I actually want to see your laundry room on laundry day. I want to see your daughter\u2019s room after six weeks of simultaneous soccer and musical practice. I want to see your kitchen after making a mother\u2019s day meal. I want to see your bathroom after a full week at work. I want to see your garage the day after a garage sale. I want to see your basement storage rooms.<\/p>\n

Because I desperately want to feel less lonely.<\/p>\n

\n
1. At work at the psych hospital, I often ask my patients \u201cWhat are you finding to be the most helpful part of your therapy here?\u201d Hands down, the most common reply is this: \u201cListening to, and sharing with the other patients. They get me in a way that none of you (staff) can.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Ah-ha!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
   \n
   1. Every dog poops. Every dog owner, every day, picks up dog poop. It\u2019s disgusting. But for me, taking a plastic Meijer bag (which, in and of itself, is abhorrent because you have to deal with all those angry stares from the granola moms at the Meijer check-out when you actually request<\/em> plastic bags\u2026.) then turning it inside out to make a glove for myself, reaching down and grabbing my dog\u2019s fresh, warm poop has to be one of the lowest points of my day. BUT, my days have descended to an abysmal low when said dog poops INSIDE our home \u2013 which, as she ages, is happening much too frequently.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Dog poop on our rug is one of the milder stories I could share from our lives right now – things have been pretty bad around here lately – but this is where I thought I’d start. \u00a0I almost kicked my dog today. \u00a0Almost. \u00a0I DIDN’T DO IT, OKAY?!?! \u00a0I’m just so sick of crap on our rug!!! \u00a0My life is light years away from glamorous, and right on the very edge of repugnant. \u00a0Is it just me? I\u2019d be lying if my newsfeed reflected something different.<\/p>\n

      \n
      1. Vulnerability precedes intimacy. I know I already used this one for #10. I\u2019m just checking to see if you\u2019re still reading (REAL bloggers say you should never write more than 1500 words. I\u2019m already at 1600\u2026 but hang with me \u2013 the last 2 reasons are the best.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
         \n
         1. Some of my lowest, most lonely moments in life came right after getting my diagnosis of Lymphanegieoleomyomatosis (LAM). It\u2019s so rare \u2013 only a small handful of us women in Michigan have it, and a not much bigger handful in the whole USA. There was no one living near me that I could talk to. And then\u2026. then<\/em>, I met my Facebook LAM family! Over 2000 women from all over the world connect via this forum. And I suddenly knew that I could deal with this sucky, lung-sucking, sucker of an illness \u2013 because ALL of them were dealing with it, too. Those women from all over the world have given me strength.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            It sucks to have to talk about your illness on social media. But now even my sister\u2019s family is deriving comfort, prayers and community by sharing her journey of brain cancer on social media. Posting about your \u201ccrap\u201d really does help \u2013 in some cathartic, Jesus-y, miraculous way.<\/p>\n

            \n
            1. The old proverb, \u201cMisery loves company,\u201d is incorrect. It should be, \u201cMisery NEEDS company.\u201d We were not made to do this life alone. It’s often the isolation and accompanying sadness that brings some people to take their lives. We NEED to help each other feel less alone. We NEED to share our sufferings. We NEED to become vulnerable with one another. And then maybe, just maybe, people will see they are not as alone as they thought. And maybe, just maybe, we will put the \u201csocial\u201d back into our media. And maybe, just maybe, someone will decide to keep pressing on in life instead of the alternative.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

               Watching ’13 Reasons Why’ has led me to sharing how my dog is always crapping on our rug.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,27,33,34,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n