The year 2022 is trying very hard to break my spirit. It is testing me in ways I never thought possible. I would like to say I am winning, but in all reality, I am doggy paddling and barely keeping my head above water. I am tired of floating in the sea; that is 2022. Though every once in a blue moon, something comes along to give me hope that all is not lost.
The feeling of joy I had was quickly doused with sea water when I found out some devastating news. I cried. Not ugly tears but inside tears. The tears that sneak up on you at weird times of the day and just start falling down your face. The kind of tears that remind you that you are not 'okay.'
I have been on this blockchain for a very long time. I have met some incredible people while here. Some of those people are sadly no longer with us. Some have moved on to other life goals. Yet some people have stayed, and I am lucky to call them friends.
Those friends have been there for me in times of joy and tears. They have surrounded me with acceptance and love at every turn of my journey. I am fortunate and grateful for those friends. They keep me sane. I might make them a tad insane, but it is the price they are willing to pay to be my friend.
Amid tears and support from my friends, The Sims 4 came out with a new expansion pack called High School Years. The collection comes with brightly colored everything. The Sims team outdid themselves when making this expansion pack. It is happy in a box.
You do not get actual boxes anymore. You just download the new content to your computer. Which is faster and more convenient, but now that I think about it, I miss boxes. Who knew? Huh.
Anyway, let's move on, shall we?
No, No, not that kind of box!
hehehehe, I had to! #boobsforwitty
I use games and gaming to help control the amount of pain I am in. It works wonders. The trick is keeping your mind so distracted it forgets to register how much pain you are in. Gaming helps me a ton. I take fewer pain meds. I am happier because I am doing something I enjoy. It really is a win, win. At times, like down in Florida, this tactic did not help. But that is a story for another day.
My friend @IntheNow also got the High School expansion pack. We spent a lot of time OOOooo'ing and Ahhhh'ing over all the new stuff. IntheNow plays the game. He finds all the ins and out's of each new game pack. I am more of a builder. I love building my Sims' own homes. I can take days making Sims look just how I want them to be. I can also take days building my Sims home.
After the dreadful, horrendous, shocking, appalling news, I needed distraction and fun. The first idea that came to my mind was to take a few of my friends and make them return to High School in Sims 4.
Saffi, Bruno the cat, Brisby, and Dreem
Every family needs a parent. You came from somewhere. In my happy world of the Sims, I thought @Brisby would make a perfect and caring Mom. I called her to let her know she had gotten knocked up with two teenage daughters. She happened to name those daughters @Dreemsteem and @Saffisara. What are the odds? Okay, I named her children. Brisby had no choice in the matter.
I had a ton of fun finding outfits for the new family to wear. The teen outfit selections blew my mind. How times have changed since I went to High School! Yet, that made it fun to pick outfits for my Sims to wear.
Next, I started on the house. The new expansion pack has tiny lots. I dislike playing in two-story homes, so my latest house takes up the entire lot. There is no room for a pool, but I am okay with this fact. IntheNow is not.
I started on the main rooms of the house. I wanted them to be full of happiness and cheer. To me, this means Bright colors. Happy colors. Using most of the new items in the expansion pack, I had a ball designing the living areas.
Next, it was time to move on to the bedrooms. So many new items for the bedrooms! It was hard to choose!! I had a ton of fun filling them with color. I also made a videotaping room so Brisby can be a world-famous chef that makes videos for people to learn how to cook.
Once I finished building the house, I let the new family inside. They had a ball doing homework, cooking, playing with Bruno, the cat, and making sure the place was easy to play in. It was so much fun to watch them move around in the house.
What this post comes down to is life is going to be really shitty at times. You will want to bury your head in the sand and wish all the horrible things would disappear. But life doesn't work like that, I am sad to say. If you know these facts, you know it is up to you to deal with all the problems that come your way.
It is your life, after all, and not someone else's. Knowing it is up to you to take charge of your life is more than half the battle.
