Winter Disruptions
Groundhogs and shadows aside, and bearing in mind that I like winter, the recent bout of white stuff has been pretty, but I need to get back to routine.
Enough cold weather is important to kill ticks and mosquitoes, but it helps make people stir crazy, too and I'm getting there. Between weather and being under the weather, of late, I can't quite remember the last time I was even outside.
The Wire
Years ago, when we had HBO the channel, I caught a few episodes of a show about cops and criminals in Baltimore. I remember it being great, but life was different before streaming services and the show was catch as catch can.
Over the last few snow (and sick) days, I watched all of season 1 and was blown away. This is the most incredible police procedural I have ever watched. Shows like Law and Order pale in comparison. The characters, the depth, the details are all amazing. And well worth the investment of time. I fully intend to get into the other seasons soon.
Under Weather
I woke up Sunday with a stuffy head. After the snow passed, we went outside to shovel and I got warm. My Nana would have swatted me for being out without my hat in cold weather.
I have long known such associations were invalid. On Monday, things were cancelled, so I was pretty chill, figuring I'd bounce back quickly. I usually do. Tuesday, I felt like death warmed over. Wednesday, I felt a bit less like death, but still, not great. I'm not one for sick days (as demonstrated by over 350 days of it in my benefits), but it has taken a toll.
I'm a man of action, which makes me better at being on the move, working on something, or just not sitting around all day. I'm feeling better, or as Dwight from The Office said in another context, “Good. Not great.“ I'm really, really looking forward to getting things back to a routine. Also, shaking the dregs of this cold.
Hard Goodbyes
Last week, after 16 and a half years, we said goodbye to our beloved pug, Kobe. We are understandably distraught. For the last several months, life had gotten harder and harder for our Bubbie. For the last few days, he couldn't get comfortable or calm. No position, no pain killers, no snuggles helped. Heart breaking in me, I took him to our vet. The news wasn't good.
I won't say more, except to say that, if you have furry friends, hold them close. We were so fortunate, I will even say blessed, to have had such a wonderful, joyful, funny, engaged, loving, playful, dedicated and family-focused friend. We all miss him severely. We feel his absence keenly and so, if I'm brusque if you mention it, it's because I cannot talk about it without choking up. None of us can.
Good Things
I like to try to be positive about things. When life gets ugly, as it does sometimes, I tend to wonder why I didn't appreciate the good things more.
Feeling like dreck, why didn't I realize how good I felt when I was well? Sitting with my pup, why didn't I spend more time loving on him?
The reality is, when we are relatively emotionally unencumbered, we forget how good we have it. This is why I try to acknowledge, at least once a day, all the things I'm grateful for. As time goes by, it really does help to look back and feel as though, while things were good, we were grateful for them being so.
Back to Normal?
It will take a few days to really shake this cold. Everything else may take more time. In the meantime, next week's essay and hopefully all between now and April will be more like usual, too.
Thanks for bearing with me. And thanks in advance for all the kind words.
