March 4, 2026
I can finally report that most
of the snow, and more importantly the ice that has been strewn about our yard is
gone. Of course, we have a few of those usual places where shadows rule for
most of the day. There small mounds remain, and if one didn’t see them in the
corner, hovering, one would surely feel the cold they release into their
immediate environs as one walks past them.
The forecast for the next week
or so is promising spring-like temperatures. We will pick a time and put the
cat into the basement (one of his favorite haunts) and close the door to keep
him safely there for a little while. Once that has been accomplished, I plan to
have both front and back door, as well as a few windows, open to the allure of
what I hope will be sweet, fresh, spring air.
Our actual spring cleaning
will have to wait another week, because daughter is working this weekend and trust
me when I say that the kind of cleaning we need doesn’t happen without her.
I’m not completely useless
when it comes to household chores, but it’s getting close. Last year I had a
left arm strain that took a while to heal. Apparently, my right arm was jealous
as I have been dealing with its version of the same injury for the last two and
a half months. It’s getting better but still impedes the implementation of my activities
list.
I’ve never been a person
content to sit day after day and do nothing. I’ve had a few of those, however,
during this latest little blip. I really don’t like it all that much. When it
comes to the adjustments that one is forced to make as one ages, this has been
the most difficult for me—and the most humbling.
Fresh in my memory are the days when I would
tackle my house like a zealot, cleaning, scouring, rearranging….well, you get
the picture. I found great satisfaction in the doing, and the results. Even if
in those days it was a numbers game with the odds stacked against me. The
numbers? One human pro clean and tidy(me) vs. four others on the con side of
the equation.
I used to joke that I could
work like the dickens both Saturday and Sunday, then get up Monday and not be
able to discern the hard work I’d done.
That’s not the case any longer
of course. But now it takes me the lion’s share of the day to complete what I
used to do in a few short hours.
Ah well, I can still cook,
producing good meals and the inmates who live here with me make happy tummy
sounds as they eat, so there’s that.
Here we are again, my friends,
back to those words found in the book of Matthew about wars and rumors of wars.
Over the course of the last two days, I have heard three separate explanations
for actions taken in the middle east by three separate members of the same
political administration. One claims it’s an offensive war that will only take
a few weeks; one claims it’s a defensive war that may stretch a bit longer; and
one says there is no war at all.
That’s a rather odd and
disconcerting example of the saying, “something for everyone”.
In my corner of the world, I
prefer to hold on to my sanity and my peace of mind with both hands. The
Olympics are over, but certain other television shows are back, so there are
diversions to be had. And since a couple of them involve music, well, that’s
where I’ve chosen to place my focus. I’m
not ignoring reality. Trust me, I see what’s going on. I have just chosen to
face this situation the same way as I’m facing my declining housekeeping
abilities.
All I can do is all I can do
and that just has to be enough. Anything else surely is the definition of
madness, and I prefer to remain sane, thank you very much.
Because really, there are so
damn few of us left around here anymore.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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