lawn.

As one of my favourite sayings goes, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.”

Given this knowing and support, we are encouraged to increasingly liberate ourselves from the (“Shallow) Hal”-oween mask(ing tape) that holds us hostage to unhelpful depictions of ourselves….

That false us that sticks to us like glue–

and lies to us about who we are…and, about what/how much we are supposed to give…and be saddled with.

The grate news is, Dazzlers–

having written out the storm,  I’m as giddy as a fast-food employee who saved the day by announcing, “This grill is on fire!”…

Thereby causing her boss to announce, “This dynamo is now employee of the month and deserves a promotion…”

“This Girl Is on Fryer”!

As ever, Delightfuls…thank you for being the caring souls that you are…

God bless you and your loves 🙂

Affectionately,

Truly

P.S. Dr. Jonathan’s link is

https://allabouthealthychoices.wordpress.com/

and Adam’s is

https://weirdweekendsblog.wordpress.com/

If you’d like to read my prior post, the link is

https://trulyunplugged.com/2017/10/09/oct-0917-monster-mashed-potatoes-giving-thanks-for-survivable-nightmares/

P.P.S. “This Girl Is On Fire” is amazing Alicia Keys’ ( 2012) hit/celebration of the triumph of the human spirit; “Hotel California” is The Eagles’ massive (1977) hit, and my favorite line is “…you can check out any time you like but you can never leave“; “Ghost” is a (1990) Patrick Swayze/Demi Moore movie/gem; Flip (my lid) Wilson is an oldschool reference to fantastic comedian, the late Flip Wilson’s (1970-1974) variety show and his iconic line, “The devil made me do it“; Devo has a catchy (1980  ) hit with “Whip It (Good”) and a lyric is, “When a problem comes along, you must whip it…”–and that’s what I do–when a problem comes along, I must snippet (my pun for jotting down a thought); Cheap Trick had a (1979) hit with “I Want You To Want Me“, and gaunt means extremely thin….song lyrics include, “I want you to want me, I need you to need me, I’d love you to love me, I’m begging you to beg me…”,–allowing for me to replace “want” with gaunt …and also paves the way for  my–“here’s the skinny” pun; and “Feeelin’ all alone without friends, you know you feel like dyin’… ” is also a Cheap Trick lyric from the same song; Don’t You Want Me, (Baby,) is a (1981) sung by 80’s greaties, The Human League“, and beleaguered can be defined as “saddled with problems”; Swinging wildly for the fences” is an expression meaning–no matter how remote the odds, you give it all you’ve got (which ties to my theme of never giving up on my dreams)–and, fences can be defined as people who knowingly sell stolen goods to pawn shop owners…I used picket as a pun tied to (picket) fences….and in the context of protesting/boycotting a pawnshop; “Shallow Hal” is a (2001) delightful and hilarious movie starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow–it’s about learning to see the true beauty of people’s souls, rather than focusing on skin-deep (surface/superficial) attractiveness .

As always, while the songs and movies (and the approximate year they came out) occur to me spontaneously, I have Wikipedia to thank for giving me the exact dates.