#sol24 December 24 Peace, Hope, and Your Grocery Cart

 

In the days leading up to this mega, midweek holiday extravaganza, in Stew Leonards, a local mega specialty grocery store, a man took my basket containing a small filet, a pound of shrimp, and a well used Trader Joe grocery bag. 

"I think you took my cart by accident," I said with a smile as I approached him closing in on the checkout line. 

"I did NOT," he said with the determination of a person eager to get out of the frenzy of holiday shoppers. "Go get your own cart," he scoffed as he pushed into the checkout line. 

I am really not sure why he was so grouchy or why he thought the cart was his, but in the end, it doesn't matter!  Perhaps, he really needed to secure a filet, bag of shrimp, and a grocery bag without waiting in the long line of holiday shoppers! 

Perhaps, I am growing "soft" in my old age or perhaps I have read How the Grinch stole Christmas too many times, but I left with a shrug and the Grinch's message in my head....

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,

stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? 

It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. 

And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. 

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. 

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. 

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Whatever you are celebrating (or not celebrating) and whoever you are with (or not with), I hope you find the peace and hope of this season of lights and miracles and your own grocery cart!

#sol24 December 17 Oversized, Overpriced, Priceless Memories

 

To be honest, I thought this year might have been the one to scale back - a little tabletop tree, perhaps?

But my "assistants" really liked "Gianna" and offered to help me decorate the oversized, overpriced tree that is now shedding in my living room; thus, she has now taken over 16 square feet of real estate!

The decorating was slow and steady, interspersed with tea, cookies, questions about "long ago" and comments about "antique" ornaments!

        "Why don't you get a new lady or put a bow at the top of your tree, that one is falling apart?"

        In my defense, the decrepit tree-top angel was a freebee with a purchase at Sears, long, long ago!

        "Why don't you put a new note in the mailbox?"

        In my defense, that note was written by your great-grandmother, so it is special to me.

        "Why do you have so many angels?" 

        In my defense, each one was made or purchased in memory of someone I lost.

        "Check this out, it says Christmas 1979!"

        In my defense, we celebrated Christmas long ago!

To be honest, I am glad to welcome Gianna, even if I don't need "Gianna" and her abundant raining needles!  

To be honest, I am glad to have shared things that are special to me with people who are special to me.  To be honest, someday soon, most of these "special-to-me" ornaments will find themselves in either a 25-cent bin at Goodwill or a landfill.

To be honest, I am glad I agreed to spend this year's holiday with an oversized, overpriced tree who is wearing a host of memories on her arms!

#sol24 December 10 Due Date

 

Today, there are students, who are "sweating it out" in spite of the cold, dreary weather. 

• Some of them are procrastinators (like their professor), and are doing random other things to avoid the inevitable (like their professor who is writing a SOL).
• Others are deciding on their "excuse" among the common (The Flu, Sick Students) and the less likely (Crashed Computer).  (I have heard them all!)
• Some of them have a long history of doing their best work when the due date is hours away!
• Others really have been overwhelmed by the demands of being new teachers for 15 weeks.
• Some of are used to throwing together their report, project, case study or whatever else was needed at the last.
• Others are reliant on the potential of AI to do the hard work!
• Some are hoping their professor will be "wooed" by their strong opening thesis statement and the need to read a zillion papers in a matter of days.

Tomorrow, the work is due. Then, their professor will begin "sweating it out" in spite of the cold, dreary weather.  She will have to:

• Not wrap that pile of presents
• Not mix up a vat of gingerbread dough
• Not decorate with designs waiting in the wings for decade
• Not procrastinate  

Today and tomorrow, I hope my students stay strong and as we both remember that tough times and due dates make strong people!

#sol24 December 3 Finding Love

This time of year

On cold, lonely nights,

I sometimes watch a

Cheesy, unrealistic tale

About finding love amidst

Gently falling snowflakes

With twinkling lights and

Dark December skies

As a backdrop.

This year,

I watched a story unfold,

With a foreboding winter backdrop,

Ebbing daylight, icy wind, dark clouds, 

A tiny pup, looking like a winter day,

Wormed his way into our hearts

Into our lives.

"Snowy" will never 

Walk, eat, sleep, play, 

Or, be lonely

As he is NOW part of a family

Who don't need to watch cheesy

Unrealistic movies about finding love.

 

#sol24 A Slice of Gratitude

As I reflect on the edge of Thanksgiving

I acknowledge the many stressors,

World, national, familial, personal,

 Challenging life altering events, 

For so many.

So my slice today is

A Slice Of Gratitude.

For the opportunity to share

A cup of hot tea and heartfelt talk.

For the opportunity to share

An old favorite pig story before naptime.

For the remnants of a career

Sharing a passion for students

Who find learning challenging.

For a windy soccer game's finale,

A lacrosse tournament providing

An excuse to be outside all day long,

A chlorine infused swim meet's journey.

For a cousin who cares enough

To do a "dirty job" job I should have done.

A long phone call with a dear friend,

Friends who exercise achy joints

In the pool, and care.

For a concert by people who share

What they love, their passion.

Yes, this life is not without 

Its many, many challenges,

Obstacles and heartbreaks,

So, this holiday,

I am grateful for those many diverse

Passions that make the journey

Interesting and fun. 

 

#sol24 Out From Under the Bleachers

  

I've sat on my share of bleacher seats

On glorious spring and fall afternoons,

In the scorching heat of summer playoffs,

During snowstorms when we dug out the seats,

In dreary gyms in random towns.

