What a Week!

 

Saturday, March 10, 2012 – What a Week!

What a week this has been – full of people, activities, and changes, including the weather.  Lots going on, but not much sustained time for reflection or writing.  Finally catching up on Saturday afternoon. 

Without a doubt, it’s been a week of schizophrenic weather – one day like spring, the next day like winter, then back to spring again. On Monday, the daffodils were shivering, the mini-snowflakes were dancing, and I got to try out the new North Face gloves I bought at REI’s end of season sale.  Then the temperatures started climbing again, and by Thursday, I was wearing sandals.  No matter what the calendar says, the forsythia, cherry trees, and azaleas are firmly convinced that it’s time to make an appearance.  Now Saturday, it’s back to winter-like temperatures, climbing only to the mid-40s, but it’s winter with a benevolent demeanor, thanks to abundant sunshine and calm air. 

There are plenty of robins hopping around outside, and the cardinals are back.  I bet they’re wondering when we’re going to re-stock the bird feeder.  (Elliott, I hope you’re reading this.)  Our neighborhood fox was sitting in our backyard a couple of days ago.  He looked so plump that I barely recognized him.  I saw him again yesterday, trotting across the road, perfectly nonchalant.  The hawks are out, too.  From the living room window, we saw a hawk swoop down into the bushes, in search of a tasty lunch. 

It hasn’t been an easy week for Elliott.  Along with ongoing back pain, he’s been battling a bad cold for several days.  It finally seems to be loosening its grip, but he’s kept his activities to a minimum.  We’re always very concerned when he gets a cold.  With his COPD, it could so easily turn into pneumonia.  We have to treat it aggressively from the very beginning.  In fact, we always keep preventive antibiotics on hand, including when we travel.  The new pain medication wasn’t as effective as we hoped when he was taking it twice a day, so he’s now increased the frequency to three times a day.  So far, he’s happy with the results. 

Elliott’s condition, which changes even more often than the weather, is a preoccupation for both of us.  All of our activities and plans revolve around how he feels. While he remains the focal point of my life, I’ve also had to devote more of my attention to my mother.  She’s eighty-five now and still in remarkable physical condition.  Unfortunately, her memory is seriously impaired.  She is quite content in her independent living apartment at Greenspring, but she requires more and more daily reminders, and I make more frequent visits to see her.  Within the not too distant future, I expect that she’ll be moving into an assisted living unit.

As each day came to an end this past week, I realized that a 24-hour period of time is never sufficient for what I have to do, or want to do.  Therefore, I’m experimenting with a new unit of time as an alternative to the 24-hour day.  Expanding a day from 24 to 48 hours alleviates a lot of stress.  Aside from important time-specific commitments, such as a doctor’s appointment, I now have twice as much time to get through my to-do list, guilt-free.  Maybe it’s just a matter of lowering expectations, or being realistic, but I think my new conception of time has made me much happier with my day-to-day life.  I’m still searching for a name for this 48-hour time period.  Here are some ideas I’m considering, in addition to the obvious double-day: biday (not to be confused with bidet); tway (two + day); forater (4-8-er); 48-er; a dayz.  Let me know if you have any suggestions.

When it comes to making long-range plans, especially related to travel, I have to remind myself to exercise restraint.  For example, there’s a 5-day fused glass workshop in early June, somewhere between Buffalo and Rochester, New York.  I would love to go, but instead, I just signed up for a two-day fused glass workshop at the Workhouse Arts Center, 30 minutes from our house.  Elliott would love to travel again – to California, Norway, France – but it may not be possible.  That’s why we’re really glad that so many friends and family members are coming here to help him celebrate his 100^th birthday at the end of May. 

One very bright note this week was Elisa’s visit.  She came primarily to see an old friend who was briefly in town.  However, I was able to fill an important gap in her culinary education by taking her to an Ethiopian restaurant.  She loved the crispy samboussa with its hearty lentil filling, and she was quite enthusiastic about the different vegetarian dishes we sampled.  On the other hand, she found the look and the texture of the injera (the sponge-like Ethiopian flatbread) a little unappetizing.  I initially shared her opinion.  I still have to consciously tell myself to stop thinking “dirty sponge” when I tear off a piece of the bread.  We loved the Ethiopian coffee – very strong, in tiny cups – and ended the meal by sharing baklava.  (Note to self:  must stop eating pastry!)

I’ve noticed that I’m turning into something of a night owl now that I no longer have to get up before dawn.  I no longer automatically dismiss evening activities, and I’ve discovered that it can be fun going out to play in the dark.  On Tuesday, Gale and I went to a presentation on Jewish meditation at the DCJCC.  We also stopped at a highly recommended gelato shop called Pitango.  I don’t normally indulge in ice cream, but the passion fruit sorbet and the chocolate hazelnut gelato were worth the calories.  (Note to self:  must stop eating ice cream!)  On Wednesday evening, I attended the Purim celebration at Beth El.  Elliott wasn’t feeling energetic enough to join me, but I decided to go on my own.  Of course, I couldn’t bypass the hamantaschen (a triangular filled pastry) after the service.  However, I limited myself to one, even though there were several flavors. 

Elliott and I were both at Beth El for Shabbat services last night, and I didn’t get to bed until nearly midnight.  Fortunately, I’ve trained my body and mind to sleep 8 hours, regardless of when I go to sleep.  My main objective this morning was to get over to the gym to do some serious calorie burning.  There will be no more procrastinating when it comes to exercise.  It’s time to shed those post-retirement pounds I’ve put on.  In order to do this, calories expended must be greater than calories consumed.  So how many calories does it take to burn up a square of 85% dark chocolate?