I got shot yesterday. That is, I received a shot – the COVID vaccine. There was already a long line of cars when my husband and I arrived half an hour early for our 9:30 appointment. The line moved swiftly, however, and we reached the tent where they were doing the vaccinations just a few minutes after our scheduled time. I have to admit that after all the news about the problems they were having with distribution, and the discrepancies between how much vaccine was [...]
It was the kind of dream that woke me up with a start, and left me sweating and with my heart pounding. I was still feeling shaky a little later when I started writing about it, although the more I thought about it, the sillier it seemed. Still, I found myself analyzing it in order to determine where it came from. Like many people, I’ve been glued to the television over the last few days, unable to turn away from the news of everything that’s [...]
I know what I want for Christmas: a magic wall. Like many Americans, I’ve had difficulty tearing myself away from election news coverage this past week. I’ve watched split screens of four different television stations at once in order to see different predictions, projections, and perspectives, as well as the latest up-to-the-minute ballot counts in each of the battleground states. One of the things I’ve been mesmerized by is a “magic wall” – the name given to a giant computer monitor showing a map of the [...]
I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday. Nothing’s wrong, and the doctor gave me an “All clear” report, along with the standard advice to come back in a year, or earlier if something comes up in between now and then. I’ve always stayed up to date with my annual check-ups, and any other medical appointments that are warranted on a regular or occasional basis. More and more often, I seem to be hearing, “At your age, you should probably think about seeing….” Or after raising [...]
If you could go back in time and change one event in history, what would it be? That question – or something similar – is the basis for countless movies, television shows, philosophical discussions, and theories about the space-time continuum. It was also the question at an online Table Topics contest I recently attended. In a Toastmasters Table Topics competition, contestants are asked a question – generally an open-ended, there’s-no-wrong-answer question. They have to respond immediately, and speak for one to two minutes on the [...]
A comic strip on the bulletin board of a health club I used to belong to featured an overweight man in his underwear sitting on the examining table in a doctor’s office. The doctor, standing next to him and staring at the clipboard he was holding, said, “Which works better for your schedule – exercising for one hour a day or being dead for twenty-four?” I was reminded of that the other day while watching a television interview with a man who was recovering from [...]
“Focus.” That’s the word that’s now printed in large letters on the bulletin board behind my desk, and it’s the word I’m going to try to incorporate into my thoughts and actions during the coming year. The idea for this came from a video I received last week from some friends who publish a blog called “Sharing Life’s Lessons.” In the video, they talked about New Year’s Resolutions, and ways to make them more successful. They also talked about the book, One Word That Will [...]
We’re three days into the new year, and my New Year’s Resolution is still going strong. And, since it involves weekly projects – and the first one’s already done – it will still be intact for at least another few days. Actually, I expect it to stay alive and well for a lot longer – hopefully throughout the entire year. It’s a variation on other New Year’s Resolutions I’ve made in the past when my focus has been organizing and decluttering. This year, I decided [...]
We’re almost halfway through the year, which makes this a good time for a much-needed reset and jump start on a project of mine – my still-active New Year’s Resolution. This year, my resolution was to come up with a monthly theme, such as “Decluttering” or “Health Habits,” and then do weekly tasks or projects related to the theme. It’s gone well, for the most part, but I’ve fallen a bit behind lately. Part of the reason, of course, was being out of town recently [...]