Purpose

Having it is the difference between hope and despair

Hello, and welcome back my dear friends and readers. It's so good to be here with you all again. Lots of good stuff happening in the bpnwc house right now. Busily getting prepped for the incoming hardships we're about to see. I hope, my dear people that you are all doing the same. Hold your loved ones close, and please be kind to one another out there. The world may be getting colder and harder but we must not follow suit. Know that wherever you are in this big beautiful world, whether we've met in real life or not, bpnwc loves all of you. ❤️😻

(P.S. Bonus antifa cat brigade pics at the bottom of the page. Come see the “cats” in the bluePNWcats! 😻)

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Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash

Well my good friends, it's been some time now since I've really been able to sit down and put words to screen. Happy to be able to inform you that it's only partially due to my ongoing struggles with writer's block this time. I've had some pretty nice developments on my end that have considerably lessened my anxieties and also given me a purposeful obtainable goal to work towards, which is literally breathing new life into me.

You see, the last time I published a piece, it was discussing how scared I was regarding the fact that I have been able to do next to nothing to prepare my family for the hardships that we are about to see in this country. In response, several people very generously donated to my fundraiser that I created to help me do just that. One person, in particular, responded with an incredible gift that was more generous than I had even dreamed of. The response to my request for help was, as it always has been from this astoundingly amazing community, immediate, overwhelming; humbling.

I have put that generosity to work since then. Buying dry food storage, the materials necessary to grow my own food, home improvements that will help reduce my energy costs. I have many more plans in the works. I have also managed to create and furnish the third bedroom for Alex, turning our erstwhile laundry room into a welcoming comfortable space for a thirteen year old boy who was finally ready to have something he could call his own.

I also have been able to finally get Rick a mattress and bed frame. He had been sleeping on a mildewy old hand me down mattress that was just thrown on the floor, for years now. It's the first new bed that either of them have ever owned. It's one of those things you try to tell yourself doesn't matter all that much. That things are just things, that it doesn't matter if things are secondhand. Doesn't matter if things are scruffy. All the platitudes you have to tell yourself when you're poor, because deep down inside there's just so much shame that you can't give your kids nice new things straight out the box…but if you're honest with yourself, you know that sometimes it does matter. That there is, indeed, a quiet dignity that comes from having something that is new and tidy and all yours. My kids have got a touch of that now. And my friends, I have you to thank for that.

Finally, after so long just twisting in the wind, I have a real tangible way to prepare for disaster rather than simply sitting helplessly and watching it roll in like forbidding thunderheads roiling the horizon. This newfound sense of purpose and possibility has energized me and given me hope for the first time in a very long time. I'm still depressed, mind you. An appropriate emotional response to….well, every-fuckin-thing. But I'm not stuck, and that makes all the difference in the world.

My birthday is in five days. I'll be 49, although the other day I was absolutely certain that it was going to be my 50th and I confidently announced that fact to my children only to be met with derisive mockery, cruel laughter and the incredibly rude assertion that I'm currently experiencing early onset Alzheimer's. They may have a point, because last year on my 48th I did exactly the same thing, asserting with certainty that I was turning 49. I don't have any idea why my subconscious mind wants to increase the number except for my working theory that since I keep getting better with age, it can't wait to see how much of a badass I am at half a century. Guess we'll know in 370 days.

Thanks for reading BPNWC! Take care of yourselves and each other out there folks. It's gonna get rough here for a while. Please make sure that you are prepared for what's coming, especially if you're sitting at the lower end of the financial spectrum like I am. Look into getting some vegetables planted. You can buy grow bags if you don't really have a good yard. That's what we did. Check out dry food storage options online for rice and beans. You have to store them correctly so do your research. Other than that, I don't know, my friends. I just know that everyone needs to be ready. Anyone who would like to make a one time appreciation donation of any amount may do so at:

💸PayPal: atxsupermom@gmail.com

💸Cash App: $atxsupermom

💸Buy me a Coffee:buymeacoffee.com/bluePNWcats

Bonus Antifa Cat Brigade!!!

George ❤️ 😻

Copper 😻❤️

TacoCat ❤️😻

Sage 😻❤️

Onyx ❤️😻

Scooter 😻❤️