That doesn't mean you don't need help because most of us, me included, do. Whether it is in the form of an ear to listen to you, a shoulder to cry on, or someone that doesn't judge you but will stand by you when you need it most.
There is also nothing wrong with giving yourself a break when you need to breathe and playing a game that will let you forget a few of your troubles for a while. We all need time to breathe.
Help someone smile today. It can not hurt you.
Snook
Thumbnail Water: Image by Martin Str from Pixabay
High School Years by The Sims 4
Box: Image by Khusen Rustamov from Pixabay
All photos are mine unless otherwise stated.
It has been such a long time since we talked @snook which is completely my fault as I'm on the spectrum or ADHD or some such thing (undiagnosed as so many are who are middle-aged) that makes me just fly around the place bouncing from one thing to another, with a memory like a sieve. This means I even forget people sometimes who enriched my experience on
steemHive so much, and it makes me feel like a complete ass sometimes, although I'm self-aware enough to know that it isn't something I can help doing.I'm glad to hear that computer games help you through your pain, I'm suffering a severe resurgence of my prolapsed disc at the moment and nothing allows me to function other than bleeding prescription pain killers, which I hate because they make me feel so out of it and it's so unpleasant coming off them when I'm finally able to sit or walk without agony or the risk of doing a nose dive into the wall because of a spasm.
Still, such is life and we make the best of things. I always remember you were one of the first three people in 2017 who read my 'Gelded One' short story and gave genuinely warm, and honest feedback. It gave me the courage to roll with writing fiction again after such a long period of writer's block so thank you for that.
Link to the comment: https://peakd.com/fiction/@snook/re-raj808-the-gelded-one-fantasy-fiction-20180202t044146860z
I'm not sure how much you knew what it meant to me. After years of depression, and creative block when you, and several others said "wow, that is a really good story." It made me well up I have to admit.
Wisdom flows from these words ⏫ it is only us who can help ourselves when it comes down to the mental side of suffering.
For me, I have practised meditation now for over 3 years and although it changes nothing on a physical level, it helps dissipate the identification with suffering. It quiets the constant voice that screams and shouts 'why me' etc which has been slowly muffled, They say half of the problem with chronic illness is the mental side of it, so I know I've half won 😂 'Better than a kick in the teeth' as they say where I'm from.
I thank my lucky stars I took up meditation, as addressing half the problem and removing its power to control my behaviour is so much better than doing nothing.
Anyway, I wanted to say hi... and enjoy your session of playing The Sims High School expansion pack 🙂
I'm currently addicted to
Century ages of asheswhich is a game where you get to fly about on a dragon's back having aerial fights against other fantasy geeks from around the world lolI do not even know where to start with your comment. You blew me away!!! I remember your story to this day. It was magical and one of the best short stories I have ever read.
Thank you for letting me know I helped you in some small way. I never knew. It proves that we never know what someone is REALLY going through ever.
I have tried mediation and do some form when lying down to sleep. Falling asleep has never been easy for me, so mediation helps sometimes. It never hurts :D
I am so sorry aBout your back. I finally had to get mine fused. After 4 surgeries, it was the only option left open to me, and I couldn't walk without screaming in pain, so I had no choice.
Have you asked your doctors to try different pain meds? For me, it took a while to find one that did not leave me sleeping in bed or so out of it I could not function.
I still have pain, but what I take now does take the edge off enough that I can feel a little helpful around the house. It is not perfect by any means, but it is better than being stuck in a bed all day.
I spent almost a year stuck in bed, and now I make sure I get out of bed no matter how I feel. That alone helps me mentally feel better.
Just before I went back to my old Doctor, I found myself in bed more and more, which was a HUGE warning for me to get back to the medication that was working for me.
We have to fight for ourselves cuz no one else will :(
Much Love and prayers are sent your way!!
And thank you again so much for sharing your writing story with me.
I am going to join @DreemSteem's @Dreemport Challenge this month and hope it gives me the push I need to start writing fiction again. Maybe look it over and give it a try. I reblogged it to my page. The first post is very simple to write about. Maybe give it a try. It can not hurt :D
HUGE HUGS!
