We all have one, that voice in our heads that questions our choices, criticizes our actions, and constantly reminds us that we need to “stay in our lane.” Sometimes it is the whispiest of whispers and sometimes the shouting reverberates through our being. “WTF were you thinking, you moron?” But, for me at least, it is always there waiting to intrude even if it is silenced for the moment. On the very best of days, when someone has admired my shoes, or given me a compliment, or I’ve won the Big … [Read more...]
New Year, Ides of March, St. Patrick’s Day
This was meant to be a New Year posting, but somehow the year got away from me, so it is a combination New Year, Ides of March, St. Patrick’s Day post. One of the items that was going to be in my New Year post was my intention to post to Fourthscore every week. Well, we are 20% through the new year (75 of 366 days) and this is my first post. I will try to be better going forward. Seventy-five days has put a very different spin on the year, so far. Our presidential candidates look different, … [Read more...]
PINBALL PARADIGM
I’ve been told that some people know from early childhood what they want to “be, when they grow up,” and that they steadfastly follow that path into adulthood. I even know people who make plans months and even years in advance for trips, purchases, education, family, and retirement. It never fails to amaze me when their plans come to fruition. In my case I think of life as being more a game of chance, even with my best intentions. Take marriage for example. As a child it never entered my … [Read more...]
IS “CRAZY” CONTAGIOUS?
IS “CRAZY” CONTAGIOUS? One of the non-Trump related news stories this month is the measles outbreaks occurring in states/areas that allow parents to opt out of having their children immunized for preventable childhood diseases. I guess the thinking is that, if everyone else immunizes I don’t need to. There seems to be a flaw in the reasoning, since the outbreaks continue. Most diseases are spread from person to person by a variety of means. They are hard to avoid, and we are dependent on our … [Read more...]
THE REAL REASON FOR MY BLOG
Ok, all y’all, now comes my confession regarding the REAL reason for me starting a blog. When I was about four years old I told my mom I wanted to write books when I grew up. Her very prosaic 1950’s response was “better you should learn to type.” Well, I did learn to type, and to organize things, and to get along with people, and, as a result I had a very successful career where I did all of those things on a daily basis. What I didn’t do was write. I thought about writing, I took classes … [Read more...]
WHAT DO JAPANESE BORO AND SCOTTISH HAGGIS HAVE IN COMMON?
WHAT DO JAPANESE BORO AND SCOTTISH HAGGIS HAVE IN COMMON? Right off the bat it would appear that the Japanese tradition of patching together worn out clothing (Boro: ragged) would have nothing in common with the vilified Scottish delicacy called Haggis (sheep’s stomach stuffed with bits and bobs of sheep, oatmeal, onions, etc. and boiled to a savory pudding). However, I maintain that both traditions, as well as patchwork quilts, crocheted granny squares, chitterlings, sausages, scrapple, and … [Read more...]
PROM IS A 4-LETTER WORD
Well, it is that time of year again, Prom time. For most of us prom is a niggling memory of unmet expectations and feelings of inadequacy. We either went to “The Prom” and were sorely disappointed or didn’t go to “The Prom” and continue to fight the feeling that we were somehow lacking in what it takes to be successful in life. Or, the third option (my husband’s choice), saying you didn’t go to prom and being reminded that you did, with ME. But, life goes on and we push those memories out of … [Read more...]
OLD AND IN THE WAY
That was the bumper sticker that caught my eye on the way out of Starbucks earlier this week. First, I was taken aback, then kind of smiled, immediately thinking of it as a statement on slow driving. Then, it reminded me of an experience I had a few years ago that was kind of any eye opener. About a year after my husband was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer and about 5 months before his death, I was laid off from my job. I was not particularly surprised; there were other layoffs … [Read more...]
STOCKHOLM SYNDROME REDUX
For the past year I have both observed and experienced a kind of suspension of belief around our political situation in the United States. It isn’t so much about being a Liberal with a capital “L” as it is about how both liberals and conservatives seem to have become hostages to a leadership that we would not have chosen but feel constrained to either support or placate. I think that people who voted for the current administration may be as surprised about the direction things have gone as … [Read more...]
WORK IN PROGRESS/MINDFULNESS
You would think that after almost 70 years of being a work in progress I would be closer to completion, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I am more like the roads of El Dorado County (always under construction and full of pot holes) than I am like the Empire State Building (only took about 15 months to build and still standing proud). While I do occasionally have a manic episode when I think I am doing well, more often I am in the middle of an existential crisis around one of my many flaws … [Read more...]
