Couch 215: The Overcoming Couch

Sounds like the couch has been having a rough go of it. I’m sorry to those of you struggling. Hugs as appropriate or wanted.

I don’t like this PHP I’m in. I’m sure it would be better if I were in person instead of over the computer. Darn Covid.

Maybe. I just called the police to do a wellness check. I basically just turned my sister in. But I felt I had to.

Trigger for about why I called:

What else was I supposed to do? My family is going to be mad at me. It will be my fault the girls get taken away. But I had to, right? The girls safety comes first. It just is killing me. My heart is breaking.

Luckily, I have L in an hour. But I had other stuff I really wanted to talk about

Sounds like a terrible situation, Scarlet, but one those children need to be removed from. You are doing the right thing.

The girls' safety comes first, Scarlet...always.

I hope there's a resolution to this that works out for everyone.

Is there a chance you could have an extra session/phone call?

Oh, that's awful...it sounds like she definitely can't be left alone with them. You did the right thing by calling.

Thanks for saving us, Dream Artie!

Omg i couldnt take care of just a newborn, let alone plus a 1 and a 2 year old.

It also sounds like your sister needs help - possibly hospitalization - until she is functioning. I'm assuming this is out of character for her (I don't know all the background)? It's possible this is something that needs to be medically tended to as a result of pregnancy/childbirth. You did the right thing.

Trigger for discussion of alcohol (is that necessary? unclear; just being safe)

I don't think drinking before 5PM is necessarily unwise, etc. It comes down to the context of your drinking I guess. Having a drink with lunch or a beer while working in the yard in the heat of the day is pretty typical. Drinking alone, particularly to get drunk, block out something, etc. perhaps points to a different issue and might be unwise.

It sounds like you did the right thing Scarlet. I’m sure that couldn’t have been easy, but the safety of those children matter. Hugs.

Anybody else do Postcrossing here? It seems like a couchie hobby. I have done it on and off for a few years now. I'm back at it again because sending postcards is a fun thing to do while I'm mostly stuck at home. I also needed a way to get rid of my old stamps so I can buy more in order to support the USPS.

I had never heard of it before, but I looked at the link you posted and it sounds fun.

Feeling much more hopeful today. I was NOT looking forward to my morning ablutions, but i was pleasantly surprised. No pain, no pain! It's funny how my messy house seemed so hopeless yesterday, but today it does not - i see what has been cleaned up, not just what is looming. "what a difference a poop makes..."

Losn dog loooves tennis balls, as in chasing and fetching. New cat has hijacked one he left lying around, plopped her butt down on it and is wheeling around on it while doing those cat disembowelment motions.

Loan dog is horrified. He keeps barking, “That is NOT how you play with a tennis ball.” New cat don’t care.

Have you seen those long-lost dog siblings accidentally encountering each other and then giving each other stand-up human hugs, instead of sniffing each other?

The apocalypse is upon us.

Like I would have had other people in a car with me. Ha.

I don't know why time of day is associated with foods or drink. I would think if one had one drink of an alcoholic beverage because one enjoyed the taste - then it wouldn't matter what time it is. If one is drinking to get drunk or for an emotional reason of some sort - then I think it a problem no matter the time of day.

That's well said, SD. Damn good reasoning.

I think my desire to drink at this exact moment stems from boredom, to be honest. I'm off work this week, which is at once lovely and awful because there's nothing to do and nowhere to go. I'm bored and lonely and totally understimulated. I did manage to find somewhere to go camping tomorrow night through this website where people host you on their private property (I found a nice couple that own a goat farm), so that's something.

My nieces and sister are safe now. The baby is with her dad, and the older two are with my mom. My sister is with me, sleeping on the couch.

The wellness check failed. My sister refused to answer the door, and because I was providing 3rd party information, the police didn't have enough evidence to kick down the door. Everyone is safe, but the damage has been done, and we don't know the full effects yet. I don't know what's going to happen with the boyfriend, I don't know what's going to happen to the girls, and I don't know what's going to happen with my sister. She needs help. She says she's sorry and everything will be better, but we all have heard that before. Change takes work. And if she has BPD like me, that's going to take a lot of work.

Clearly they carjacked you and your only recourse was to drive into a body of water.

Oh that's a neat idea that people will host you on their property.


And for the drinking thing, I, um, can't say anything about drinking before 5. Because I certainly do that. I agree with some others that it's about the reason and quantity. If you're just having a drink with lunch or, say, because you just feel like having one, that's fine. (And I think timing is a bit different for you, with you often working the night shift anyway...) Or like if you're going to a wine or beer festival, something like that. If you're getting wasted at 2 pm, that might be a sign of a problem if it happened more than once.

I'm glad everyone is safe. The boyfriend is only the father to the baby, right? I hope your sister will use this as a push to get some help. You're being a good sister in letting her stay with you.

I had an allergic reaction to an avocado this morning. It caused a sudden, intense itching in my mouth. I hope this isn't an ongoing thing now because I really like avocado. And I just bought 3 of them.

C'mon, SD,

"even separated sibling dogs do it!"