Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Oct 16 - 04:58 AM

he has a lovely smile!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: ranger1
Date: 03 Oct 16 - 09:18 PM

Thank you, everyone. He's a little scamp, but we're working on learning some manners.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Oct 16 - 05:04 PM

Ranger1, that dog looks like exactly the right size: big enough to give the varmints pause, and small enough to scoop up in your arms like you are doing. Many happy hugs and wiggles to you both.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: gnu
Date: 03 Oct 16 - 08:29 AM

Agreed. So happy for you, r1.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: frogprince
Date: 02 Oct 16 - 12:26 PM

I give Chantey Lass's post 4 dittoes. I'm looking all over for the "like" button for Tami's post and photos.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 01 Oct 16 - 09:21 PM

Nigel, I'm glad you found your voice in poetry and shared it with us.

Pete, a sensitive minister and small service sound like good things. Good on you for being able to sing on such on occasion.

Donuel, what is next for your son's treatment?

And Tami, I'm glad your year is getting better. I don't know who looks happier in that photo, you or Beau. And Sally Rogers seems to be as warm and pleasant offstage as on.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: ranger1
Date: 01 Oct 16 - 01:38 PM

Although I mostly lurk on Mudcat these days, I do check in on all you lovely people. I send warm thoughts and share your joys and sorrows. And now I want to share my joys with you.

After the first eight months of 2016 being less than wonderful, September made up for it. A house concert where I was pulled aside during the break by one of the singers and told I have a lovely voice and should sing more When I told her I panic and lose the words, she asked if I would let her help me with that. Having my given-up-for-adoption younger sister make contact with me after I'd given up all hope of ever hearing from her. Going to The Getaway and seeing old friends and making new ones. Deciding that going to Sally Rogers' Music Theory for Vocalists workshop at The Getaway might be a good idea and feeling like I needed the remedial class, but enjoying it anyway and having Sally drag me into the center to listen when she realized I was feeling lost so I wouldn't feel excluded. Having Sally pull me aside after her mini concert and telling me the same thing that Kat told me earlier in the month. Road trip to Connecticut with my mom to pick up my new dog last Thursday. Getting to know Beau (the new dog).

My mom took this photo of Beau's and my first meeting

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Nigel Paterson
Date: 01 Oct 16 - 07:42 AM

Donuel, one more PM for you on which to ponder...at your leisure. Thanks for writing,
                                              Nigel.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Nigel Paterson
Date: 29 Sep 16 - 04:37 AM

Without the occasional poem, I would, sometimes, be rendered speechless...totally incommunicado.'Clothing' my thoughts & feelings poetically enables me to express 'where I'm at' in a way that regular prose doesn't. I feel safe within my poem; safe enough to write about things I would NEVER place in the public domain in prose. "...a poet of truth", that goes right to the heart of the matter, Donuel. My 'truth' & your 'truth' will always differ, but there are many similarities & commonalities in us all to which a poem may speak. Pete's post above is a perfect exemplar of just that. Yes, I write for myself, but also in the hope that my words will have meaning for you too.
                                 With Love to you all,
                                                                Nigel.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Sep 16 - 08:29 PM

Yes, like I said 'a scholar and a gentleman' Nigel. Now a poet of truth.

Well, Ketamine works like a charm for depression for about a week. We had a glimpse of an aware and awake outgoing personality but patterns of withdrawal crept back slowly. But alas a turning point
is established for the ongoing treatment next week and beyond.
His improvement is well documented by the school, social services and the doctor to serve as a pioneering case study to establish FDA approval by next spring.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Pete from seven stars link
Date: 28 Sep 16 - 04:49 PM

I thought you had borrowed some classical poetry from somewhere to express your thoughts, then reached the end and see that Nigel was the eloquent wordsmith !                  Seems also quite apt today as we interned my dad's ashes in the grave where my brother and mum were laid. Only a small party of us. The minister I asked to officiate done a lovely sensitive job ,and I sang the song I had written for dad some time ago. A season of mingled emotions.                   Blessings all.    Pete.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: billybob
Date: 28 Sep 16 - 07:05 AM

Beautiful words Nigel
Love to all,
Wendy xxxxx ( hiding in the corner with a coffee )

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Nigel Paterson
Date: 28 Sep 16 - 04:11 AM

When words of comfort elude me, poetry often comes to my aid.

