Decidedly Personal

Back in December 2009, when I began this blog,  I was thinking more of it as a writing opportunity,  an opportunity to share this stage of my life.  At that time, I was still pretty much in my recently-retired mode of being.  I thought I might write about little insights and bits of pastoral wisdom.  I still had mostly a pastor's sense of self.  And since I did have an interim assignment for most of the year of 2010,  it was indeed my pastoral experiences that provided the basis of most of my blog writing that year.

In the two years since the beginning, a lot has changed.  One thing is--- I have put to rest the writer in me, having no more drive in that area.

 Also, it has been well over a year since I have been functioning as a pastor, and have managed to shed a good deal of my self identity as being primarily that.  Now, I tend to think of myself more as a parent, grandparent, parishioner, friend, retiree, person of leisure.

And with that transition,  I notice also that my whole intention around the blog has shifted to being much more personal, and family oriented.  In fact, I don't think it would be too far off to say that the blog has become my new "family album".   I used to take lots of camera pictures, get them developed, and put them in albums.  That went out the window with the arrival of the digital camera.   Truthfully,  I have never gotten many of the digital pictures developed or printed, and I don't maintain a photo album at all any more.

I did get the blog printed one year, and found that was a wonderful way to preserve my favorite pictures and thoughts.

I write this to acknowledge the change, and to recognize that readers from the public arena are not likely to find much of interest.  The content has become mostly personal.  I do not consider that either good nor bad.  It is simply part of the ever changing,  fluid, evolving stuff of life.

So be it.

Falling Snow

One can almost forget how very lovely snow can be.   It's January 13th, and a long time has passed with a "green" winter, though of course, it is more brownish gray than true green.  Today, there is a breast of new fallen snow (or something like that).  And it makes everything look fresh and new.

Gerry, the skier, of course is thrilled.   He has faithfully gone to the peak to ski in terrible conditions.  Today will be a very good day for him.  I have to drive in it to get to tennis.  A tennis teammate just called to ask if I can make it down the hill.  I said that making it down the hill will not be a problem.  It is making it back up that will be a challenge.  To get home the usual route, requires going up a pretty steep hill.  First, you round the curve, and then go up the hill, so there is no opportunity to get up any speed to get a "running start".   I can only trust that the plows will have been by, by the time I am ready to be home.

Thankfully,  Gerry decided not to drive the Smart Car today, and I was very glad. The tires on the tiny car are about the size of my hubcaps, if that!

I'm back from tennis, and it was indeed very "iffy" about getting up the hill, spinning and sputtering the whole way.  One of our foursome was stuck in her driveway and could not get there.  We were fortunate to be able to recruit a spontaneous substitute.   She has been trying to recover from multiple injuries, and has been rather tenuous about playing,  but she played well, and I think it gave her some renewed confidence.  In fact, the two of us won the set!   Can't complain about that!

Scrabble

For entertainment in the evening, Gerry and I are usually watching television, or working on crossword puzzles, or reading a book, or reading something on the computer.  We read different books, of course.  He works the puzzle in one newspaper;  I do the puzzle in the other paper.   We often watch different television programs on different TV's.  Tonight there was a moment when I had finished my book and did not have one waiting in the to-be-read pile. (have to go to the library tomorrow)  There was absolutely nothing of interest on television.  Gerry didn't seem to be occupied either.

So we decided to play Scrabble.   I hadn't even seen the boxed board game in recent memory.   But it was there in the cabinet with all the other games.   Clearly, it had not been used in a long time.  It was taped with duct tape 'for the move';  maybe the last one, or the one before, or the one before that.  I can't remember the last time we played.

So we played a game of Scrabble.  I figured he'd beat me by a long shot, considering his expertness is words, and puzzles, etc.   He's been doing crosswords for years;  I'm new at it.  Predictably, every time I had a word in mind, he took my spot!  It was an unusual game, because we managed to play every tile.  Since I drew the Z at the end of the game, I wasn't sure it would work out, but it did.  It was a pretty close game.  He only won by five points!

Of course, a lot depends on which letters one draws, and the possibilities on the board.  I think I could beat him next time!  I'd bet on it.

New Year's Eve

My experiences of, and feelings about New Year's Eve have changed with each decade.  There were times when I had a deep longing for all the parties and excitement and drinking and gala events.  

For whatever reasons, (probably many different ones) I never seemed to get invited to the party.  As a youth, that might be because I was the 'preacher's kid', and was excluded for that reason.  Later, I might have missed out on the invitations because I was the preacher.  In between, I had small children, or various other responsibilities that kept me from the party.   I do vividly recall early on how much I thought I was missing!

As time progressed,  it mattered less and less to me, that's for sure.  I do have some fond memories of inviting another couple or two to our house for games.   But drinking has never been a huge part of my socialization.  Now, I certainly do engage in an occasional glass of wine, and in my early 20's, did my share of partying, but I guess, party girl, I am not.   When I watch (on television)  the ball drop in Times Square, with all those people, I know without a single doubt, that is about the last place on earth I would want to be!

Being Sixty Plus makes missing New Year's Eve parties matter not at all.  Some years, to tell the truth, I've gone to bed before midnight.   Other years, I've stayed up, but Gerry has gone to bed earlier.  This year, we both stayed up together and kissed in the new year.

It was very gratifying to read on Facebook that others of my contemporaries had similar experiences---some stayed awake, others didn't make it until twelve o'clock.

Now, whatever gala parties I might be missing,  I grieve not at all.    Happy am I to stay at home and greet the new day, which doesn't even seem terribly different from the previous one.