You finally got that house done, along with the cast of Hive Sims! 😂 Looking good. Yes life has a way of throwing a curve ball or ten at us, and we keep on keepin on. I am a player more than a builder but.. with this new pack I am working a new build, so many possibilities! And whatever happens...
You keep on being you... and thanks! 😀
I DID finally get it done. I kept changing this until.....well, I am still changing things but its the Sims :D
That makes me happy knowing you are building!! I can not wait to see what you make. I am really loving this new pack!
and Thank you for always having my back!!
LOL.. you are never really done are you? 😆 Yeah, it's really cool and...
No Problemo! 😄
You know how MUCH i love playing the Sims. but i haven't played in SO freaking long. I DID TRY to start up that version you gave me for my computer- but... i dont know why i couldn't get back into it so fast??
maybe because God was like. NO, DREEM. no. work on dreemport
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Cuz He knows I will be back to sim addiction LOLOLOLOL seriously - i LOVED that game. someday i'll play again hehehehe and I'm like in between you and @inthenow - i love to PLAY - but i also love to DESIGN! i just love building the entire world! you know??? like a real "creator" hehehe so I find myself completely engrossed in every aspect. the home, the trees, the social, the development of the character, finding the right mate, having the perfect family, ambition in career, totally like WHOLE thing.
I LOVE THAT ME AND @BRISBY AND @SAFFISARA are in your world - not just your real world - but your Sim world too. cuz seriously?? that's like - REAL friendship when you make someone in your Sim world.
believe me i know. cuz I take JUST AS LONG to make my characters JUST LIKE I WANT THEM TO LOOK hahahahahaha
so if you're gonna be staring at a sim face - going cross-eyed - trying to match that nose and get the eyes right... for days and days... you better really love that person hahahahahahahahahaha
so. i think i need to pop into your dm to find out about the joy-sucking thing. cuz hmmmm i'm hoping it's not after the joy came rushing back???? i'm hoping that this was before. and then the joy???? and that its still here?!?!?!!
running to dm now ❤️
You have too many other dreems to work on right now. No Sims for you Lady!! :D I will play your sims for you :D I'm thinking you will have way more fun my way. LOLLLL
and yes, we are fine. I am fine :D our talk and mine with @Saffisara last night and my sims all helped get my mind back where it needed to be to move on and take a few more punches :D Though I will be keeping my top on. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Love YOU!
Life is throwing big time lemons it seems indeed. It is a cool thing from the big board here that there are so many people around here who have made stuff a lot more comforting I find. Even though it is an online world, there are good souls to be found who have good hearts
Simmmmms your heart out madame and sending a bit of hearts from the tiny Holland!
Thank You for the hearts!! I can use them :D
and yes, Hive is filled with so many wonderful people. It's my happy place!!
hmmm, what about the bad blue boy, next door? have you made him yet? The one that rides the rocking three wheeled Big Wheel?N You must remember him? he would send strange messages in the middle of the night? Seemingly naughty, and then claim they were for someone else? That Boy Blue
I think I will have to make some neighbor boys for my sims teenagers..... I wonder if one will be a bad blue boy? LOLL
And THANK YOU for making me laugh then and now My friend. That is something I will never forget :D
I totally agree. Life has been A LOT lately, and finding the things that bring you joy and give you a chance to breathe is a good thing. Even if that means escaping reality (Sims for you, books for me, movies and music and shows as well), it's worthwhile. We need art and entertainment to survive. This is me sending you lots of love.
We really need happy things to remind us that life is worth it. I think the key is never forgetting what brings you honest joy and making sure to make time in our lives for those things.
I thank you for all the love you have showered on me through so many years. You will never know how much it has meant to me!!
