Just came downstairs to a gigantic pile of metaphor

[Chaos]

Thank you for sharing your story, many of us on this board, including me, need a fresh dose of perspective every now and then.  We are all here because we love the Panthers (and we all need our heads examined for that), but we're also here as men and women with real lives and I can't imagine how difficult your lives have been over the past several months.  I pray it gets better, cancer sucks ass, and I feel confident your wife will be stronger from the treatment, and a lot of that will be because you took everything else off her plate and made her only mission rest and recovery.  You're the hero man.  Keep Pounding!

PS - You're doing an awesome job especially with the kids and that poo-eating dog.  It's important that you hear that and you know that.

[jasonluckydog]

Football doesn't mean poo when a loved one is sick. Hope your wife makes a full recovery. I had the same issue with my dog shitting in the house. I started to only feed the dog in the early morning and early afternoon. I figured out his poop schedule and now we have a routine. I would walk him shortly after each feeding. No more poo in the house. I had a female dog with UT issues never knew when she had to pee. I bought these thickish rugs and taught her to pee on them. I would wash the rug with a little bleach and reuse the rug. 

[panthers55]

I wish you strength to persevere, love to share with your precious family, a continued sense of humor to appreciate the wild unexpected twists and the resilience to bounce back no matter the blows. None of us are getting out of here alive but how we live makes all the difference. I applaud your hard work.

[pinkfloyd]

So very sorry for what all of you in your family are going through.  Your sense of humor shines through all the poo being thrown your way -- literally.  Hang in there yourself, and healing vibes being sent to your wife.

[Khyber53]

Once again, man, thanks for putting this whole life and football thing back in perspective for us. Continued prayers for you and yours.

Better days ahead.

[Mega Pint of Wine]

On 9/25/2023 at 10:52 AM, Ricky Spanish said:

This post is a bit of a vent session, but not how you might think.

Lemme tell you all a story about the last year or so of my life.

Last September my wife, my kids, and my two dogs moved into our new house. We were thrilled because we had been staying with my parents for a year while it was being built. Well it just so happens that a month later, our old dog Moose (yes, named after THAT Moose) had liver failure and we had to put him down. My wife was distraught. That little dog was her best friend and partner in crime. We got him back when we were a young couple in college and he was there through some of the best and worst times in her life over 14 years. We were just happy we got him into the house before his time was up.

Months pass and my wife is still taking it hard. She misses the companionship of her best friend. She said she'd never want a dog again after Moose died, but the idea was starting to grow on her. One of her coworkers showed her a picture of their dog, and it just so happens that the place she got it had puppies. Welp, the wife fell in love with one of those puppies and in January we brought home Captain (No, not named after THAT Captain). I was in no spot to say no to this happening. Who was I to tell her no if she wanted to open up her heart to a new dog? His personality is very similar to Moose's in many ways, and he is an absolute sweetheart that gets along with our other dog and literally everyone he meets.

The problem, however, is that my wife is a teacher and we got this dog in the middle of the school year. I work from home. Guess who got stuck taking care of the puppy? Yours truly. I didn't want a puppy. We already have a house trained dope ass frisbee chasing Border Collie that's my BFF. I didn't want to house train another dog, especially when I would be the one who would be the primary caretaker of said puppy.

Fast-forward to June. Dog still isn't housetrained. This is the worst most stubborn dog to potty train I have ever had. The border collie was a breeze and she was housetrained within a month or two. Not Captain. Captain is a dipshit. Also he eats his own poo, which is also disgusting, never had a dog that did that before, but I digress. It's now June so school is out, that means my wife will be home to help out with this idiot puppy that won't stop pissing and crapping all over our new house. I'll finally get some help. Well, at least I thought I would. The best laid plans of mice and men and all.

My wife goes to the doctor back in June and says that she's been fatigued since April and she noticed a lump on her breast. She thought nothing of it because it was painful and that usually just means it's a cyst. Last minute of the appointment the Doctor schedules her a mammogram, just to be safe. Wife goes to the mammogram. Something doesn't look right. She gets a biopsy done. A week later we get the news: Stage 2 triple negative breast cancer at 34 years old.

Treatment is aggressive, because this form of breast cancer is also aggressive. The tumor grew 2cms in the time between her first biopsy and her first MRI. Chemo starts damn near immediately and it takes her down hard. She is bedridden for a week straight. In that time frame I become Father, Mother, caretaker, nurse, housekeeper, and chauffeur overnight. Where we once split the duties of running the house, all responsibilities now fall on me. She is too sick to drive, so I now drive her to all of her appointments (we're up to 34 appointments in total since June btw). I'm just trying to keep us afloat as she fights for her life.

