January 14, 2026
The January thaw has come and
gone—more or less. Once one understands that “normal” is a highly subjective
word, one may relax and simply observe the days as they come and go, noting
them in a journal, perhaps, if one is so inclined. But the need to clarify and
to classify is no longer present.
We did have a few days that
were wonderfully mild last week. You know the kind of days I’m talking about.
Days in January when you step out your door in shirtsleeves and give yourself a
small grin, because it feels like spring. Well, yes, that happened. For a few
days. Sadly, we likely won’t see above forty-degree temperatures in these parts
again until it really is spring. We’re not there yet. Hell, the official
countdown hasn’t even begun yet. That starts on Groundhog Day, more than 15
days from now.
A great deal of the snow and
ice that we had has melted, but certainly not all of it. Yes, there are bare
patches on lawns and roads, and the large ridges of snow and ice that had
fallen off the blades of the various plows that had been out since the first
snowfall in early November have shrunken. But they didn’t go away entirely.
According to the weather
forecast, we’re about to get some more snow, a steady downfall, but who can
know exactly how much? In the meantime, between the snow and ice that was and
that which is to come, the stores are out of safety salt. Again.
I’ve actually been out of the
house once over the last few days. The day before yesterday my daughter and I
ventured to a large store in our area to get a few things. Barely three bags
worth of things, because we’re being thoughtful about how we shop. Not only
because we are practicing frugality, but also because what one purchases must then
be carried into the house.
At the moment, I am only capable
of carrying myself. Because of the slope of the “walkway” from porch to road
that we’ve got (a temporary situation, to be remedied come the spring), I need assistance
from house to car and back again. Until it is spring and the other path my
grandson built is absolutely ice free, I cannot make the trek alone. That is
one boundary I am not willing to push.
That leaves the grocery
lugging up to our daughter. She can manage, if she’s careful. Hence neither
David nor I want to overload her. Our larger once a month supply runs will
resume in the good weather.
Tomorrow, David goes in for
cataract surgery on his left eye. So today the eye drop regimen began. It’s not
as difficult, or as confusing, as I thought it would be. Of course, being anal,
I had to read the instructions over and over again. I've organized this
assignment, but that’s all I can do. The actual application of the drops is up
to him. Then in about two weeks—on the twenty-eighth—he goes back for the same
surgery on his right eye.
We had been warned that the
wait to get the work done might be long, but we’ve lucked out. Between when he
discovered he needed the surgery and today was a period of not quite three full
months.
So for the next while at least,
there is a new element to the daily routine here in the Ashbury household. And
I’m sure once we’re into it, things will go smoothly and we can relax into the
rhythm of life.
The truth is that while I’m
far more anal than he is, he, too, prefers a routine that is established, and
familiar, edging toward comfortable.
Which means, just by the reality
of what life can be like, the times when we are in the open seas of smooth
sailing are truly few and far between.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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