                                              'The Autumn Equinox'

The Autumn Equinox has gone,
Greens & reds & browns & fawn
Leaf-woven carpets strew the ground,
A transformation so profound.
Longer nights & shorter days
Affect our lives in subtle ways.
"Mists of mellow fruitfulness"
As harvest time our tables bless.
Birds fly south on beating wing,
Returning home once more to sing
To other ears, their songs familiar,
Sung so true & sounding clearer?
Shall we survive the closing year
Apparently so bleak, so drear?
With 'winter weeds' in cupboards waiting,
Summer's warmth is fast abating.
Stock the larder, cook the fruit,
For hunger doth our form transmute
And once transmuted, what are we?
Enveloped by a reverie
Of darkened dreams, of cold & shadow,
Spoiléd grain not fit to winnow.
Wind-blown we are nought but chaff,
The stuff of 'when', an epitaph,
But think no thoughts that hint of ending,
Seasons' cycles ever wending,
Draw us from an impotence
Imposed by cold's indifference.
'Lead us forward, kindly light',
Lest we remain embalmed by night.
                                                       (Nigel Paterson, September 2016)

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: frogprince
Date: 26 Sep 16 - 10:23 AM

A song for Pat    : )

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 25 Sep 16 - 09:37 PM

Hooray for Pat and her vision!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Sep 16 - 06:59 PM

Talking a while back to the worse/verse, wiper/viper peoples:
it doesn't have to be German, after all...

My name is Yon Yonson
I come from Visconsin
I vork in da lumber mill dere
Ven I go up de street
De people I meet
Dey say: Vat's your name?
And I say....ad infinitum
remembering Carl Sandburg's recording (and him guffawing with laughter)

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Rapparee
Date: 23 Sep 16 - 10:23 PM

20/30 at the moment. Good enough to drive without glasses. However, the eye is still a little dilated and she's putting in drops several times a day. The ophthalmologist is quite pleased, considering how long she waited for the procedure to start.

She sees him again in a couple of weeks; the optician is threatening to pop out her left lens then.

So far she's doing okay. Some vision problems, but that's to be expected as the eye has changed from yesterday morning!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 23 Sep 16 - 08:22 PM

Let us know how the results of Pat's exam.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Pete from seven stars link
Date: 23 Sep 16 - 05:44 PM

Sounds like a very caring surgeon Rapparee .

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Sep 16 - 05:01 AM

takes me back to my cataract removal. Surgeon & I realised I needed my left lens replaced when I couldn't read the top letter on the chart!

Pat had a cookie, I had an egg sandwich!

enjoy your travels

sandra

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Rapparee
Date: 22 Sep 16 - 09:24 PM

She's home. The surgeon was two hours late because he had a major problem with a patient at the hospital (Pat was done at a "surgical center"). He didn't specify, but I got the impression it was one of those things that happen no matter how much work you do to prevent stuff like it.

Anyway, I got her home around 4:00 pm MDT. She ate a cookie on the way home (she had been something like 15 hours without solid food) and she slept for two hours. The phone rang and awakened her -- it was the surgeon calling to see how she was doing.

One eye is behind an eye shield and tomorrow at 8 a.m. (!!!) we see the surgeon (who is also our ophthamologist). She will probably get the eye shield off, a quick eye exam with the letter chart, and may get the left lens knocked out of her glasses.

Her right eye will be done on October 25 -- we have to work the surgeries around her travel schedule!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Sep 16 - 02:41 PM

Thanks for the news about Rapparee and his better half.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: gnu
Date: 22 Sep 16 - 12:52 PM

Good news, Rap. Now you'll be able to match your socks and coordinate your fashion accessories.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 21 Sep 16 - 08:29 PM

I'm glad to read the good news about Rap and Pat!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: maeve
Date: 21 Sep 16 - 09:49 AM

That's a great report, Rap, and I know Pat will be happy to see clearly all the colors of her fabric stash!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Rapparee
Date: 21 Sep 16 - 09:24 AM

Yesterday I saw the surgeon, who cleared me for massage therapy and more strenuous physical therapy. I see him again in February, assuming something doesn't go wrong before then.

Pat gets the cataract in her left eye out tomorrow. She's looking forward (BAD RAPPAREE!!! BAD!!!) to it ever since she thought her friend's lavender robe was gray. The right eye will be done in late October and Ol' Eagle Eye will be back in business!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 16 Sep 16 - 10:29 PM

The last few posts made me laugh, and laughter is the best medicine, so I feel good!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: frogprince
Date: 16 Sep 16 - 02:04 PM

THE VIPERS ARE COMING!! THE VIPERS ARE COMING!!






Vitch vindows do you vant viped ?



(from one of the stupid skits always performed at summer camp)

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Pete from seven stars link
Date: 16 Sep 16 - 08:26 AM

Ve ave German blood yah.....    Double groan !

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Sep 16 - 06:05 AM

groan

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Rapparee
Date: 15 Sep 16 - 10:12 PM

I was going to write a poem, but you said hoped things were no verse.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 15 Sep 16 - 08:07 PM

I hope All's Quiet means All's Well, or at least no worse.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Sep 16 - 04:45 PM

and refresh again

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Sep 16 - 02:59 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 Sep 16 - 07:20 PM

We have a saying out here: "The only way to the other side is through." Others can help, can give you support, but only you make the actual crossing. It's actually a very comforting thought because it reinforces the idea that you can actually do it...and you can.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: gnu
Date: 08 Sep 16 - 11:24 AM

Beautiful. Thank you.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Nigel Paterson
Date: 08 Sep 16 - 04:34 AM

I wrote these lines after our daughter Jane died. I hope Mysha will take something from them too:

"  'Shall we Meet in Avalon?'