Hello lovely lady! 😊
I've never played any of the Sims games, I was more of a WoW/EverQuest kind of gal, but I totally get what you're saying. It's good and very necessary to get a distraction from your pain, whether through gaming, blogging or any other game that lets you forget it for a short while, chronic pain sucks, plain and simple. I'm not complaining, just stating a fact, and it really helps if you can distract yourself when the pain is at its worst. If it wasn't for some games and my medicinal plants/oils/herbs I wouldn't be moving at all by now myself, so I completely get it. 😊
You're characters and their new home look great and will have amazing in-game lives, I'm sure. 😊
I'm sending you positive vibes and loads of HUGS to combat the negative energy that pain and devastating news brings with it!
God bless you and your wonderful family. Have an awesome day my fabulous friend! 😊
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1000 times YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and I have played WoW :D I think I was a tad addicted to it for a few years. :D Everquest I never tried, I do not think but know the name. and I agree we all need to do what we can to make each day count.
I will try and keep you posted on the sims :D
HUGE HUGS!!
Have you ever played LoK (Legends of Kesmai)? That is another one I used to play quite a bit, but I haven't really been doing much gaming in the past year. I like games that have games within the game itself and ones where you can help others. If it's just a hack and slash type of game I'm not really interested in it, can't keep focused on it for more than a few seconds, though I'm not sure why that is. 😊
No, I never did. I did play Rift, though, for years and loved it. I was a warrior. There was a whole group of us that all played together and had a ball.
I get seasick and do not like just plain shoot 'em up games either.
I get vertigo so the games where the scene moves up and down/side-to-side really quickly make me severely queasy, my handsome husband laughs at me because he doesn't get how badly it makes me feel as it doesn't effect him at all. Oh well, that's why he can play any video games he decides to and I stick to the few I can play without getting sick. 😊
You bear your heart. You share your heart. Even in a post about the Sims... it is not really just about the sims. It's about love, friendship, vulnerability, connection, our hurts, and our pains - interwoven within the context of an almost real world online world... much like Hive 💗🙏 I do pray for your pain to be eased,my lovely. Sending you much !LUV xxx
!PIZZA !ALIVE
Thank you!!
My writing drives my son nuts because I jump all over the place :D but to me, that IS real life and everything you do is connected in some way. I never understand how people can see just a straight line and not all the frayed ends where lessons are learned to help you on your life path.
HUGS!
I don't get the sense of it being all over. It always feels really easy to follow to me... but then I just go with your flow and see where you lead me... and I enjoy the ride 💗 !LADY
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THANK YOU for saying that!!
I MEAN that truly.
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Boobs are the breast!
Those titties are a real knockout.
She's got some hella fine knockers.
I think my mouthpiece fell out.
Boobs.
#boobsforwitty
Rain snow or shine, love you all the time sis!
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Now you know why I was laughing on the phone :D and wanted you to read my post! :D which I am sure you read word for word LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LOVE YOU, little brother!
I'm sorry to hear things are so bad 😢 I remember you posting that you had mysterious pains, I'd hoped it was nothing serious :( Get well soon, and keep enjoying life.
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Thank You. I take each day as it comes and finds the 'Happy' in each day. Plus, try and make others find a smile or laugh along the way.
Making someone else laugh is a sure way to do so yourself. It's infectious!
!PIZZA !ALIVE !LUV
@wrestlingdesires(1/4) gave you LUV.
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Thank You!!
:( Sorry the sad times hit...
But as you know... they do pass. Everything does. As it must. Change is inevitable.
Sending a virtual hug and a comment to say stay you. ❤️
Thank You
HUGS!
b.r.e.a.t.h.e ❤️
Yay! 🤗
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Oh! So glad you told me to read your post. Everything is just so shiny and colorful. Like a rainbow!!! I will have to get the game now! Probably take hours for the updates it's been so long since I played.
I have to say that gaming is my painkiller as well!! Just this weekend I hurt my feet working. How did I stay off my feet? By playing battlegrounds with you!!!!
Battlegrounds is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and YES!!!!!!!!!! You really need to get High School Years!!! It is so much fun :D
Big luv 💜
