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Sarah's avatar

I had finally gotten to a good headspace yesterday (brought on by the Senate Democrats preventing the passage of the anti-trans sports ban). Then I watched last night, and I was again in bad shape today.

I LOVE that you were a midwife. Call the Midwife is my favorite TV show of all time. ♥️ We only have season 14 episode 1 so far here, so no spoilers if you watch. 😉

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

I don’t watch it as I am the worst person to watch any dramatised births. I annoy everyone around me by constantly criticising the reenactment… I’m all ‘that’s not a newborn’, ‘you can’t stop a haemorrhage that quickly’ ‘why haven’t they put a drip up?’… glad you enjoy it though, it’s really popular in Britain. ❤️

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Sarah's avatar

Haha! I get it. The storylines are just so magnificent. We watch Ghosts UK because we loved Charlotte Richie’s Call the Midwife character so much.

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ann divelbiss's avatar

Lol.

I am a retired NICU ECMO RN….I can't see a baby without looking for good veins😂🤣😂 or doing a quick visual check

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

I hear you Ann 😂

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

Ghosts is fab too and Charlotte is such a good actress, good choice 👍🏻

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FranB's avatar

Couldn't bear to watch it, so thank you for the potted summary. If there are going to be four more years of this, we might need more than an epidural, an induced coma perhaps...

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

Ooh I’m British and I work in the NHS… lists are long for induced comas though 🙊

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FranB's avatar

Damn!

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

Will Medicare pay for that? 😉

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FranB's avatar

Probably not, but fortunately I have the NHS 😁

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Unapologetic Diabetic's avatar

Trump WAS, IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A LYING CON MAN.

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

Agreed!

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Wayne Reed's avatar

Well said Rebecca. I was in the basement listening to my lp’s. I made the mistake of popping my head up, thinking that it must have been over. Boy, was I wrong. The orange one was still rabbiting on, spewing lies and insults. I should have put the kettle on and have a cuppa or two to calm down.

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

Yep Wayne…I went through 3 cups of tea listening to that complete bullshittery… the exploitation of the grieving families was particularly stomach turning. Stay in the basement next time until the coast is clear and pour yourself a nice cup of tea ☕️ (or something stronger)!

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Wayne Reed's avatar

Alcohol is out for me for medical reasons, replaced by Earl Grey.

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Stacie Whitney's avatar

Omg thank you for your wit, humour, and for the written equivalent of nitrous to take the edge off these contractions from hell.

As an American implant (now also British) living in Scotland, reading this was like that post-labour cuppa and toast you mentioned - a balm for my soul.

🙏🏽❤️

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

Such a beautiful comment Stacie. We all need a bit of soul uplift right now. Lifts my soul that you enjoyed it. ❤️

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WelpThisIsTheBadPlace's avatar

You nailed it! We will have our review up later, but yours hit all the low points (like every minute!) very well!

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Mary Berg's avatar

I’m taking a self care break; thank you 🙏🏻 for keeping me informed. I will read.

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

‘Self care break’… I love it. ❤️ Enjoy, Mary… take as long as you need. ☕️

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Jen Wozniak's avatar

I’m late looking at this stuff. I laughed hysterically

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

Late to the party Jen? don’t worry… we are pulling an all nighter! Fuelled by caffeine ☕️

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Keli Osborne's avatar

That’s freaking hilarious. We seriously tried to watch it and couldn’t do it. He just spews vomit 🤮. Asshole and a bunch of kiss ass motherfuckers

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Daniel Puzzo's avatar

This was so epic and beautiful, your nicknames and the ways you describe those clowns like Vance and co are priceless. I need this kind of comedy relief although every time I read something like this I'm one step closer to burning my American passport and renouncing all my ties (would that eliminate my credit card debt?).

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

God, times have changed for you Daniel and your family. What a life you have led (and are still leading). No wonder this is all so close to your heart. Thank you for sharing. 💙💛

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

Gosh, thst sounds intense and a great article, I really hope it gets published too… so many families have been affected by Trump, more casualties and of his own particular war. Your story is quite unique though due to your strong links to Ukraine, literal genetic links in your daughter’s case.

I’m so surprised that you have Republican parents Daniel, you are one of the least Republican writers I know! The apple did fall far from the tree in your family… thankfully! Thanks for sharing, really appreciated. 🇺🇦

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Daniel Puzzo's avatar

Crazy how times have changed and roles were reversed. It pains me to remember this now, but in 1996 I voted for…Bob Dole. And my father? Bill Clinton (though he now vehemently denies it!).

My dad was in the US military, which explains much of this. I grew up on bases in the UK and Europe, like ‘mini-Americas’. Back then, with limited exposure to media outside of our 1 TV channel and newspaper, it was a giant echo chamber. It took me a few years of university (as in, being properly educated!) to see past the errors of my ways.

(btw, the Fox News effect is very real - many families have been torn apart by those clowns)

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

Oh I didn’t realise your parents are over there Daniel. How are they finding things?

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Daniel Puzzo's avatar

Long story. I recently wrote an article and submitted it to some journal on the topic of family estrangement due to politics (fingers crossed they’ll publish it).

In brief: my parents and I are at opposite ends of the political spectrum. My mother is from Belfast but became a naturalised US citizen in the mid-2000s. They’re both Republicans.

The dynamic is odd now because of Ukraine. They’ve voted for Trump in the last three elections (🤬) even with my long-time connections to Ukraine (13 years there, Ukrainian wife (now -ex), half-Ukrainian daughter). In this past election, to them, ‘Trump was the lesser of two evils’ and now my sister and I are livid whenever we talk to our parents and they go on about ‘oh, we didn’t think he’d be this bad!’ and we can only answer, WE ONLY TOLD YOU OVER AND OVER HOW BAD HE WOULD BE, and they continue posting pro-Ukraine stuff on Facebook which has confused all their MAGA friends and it’s all a mess.

That wasn’t so brief, sorry. If it weren’t for them, I’d never go back to the US ever again.

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Rebecca Mack ☕'s avatar

I’m glad it provided some light relief for you Daniel, Lord knows we all need it as this shitshow rumbles on with no hope of an end in sight 😭

Keep your passport, America is full of amazing people, nothing to be ashamed of. If you are ever tempted to burn it though, make sure you film it and put it on Substack… you could start a trend!

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Daniel Puzzo's avatar

That's not a bad idea! I hate to boast but I've recently received my Irish passport so along with that plus my British one, at least I'm good to go in Europe. If it weren't for my parents living in the US, I'd never go back.

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Jen Wozniak's avatar

Lol

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