I’m always cold except for maybe between July 1st
and the middle of August. This morning I woke up to sub-zero temperatures that
have only climbed to minus five in the two hours I’ve been sucking up coffee
and zipping around the internet. I have my fingerless gloves on with L.L. Bean hand
warmers tucked inside. My house is making noises I don’t usually hear and I don’t
blame it. The furnace can’t keep up, but I never touch my thermostat; it stays
at 70 but I’ve been known to wear as many as four layers of clothing including
silk long-underwear. I did find a place, last week, where I was as warm as I
wanted to be. I have a niece-in-law with MS who lives in an assisted living
facility who I went to visit on her 51th birthday. I was there an hour and a
half and left because I was afraid if I got any more comfortable, I’d want to
book a room and stay until spring.
Before her mother passed away, this niece and her mother
lived in the same facility for a short time and my sister-in-law had a black
roommate. One day her other daughter came rushing into her sister’s room and
said, “You’ve got to talk to Mom! She’s calling her roommate her ‘chocolate
chip cookie.’” “Don’t worry about it,” came the reply, “her roommate calls Mom
her ‘white cupcake’---they’re friends.” I miss my sister-in-law. She was such a
dingbat. In the fifty plus years that I knew
her she was always saying outrageous things and starting fights among her kids.
She could leave me laughing, she could leave me speechless or shaking my head
at her wacky way of looking at life but she was never boring. Her pet name for
me was “Mother Theresa” because, she said, I always took the high road. I had
to around her. She was such a prolific gossip that I knew my every word would
get repeated to someone if I didn’t. It’s funny what we remember the most about
others who’ve passed on. I remember her for her great cooking and how much it
delighted her that I never shined in that department, but for some reason I keep
forgetting that she also took in kids and babies that social services had to
place in a hurry, sometimes in the middle of the night---26 or 27 cases---while
she was raising her own five. It’s important to balance the good in a person
when saying anything negative.
Writing that last line reminded of a movie quote from New Year’s Eve, it’s one of my favorite
quotes and favorite films. “Sometimes it feels like there are so many things in
this world we can't control. Earthquakes, floods, reality shows... But it's
important to remember the things that we can. Like forgiveness, second chances,
fresh starts... Because the one thing that turns the world from the longing
place to a beautiful place... is love. Love and any of its forms. Love gives us
hope...” As exasperating as my sister-in-law could be at times with her
gossiping and stirring the pot, she never let an opportunity go by without delivering warm meals or
groceries to the door of anyone in need. It was also rare to see her without a
crochet project in her hands. She made baby layettes for friends, family, acquaintances,
several charities and her church's craft sales.
Last Monday was supposed to be one of my Gathering Girls
bi-monthly, standing brunch dates but we canceled it because the weather was
predicted to be way too cold for man or beast to be outside. The ice we got earlier
didn’t have a chance to melt and is still under a layer of snow. Between lung
issues and fragile bones it was prudent to cancel, but that doesn’t mean I had
to like it. I haven’t been any place in what feels like a month of Mondays. The
only voices I hear are coming from the TV and---surprise, surprise---I’ve even
been waiting until noon to turn it on. A couple of times I’ve tried singing
or talking out loud just to make sure I could still do it, but the dog gets
upset and/or confused. He rules my life, so I shut back up.
So what have I been doing to keep my brains from setting up like
lime Jell-O? January has turned me into
a regular little Susie Homemaker. I’ve been deep cleaning closets, cabinets and
chest-of-drawers in my master bedroom suite. After my cleaner comes on her
first Friday of the month, I’m calling a couple of painters to get estimates on
step one in my redecorating project. I’ve also spent some time working on a portrait,
baking scones, making soup and shredding papers. I hate that latter job, but
tax time is coming to America…assuming we’ll still have a country by April 15th
to pay my fair share towards the costs of running it. And that last thought
explains why this news junkie has been taking a respite from consuming any more
than two hours of news updates a day. My news respites in the Era of Trump
never lasts longer than a few weeks before something sucks me back in. ©
