I’m back from a run, and just in time too. We saw little sun today, and by 4:30 darkness was already settling in. Of course, it’s that time of year when — amid all the holiday messages and decorations — we’re also conscious of longer nights, less natural light to enjoy. The top of our baby grand piano (always a lovely surface, positioned as it is right near the windows) is populated with many cards right now, and they’re an … Read More
Here in New England, August has served up some glorious weather. Those sweltering days in July — June was no picnic, either — needed to be endured, first. If last week and weekend were basketball, we got nothing but net: swish. Apparently the term “dog days of summer” refers specifically to the period between July 3rd and August 11th. For those of us with actual dogs, though, there’s no time limit, and no requirement on high degrees of heat, either. … Read More
What’s “old” to you? How distinct is the difference between someone in this category and someone on the next rung down, say, “approaching old”? My mother preferred the word “elderly” to describe most anyone over the age of 80 — and the great-aunts and uncles were close by. The word had a gentler sound to her, I think. And then she herself arrived there, a fact which must mean that I’m soon to follow. This, we learn, is how life … Read More
My husband and I used to care for three children; now it’s down to one senior dog. Curiously, though, the senior dog — with new patches of white fur around his tall ears, and trepidation when faced with another ascent of the stairs — manages to keep the element of play, something we normally associate with youth, alive. Soon he will be downright OLD, and yet much of the time he has a fiery look in his eye that says, … Read More
It’s been so long since I’ve checked in here that, if I were to bring any animals at all to this site, these would be the most appropriate choice. But another species has been on my mind. And I daresay you’ll be relieved to hear about anything other than politics right about now. Some of you have been doggedly —oh, my topic slipped out– following all the mostly dreary news of late; you need a break. So, trying to be … Read More
You can be up, or you can be down. And unless we’re talking about a fluctuating mood or perhaps stocks that go one direction and then compensate with a swing the other way, there’s a whopping big difference between the two states— especially if we’re referring to being physically, literally UP on your feet and moving around or DOWN, horizontal, stuck. Whether you’re a two-legged creature or a four-legged one (I can’t vouch for the six-or-eight legged kind) this … Read More
Amidst terrifying darkness, glimmering points of light feel like miracles. Once again we are reeling from a mass shooting; once again we search for answers; once again we keep going about our business, even as we know that many families are enduring what was, until a few days ago, unimaginable loss. News of the horrific event, and the ongoing aftermath, is full of questions that may never be answered about the mass murderer. But we have survivors’ stories and we … Read More
Ever feel like you’re out of synch with mainstream culture? That you’re marching to the beat of a different drummer but — here’s the clincher—you’re also not sure you want to be in this Thoreauvian (a real word) situation? “Twas I, just a few evenings ago, on the 4th of July. OK, so this is a social, boisterous holiday. Parades, picnics, fireworks: people get together all over the country, holding paper plates of burgers and hot dogs and potato salad; … Read More