The Burrow

It seems as though I should have something profound to say. It seems as though my thoughts should have coalesced into something meaningful. It seems as though, having had 357 days to contemplate my fate, my brain should have come up with something. It seems that way.  Unfortunately, the truth is somewhat different. I am no closer to understanding why or how or what if. I have no answers. I cannot predict my mood from day to day, or, often, minute to minute. I have no certainty. Instead of relaxing in retirement I am busier than I've ever been. Instead of anonymity I am a public figure. Instead of a baby blog I have a robust readership and, perhaps, the germ of a book. Instead of wallowing in self pity I have picked up my big girl pants and made lemonade out of lemons. Instead of being a part of someone else's project, I have created my own. I have met the President and the Sheriff and the Attorney General and the Director of the FBI.  I have met T...

This is the week I throw out my old spices. I'm not a good enough cook to use anything but the freshest ingredients; I need all the help I can get. This is also the week that I move the "wear me or toss me in here" bag into my closet. White shirts with ring-around-the-collar are always the first inhabitants. As soon as I put away the last of the holiday decorations I'll give the potting shed its annual cleansing. January may be long and dark and c-c-c-cold in the mornings but it's time for my Boris Badenov imitation -- out with the bad..... in with the good. I made my first serious New Year's Resolution in graduate school in 1974. In truth, it was more of an assignment that I transformed into a resolution. Behaviorism - think B. F. Skinner rewarding pigeons for appropriate pecking - was all the rage and we were a class of skeptics until the professor had us create a personal program to change one of our own unwanted behaviors. I will not bite my nai...

The Chief Dispenser of Care at G'ma's pod-castle asked if we had plans for tonight. There were 2 other Jewish ladies in the Community and, if I had no objections, the pod-castle would like to invite the 3 of them to a special Rosh Ha'Shana dinner in a neighboring pod-castle. All on their own, in a decidedly un-religious-though-leaning-towards-Christian environment, they are going out of their way to give G'ma the kind of experience she had when she managed her own living space. They thought it would make her happy. Any doubts I had about the wisdom of this move have vanished. L'shana tova tikatevu - May you have a GREAT new year, filled with sweetness and joy.