What happened that changed your attitude from bad to good or vice versa?

Not sure why I thought of this a min ago.

This story is about 25 years old. My son was about 7 or 8.

I had been up all night working on a clients computer that gave me fits. Would not update and drivers not working. I finally said to myself I need some sleep. I laid down for 3 hours and got back to doing pc. Client needed first thing Monday and it was late morning on Sunday.

Back then my backyard flooded pretty bad after heavy storm. I asked my son to let our cocker spaniel Katy out and make sure she stayed out of mud.

Computer for what ever reason decided to update and drivers working. That gave me a second wind and started finishing up. I was tired and cranky and thought if I can get this done, I'm laying back down.

All of a sudden it occurred to me that my son and dog were not in. I head for back door. Open it.

Both my son and dog were covered from head to toe in mud. Both glancing at ground because they both know they messed up.

I busted up laughing. All the aggravation and anger instantly gone. Headache disappeared.

I took them up into bathroom and both got cleaned up. Made breakfast and finished computer while it cooked.

Man I wished I could have video taped that one.

How about you guys? Any stories good or bad?

That's a cool story! Mine isn't as long, but in graduate school I was chronically stressed out. It didn't help that I was over 1100 miles from closest family, and it took me many years to develop coping mechanisms for dealing with solitude after growing up in a big family.

On one particular evening I was having it really rough. I had just learned the previous graduate student on my project had falsified data (A HUGE NO-NO, basically academic suicide). I was the third graduate student on this long-term project, responsible for years 6-8. The previous graduate student was responsible for years 3-5. The student confessed after I confronted them about never receiving data for the required annual report to our granting agency. After that bombshell I wasn't sure I even had a job anymore, let alone graduate. It was bad, about as low as you can go as a graduate student.

I used to live in a duplex on a hill on the outskirts of town, which was great because I could watch the sunset from my front steps. I gotta admit, I was crying pretty hard on the steps that evening.

The sunset was spectacular though, and the real icing on the cake was I got to see Mercury! I completely forgot that Mercury was actually visible and I'd never seen the planet before. Normally Mercury is too close to the sun at sunset to be visible to the naked eye. It didn't completely cheer me up, but it certainly make me feel a lot better.

I'm pretty sure Mercury is the dot lowest on the left in this photo.

You also got an awesome picture out of it too!

Yeah, sepsis in 2018. Bad stuff. I was taken by ambulance and hospitalized the month of March. I don't remember that, but I was told I was delirious. That was only 3 days after I went to my doctor, got meds and an injection and slept the entire weekend, I was told. I guess by Monday I was a wreck, lol.

I spent April in a rehab facility to heal, learn to walk again and getting wound care, since it was my legs that were eaten up by cellulitis and sepsis.
I was released from the rehab facility the first week of May, 2018. I had to buy a wheelchair and walker. I was also down to just 80 lbs after 2 months on the liquid diet due to the sepsis eating at my organs. I was doing pretty good till just before Memorial Day. Friday the 25th, I got up from my wheelchair and took two steps to open my front door. Next thing I knew I hit my hardwood floor. Broke my freaking hip, lol. (Now have two rods and a pin).

Get home after that hospital visit, then the second week of June 2018 and sepsis rears it's ugly head again. Organ failure and acid actually blistering my lips, burning my esophagus. Dr. puts me back into the hospital. I don't remember much, but I made it Still battling post-sepsis crap, but getting there day by day.

It's been quite the ride since March, 2018. And expensive, haha. My attitude has definitely changed. I never even heard of cellulitis or sepsis; I have really never been sick with the exception of colds, flu, allergies. I'm afraid I have gotten less sensitive , less sympathetic to certain situations. I seem to have less tolerance for crap and stupidity, which seems stupid in and of itself, lol.

Ok, I'm shutting up, lol. And NOT looking for sympathy. Shite happens and others have it much, much worse.

PS , beautiful, peaceful photo Vanessa.

WOW Laura, My mom almost died in 1973 because of sepsis. Scary stuff. Glad you're doing better.

Laura I hope you continue to improve and gain strength now and in the future. Such an overwhelming illness is a lot to cope with.

Thank you, Joe and Lucille. I've been told I'm really lucky, as is your mom, Joe, given the statistics of sepsis I learned later. Must be the ornery Irish in me, lol. And I'm up to 97 lbs now! Thanks again.

In 1973 mom had sepsis, in 1971 she almost bled out from vomiting blood when she contracted histoplasmosis. My mom passed away on my 30th birthday due to brain cancer. Never complained. Toughest person I know.

Oh wow, Joe. I can't even imagine what your poor mother endured! A marathon regurgitation session of acid and blood is what put me back in the hospital in June (2018). I had never been through anything like that.

So sorry to hear about your mom. She sounds like a great, strong woman.