Inspired by Depressionista's blogs, I decided to formally define what we mean by the term, "shitrock." As expressive as the English language is, it often fails to have words to describe certain things. For example, there is this quote from the show Six Feet Under:"If you lose a spouse, you're called a widow, or a widower. If you're a child and you lose your parents, then you're an orphan. But what's the word to describe a parent who loses a child? I guess that's just too f***ing awful to even have a name."
Put another way, there are no words to describe the heartache and emptiness of losing a child.
I sometimes describe the feeling of losing my son as something that would be the opposite of a "miracle." It's beyond tragedy, beyond devastation, beyond grief. There is no word that really means the opposite of a miracle.
Basically, the "shitrock" is my made-up term for the opposite of something lucky, like a four-leaf clover or a lucky rabbit's foot. When things are going right, and we're feeling superstitious, we have our "lucky" things, like our lucky socks, or my "lucky panties." When things are going right, we say, "Wow, you've got luck on your side!" or "You must be my good luck charm!"
But what if things are going not-so-good, or truly, horribly, bad? We can say we're cursed. Or we've got bad karma. But what's the opposite of a "good luck charm?" That's where I came up with the term, "shitrock."
Some of us have the shitrock when we're playing cards, some of us have it when we have a bad day, and some of us seem to have this perpetual shitrock in our pockets for our entire lives. Basically, it's the anti-lucky charm.
2 comments:
First, I really like your explanation of losing your son as "the opposite of a miracle." I had never thought of it like that and it's so accurate.
Good explanation here of the shitrock. I have incorporated this term into my everyday lexicon (because I have the shitrock perpetually in my pocket, I need to refer to it often). Now most of my friends and family here also use it. It's spreading, Tingle!
Your last line about it being "the anti-lucky charm" made me think that we should make a new cereal called "Shitrocks!" You know, like Lucky Charms. There could be little brown marshmallows in there....or maybe it should be something not quite so fun, like little hard and chewy things. Hey...I think Raisin Bran could be remarketed as Shitrocks!
Or maybe Shitrocks cereal could be Lucky Charms, only when you open it up, there aren't any marshmallows in it. Hee hee.
I love ya, Shitrock Sister! (That sounds like a good band name too, doesn't it?)
I get the "shitrock". I think you need to have ritual to get rid of the "shitrock". Maybe actually taking some sort of rock, symbolizing removing it from your life. Maybe the next time you come to Iowa, we can work up some kind of appropriate ritual....replacing it with a rose quartz (meaning love) or something. That sounds kind of fun. I think we can get rid of that "shitrock" for you!!
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