And shall we meet in Avalon, or does our journey voyage on
To places never, ever seen where only those who've passed have been?
At journey's end, what will we find, comfort for the tortured mind?
Respite for the restless soul, with passing time, will we be whole?
Shall we be whole to laugh again, despite the anguish, tears & pain?
Shall we be whole to smile & say: "It's time, tomorrow is another day?"
Another day, a different course, (Death's trade winds blew with awful force.)
Our future waits, as yet unknown, but we are two, we're not alone.
The Love we share that binds us tight, enhanced by Friend's illumined light.
Wisdom, Care, Compassion, Healing as breakers struck & left us reeling.
Calmer waters now surround, recedes the risk to run aground.
This voyage complete, we sail again, more mindful now of other's pain.
More mindful now of what we've lost and how to bear & count the cost.
                                                                                             
                                                           Much Love to all,
                                                                                     Nigel.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Sep 16 - 06:59 PM

Looking at Mysha and Janie's posts with fresh eyes I am remembering 8 years ago when Dean had no symptoms and began spending more time on the computer. With an open mind I can see him now and believe it looks like Aspergers hiding behind long hair and avoiding faces. Aspergers is something that can have a sudden onset at puberty. This changes the dynamic a great deal without eliminating all previous assumptions.
Thank you all, this will be explored during an appointment Friday.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 10:44 PM

Grateful to Jane's Rainbow for being here for us all, even on slow weekends with nobody adding posts. Thanks is too small a word, but thanks, regardless.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Sep 16 - 12:45 PM

I forgot..

Rob's most annoying autistic artifact is speaking at auditorium levels,
anywhere. He is a natural Tim Conway comic who can fill a room with uncontrollable laughter. I'm jealous and shy but he is completely confident.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Sep 16 - 12:33 PM

No Asperger's here. Dean is coming out of a simple but extreme neurosis that exaggerated hiding with embarrassment due to a digestive issue. He is back at school half days and far more communicative.
Robert was the one who didn't speak until a blow to the left parietal lobe that rendered instant speech at the age of six. While I struggle, he is a talented teacher and writer.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Mysha
Date: 02 Sep 16 - 03:49 AM

Hi Donuel,

This is really more about me than you, but I need to be sure someone said it. I've read your posts in the past, but I can't recall enough now and don't as yet have the energy to read back. But:

I have a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome. I don't normally look people in the eye, as most people scream so loud with their expressions that I'd rather read their lips, which shows enough of their facial expression to read those peripherally (spelling?). Someone on a little girl's case at one point made the very smart observation that people will often ask or expect different things from what they want: E.g. do parents really need their child to clean the plate, or just for the child to eat enough?

So, what I need to say at the moment, just in case it's relevant, is that it pays to be careful to check what your target is: Does your child need to make eye contact? Or would it be OK to just read the face, or just face the person talking? Or is conversation the important bit, even if it goes sideways? (But if not a relevant remark, just forget about it.)
Most faces are intense, and at times I'd rather not look at them too much for fear of missing what people are saying. I sometimes wonder if I could have practised with that face program the Commodore 64 used to have. (It was clearly a face, but it had few details/expression. And it was clearly not human, taking away a lot of time pressure.)

Oh, and as in most cases: Don't fight the monster when it's there. Fight it when it isn't there, so there's less pressure and more preparation time.

Bye
                                                               Mysha
(Back to handling condolence cards that tell me my mother is dead.)

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Janie
Date: 30 Aug 16 - 06:54 PM

Wow, Rap! When do you get released to go leap tall buildings in a single bound?

Seriouly, great to hear the surgery went well. Pretty amazing to me that you are able to walk that far already, especially with minimal use of a cane.

Donuel, I have a couple of adults in my practice with what formerly was termed Asperger's. I don't know where on the spectrum Dean is. I do know both of them can get obsessively engaged with computers, software, coding, gaming, etc.

Probably complicates things a bit at this stage of your son's life in trying to impose interventions - teenager and all that.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Donuel
Date: 30 Aug 16 - 05:19 PM

You know all the things that helps bone growth like types of electricity, walking, diet, but do not apply sideways impact for some time.

Don't even do it by accident.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 30 Aug 16 - 05:02 PM

You go, Rap!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: maeve
Date: 30 Aug 16 - 10:11 AM

Rap, that's worth celebrating! Wow! Gadzooks! Fantabuloso!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Rapparee
Date: 30 Aug 16 - 09:42 AM

Yesterday I walked, mostly without a stick, for slightly over a mile.

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Aug 16 - 10:00 PM

Spellcheck Rules!

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: Janie
Date: 29 Aug 16 - 07:59 PM

Oops. I guess so. Was posting from my iPad and didn't notice.

Sorry 'bout that Mysha. {{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}

Subject: RE: Jane's Rainbow: for all needing support & comfort
From: keberoxu
Date: 28 Aug 16 - 04:08 PM

Janie! You probably gave Mysha a much-needed humor break! If unintentional...