Through all of this big deal real world poo that is happening, this fuging dog will not stop pissing and shitting all over the house. I am growing frustrated. I want to get rid of the dog. I cannot get rid of the dog. The children are now attached. If I'm being honest I kind of am too, he really is a sweet boy, plus this dog adores me because I have been the one that has been keeping him alive and spending time with him ever since we got him. If he would just stop shitting inside the house, he'd be a really good dog.

June turns to July, July to August, August to September. Wife goes through multiple rounds of chemo, each one taking her down just as hard as the last. I spend as much time with the kids during the summer as I can while still working my regular 9-5 and taking care of wifey. Any spare time is dedicated to making sure this damn dog doesn't crap inside the house.

We are now in September. The first chemo regimen has ended, new weekly regimen starts. The hope is that this new regimen won't be as hard on her, that she'll be able to feel like herself more, even if just a little icky from the chemo. The first round of this new chemo cocktail was last Thursday. We are cautiously optimistic. Friday rolls around and she feels fine. We have optimism. Saturday rolls around and she is tired, but still able to spend time with the family. We have hope. Sunday, today, rolls around and my wife can't get out of bed. She is exhausted and feels like she is going to vomit all day. I am disappointed but not surprised. I take care of the kids like I have been the past few months, but I'm bummed. I miss my wife. I miss my best friend. I really wanted this to work out. This poo is hard guys.

One of the few escapes I've had throughout this whole ordeal in my personal life has been to follow this team. So I watch the game as best as I can while trying to keep the children alive. I feed and bathe them before bed. I had cautious optimism for this team when we hired Reich. I had optimism when we traded up to the #1 pick. I had hope when we took Bryce. I see we lose again. I am disappointed but not surprised. I get the kids to brush their teeth and see if my wife will be able to help me put the kids to bed. She is too sick and stays in bed. I do not blame her in the slightest. I just want her to feel better. I put my daughter down, read a story with her and kiss her good night. I go into my son's room, put him to bed, read him a story, and then rub his head until he falls asleep. I fall asleep next to him.

I am awoken at 8:30 by the sound of whining. It's Captain. He just went out about an hour ago when I sent the kids to brush their teeth. He's been doing better lately about letting me know he needs to go outside. The whining is a good sign. I am optimistic he's finally getting it.

I get up and head downstairs, and then the smell hits.

I'm too late. Sitting at the bottom of the stairs is a gigantic pile of crap that the dog has both stepped in and tried to eat. I look at the dog wagging his tail at me with a literal poo eating grin. I'm disappointed but I'm not surprised.

There's a metaphor here. I don't know exactly what it is, but it's there.

This team is a distraction for me at this point in my life. I can't get upset about them being bad though. I've been saying for a while now I don't get upset about this team like I used to because I have way more important stuff going on. The above situation is that more important stuff going on. It's one of those things in life that really puts everything else into perspective.

Anyway, I hope they turn it around. They'd be a really good team if they learned to stop shitting inside the house. Until they do, I'll just be disappointed.

But I won't be surprised.

We all hope for the best.  I personally remember you as a mod that mad a sticky a few years ago about how political discussion related to the pandemic/covid would not be tolerated. A few days later I pointed out in in another thread engaged in the same activity discussing politics ( Trump) your sticky said you would not tolerate. 
When I did so....you banned me! 

The real metaphor is.....hypocrite! The team you rely on now and the outlet many of us use....you so casually banned people from for calling you out on your own violation of your own rule. 

Best wishes on the cancer battle. Its a beast!  But damn you for talking about how this place and team is a haven of light for you in trying times when you denied it to other for noticing you braking your OWN rules!

 

[dave-o]

4 hours ago, Mega Pint of Wine said:

We all hope for the best.  I personally remember you as a mod that mad a sticky a few years ago about how political discussion related to the pandemic/covid would not be tolerated. A few days later I pointed out in in another thread engaged in the same activity discussing politics ( Trump) your sticky said you would not tolerate. 
When I did so....you banned me! 

The real metaphor is.....hypocrite! The team you rely on now and the outlet many of us use....you so casually banned people from for calling you out on your own violation of your own rule. 

Best wishes on the cancer battle. Its a beast!  But damn you for talking about how this place and team is a haven of light for you in trying times when you denied it to other for noticing you braking your OWN rules!

 

What a d.ick head thing to say....  Comparing real life to a message board....  A true POS thing to say....