I recently became the owner of a previously-loved

Portable watching-sports-chair!

To be honest, the bleachers, if present,

Are increasingly uncomfortable!

To be honest, getting up from the ground,

Is a little more challenging.

So, I was a bit surprised,

And yet not surprised at all,

When I saw this new invention

Resting proudly on the sidelines

So that little ones can rest their loins,

As they await their turn

To kick the ball around the field.

Yes, you too can have one of these

Saving your littles from intense bleacher discomfort

Or the ravages of the hard ground.

Amazon, Dicks, Walmart...

I feel as if I was living under a rock

Or perhaps under a bleacher!

#sol24 November12 Slice of Perspective

 

The air was pungent with smoky residue from the hills as I tried to rake the leaves, alone.  I was annoyed as my eyes burned and my throat was tightening even as I my mind wandered to those years of when an orchestra of eager-if-not-always-happy-rakers created the backdrop for a full afternoon of laughing-complaining-leaves-in-hair-working-fun. 

Clearly, the sky was dusky and the fall spectacular of crunchy leaves was not what I was expecting until I remembered that I was indeed the lucky one as I could rake my leaves!

"We watched the line of flames barely 200 yards from our house holding our breath," she explained.  "I really wasn't sure we would have anything left, but the path they bulldozed held up and kept the fires at bay." 

"They lost everything," my cousin's voice cracked as she tried to explain, "just hours after they left." 

There has been no rain in more than a month here and in California (an many other places as well.)  Mother Nature's beauty has been muted by the loss of one of her super-healing powers, rain. 

My slice today, is a slice of perspective. 

#sol24 November 5 Our Voices and Our Votes Matter

The parking lot was full, a rarity, and so I drove around thinking about the power of news and social media hype to bring people to the library even before the real Election Day! After finally parking, I noticed two ladies, with walkers, slooowwwly making their way towards the door.  

I thought, for a moment, about passing them and securing a place in the line ahead of them. Instead, I asked if they were coming to vote and held the door as they sloooowwwly entered.  Then, we both stopped in awe of the line of voters wrapped around first the local memorabilia and then all the way around the circulation desk! 

Their collective sigh morphed my own sigh and displaced my thoughts of leaving. I thought of the energy it had taken for them to come out to vote. I thought of the nearly impossible challenge of standing in what was clearly going to be a long and winding line.  

"How about your folks sit here and I will get in line.  When it gets close, you can join the line," I suggested. 

"Thank you," they said quietly and slooowwwly they made their way to the bench while I slooowwwly waded through the sea of voters to secure a spot at the end of the line of people clearly on their lunch break and others clearly frustrated by the long line.. 

I had lots of time to think of past elections of voting at 6AM  before a long commute and at10PM as the doors were about to close.  I really did not remember ever having lines like this before! 

I really did have plans to circle by the grocery store, but instead, after voting, I walked slooowwwly towards their car, surface talk about the incredible line and the equally incredulous weather.

"You know, I used to just cancel out my husband's vote most years, but this time, while I miss him terribly, my vote counts even more," she sighed.

As I headed to my car, I was hoping I would remember to vote (by mail) when my turn to move slooowwwly came in the not-too-distant-future, because, our voices and our votes matter. 

#sol24 October 29 I Love You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

 

It was many, many years after I eagerly sang along with them, in my pajamas, as they crooned on the Ed Sullivan show; yet, when that music began....we overlooked the converted gym, fake sideburns, sloppy wigs, and bad dad jokes!  We sang along at full tilt.

There were a few among the "silver sneaker" crowd who had actually seen them, long ago, at Yankee Stadium and one person even stood outside the Ed Sullivan theater to catch a glimpse! Yet, for most of us, it was a "first"!

Their starting number, of course, brought most of us to our feet as the words emerged from the recesses of our minds. "I love you, yeah, yeah, yeah," was certainly audible to the young-uns on the treadmills or in the nearby pool!  

During intermission, they donned longer wigs and St Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band inspired outfits to embrace the '70s, and we chugged flavored waters and shared memories of albums and songs that had shaped our identities, even if we do not think about it every day. 

It was over, at nine because the fake Beatles had to travel to another gig the next day and because, well, the "silver sneaker" crowd had a morning stretch and flex class early the next morning!

As we headed outside, we laughed and reminisced about how fast time passes!  Then, someone joked about how a future "silver sneaker" crowd (filled with our grandchildren) would be filling a future multipurpose room somewhere talking about their version of I Love You, Yeah, Yeah Yeah...

And in the parking lot, we ended the evening with the currently popular but far less familiar  to us......."Marry me Juliet, you'll never be alone, It's a love story, just say yes, oh, oh oh..." 

#sol24 Everyday Images in the Sky

At the beginning of October, I went outside to try to see the "Ring of Fire" eclipse.  It was too cloudy.

A few days later, I tried to catch a meteor shower that was supposed to be visible in the early evening but I must have been too early, missed it or I was looking in the wrong place. 

Next,  then tried to catch Jupiter that was supposedly going to be visible, but still no go.

Then, I meant to catch the Hunter's Moon, that final super moon of 2024, but I forgot!

But, during the clear skies of this October, there have been many, many nights when the skies have been filled with the colorful reflections of sunlight on the horizon.  

These images may not earn notoriety for their rarity, but they sure do offer few moments of sustained happiness in spite of withering plants, shedding trees, and clearly shorter days! 

With clear skies again today, we are most likely going to have another light show! There is something to be said for those everyday images in our sky.