I have written about the Frazier Thomas Band several times since I inherited this assignment at the beginning of 2021. Based on a local kids’ television show about a goose who thought he was the King of the United States, our band was purely a figment of our collective teenage imagination. Back then, life seems […]
Miscellaneous
Only Happy When It Rains
Mario wasn’t one of those guys who carried on and complained or wilted like a flower when he was sick or had some physical pain. His tolerance was high, bolstered by a masochistic tendency. In a way, he reminded me of that old song by the band Garbage, “Only Happy When It Rains” (in fact, […]
Born Young at Heart
I had finished a game of pickleball and was standing around with a few others, who, like me, were gathered by the fence waiting for the next court to become available, when I overheard “Charlie” talking to a fellow about his in-laws. “Charlie” said his in-laws lived in a suburban housing complex that recently had […]
Making the Best of It
I’m not sure when my mindset changed about making the best of a situation I perceive as undesirable (or actually bad), but I’m pretty sure it was post Mario, but I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it’s one of those, “don’t sweat the small stuff” type of things kicking in since I’ve already been through […]
Journaling
Over the years, I’ve definitely been someone who likes to journal. Journaling for me embodies a way to just write absolutely anything that may be on my mind. I don’t worry about style or grammar or any of that fun stuff that I’m more concerned about when I’m writing for other people to read it. […]
“Ruff” and Random Thoughts
Last week I wrote about the one year anniversary of the passing of my dad on April 29. Then I realized there was another milestone of sorts. April 28th marked the two and a half year point of my Widowhood. I guess it’s good that I wasn’t so fixated on this milestone, but it made […]
Recalling My Dad
Monday, April 29, marks the one year passing of my father. At times it seems like it was just last week that he passed in his Assisted Living Facility in Georgia. I’d been an advocate for my father since he’d moved south from New Jersey to live with my late husband, Rich and I, in […]
The Importance of Downtime
I was listening to a podcast earlier today about how to be “unstressed”. The general gist of it was that you are always going to have stress, so it’s not necessarily about eliminating stress from your life but that stress isn’t what happens to you; it’s how you handle what happens to you. I’ve had […]
Fate
I was a rather odd kid in that, from a very early age, I was fascinated by the past. In particular, the ancient past. I’m sure I have my dad to thank for sparking my interest by telling me all about geology and astronomy when I was still very small. These were subjects he was […]
Great “Distractions”
The other week I had my annual check up with my doctor in Georgia. She said the numbers of my last round of blood work ups were so good she didn’t even order new tests. I try to make my physical health a priority so this was good to hear. It’s especially important for those […]
Old Dog, New Trick
Before this week’s tutoring session, I received the announcement that in several weeks my assigned student, Zoey, a fifth grader, will have end-of-year proficiency tests in reading and math. I’m not certain, but I suspect these tests mainly benefit the tutoring organization, which annually must justify its existence to expand its reach as a tutoring […]
On Location!
As I’ve relayed in previous posts, in February I traveled from Florida to my brother’s home in New York State with the urgent news that my mother was not doing well. I understood that this would most likely be my last visit with her. Unfortunately, I learned of her passing while on a layover in […]