When the Going Gets Tough…The Tough Keep Putting One Foot Ahead of the Other

(Originally published 24 March 2008)

Several years ago, my ex said to me, “You owe the whole world money, your life is blown to Hell in a handbasket, yet you still laugh and have fun How can you do that?” My answer then, as it is now, was to ask him how being depressed and miserable would change any of it.

Now, I’m no Pollyanna; nor am I a New Age, psychobabble-spouting optimist. What I am is a fairly tough-minded woman who has made both good and bad decisions over the course of five and a half decades. In other words, I am a survivor.

You might wonder what this has to do with you and why you should add this blog to your feed (or bookmark it). Well, over the years I’ve learned a lot about keeping going, as we all have. And, what I’d really like to see happen here is the creation of a community where tips, coping mechanisms, support, and inspiration can be shared.

That said, there are one or two caveats regarding commenting:

1. Differences of opinion are not only welcome, they are encouraged as long as the conversation is civil.
2. No ad hominem attacks, please. Attacking ideas is fine; attacking people is not, and you will be disemvowelled for doing so. (Disemvowelling is a way of dealing with miscreants by removing all the vowels from his/her comment. I do not know who the originator was, but I picked up on it from Teresa Nielsen Hayden at Making Light[http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/].)
3. If you quote someone or reference someone’s writing, please cite your source and, if possible, provide a link. It’s a lot easier to discuss something if we can all be on the same page.

Other than that, I want to welcome you to my blog, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say as we go along.Several years ago, my ex said to me, “You owe the whole world money, your life is blown to Hell in a handbasket, yet you still laugh and have fun How can you do that?” My answer then, as it is now, was to ask him how being depressed and miserable would change any of it.

Now, I’m no Pollyanna; nor am I a New Age, psychobabble-spouting optimist. What I am is a fairly tough-minded woman who has made both good and bad decisions over the course of five and a half decades. In other words, I am a survivor.

You might wonder what this has to do with you and why you should add this blog to your feed (or bookmark it). Well, over the years I’ve learned a lot about keeping going, as we all have. And, what I’d really like to see happen here is the creation of a community where tips, coping mechanisms, support, and inspiration can be shared.

That said, there are one or two caveats regarding commenting:

1. Differences of opinion are not only welcome, they are encouraged as long as the conversation is civil.
2. No ad hominem attacks, please. Attacking ideas is fine; attacking people is not, and you will be disemvowelled for doing so. (Disemvowelling is a way of dealing with miscreants by removing all the vowels from his/her comment. I do not know who the originator was, but I picked up on it from Teresa Nielsen Hayden at Making Light[http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/].)
3. If you quote someone or reference someone’s writing, please cite your source and, if possible, provide a link. It’s a lot easier to discuss something if we can all be on the same page.

Other than that, I want to welcome you to my blog, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say as we go along.