Tears and Smiles

November 19, 2015 – Tears and Smiles

It was nearly a week ago.  It was an ordinary day.  Elliott was taking his afternoon nap, and I was working on a new blog post, a light-hearted entry I was going to call A Reason to Smile.  As usual, when I’m writing, I lost track of the time.  Around 5:00 p.m., I decided to take a break.  For some reason, maybe to catch the local weather report, I flipped on the television news.  And that’s when I learned about the attacks in Paris.  One horrific detail after another, one disturbing image after another – part of me wanted to shut it out, but instead, I stood transfixed in front of the screen. 

I tore myself away to wake Elliott and we sat together, stunned, listening to the news coverage.  It would be terrible anywhere on the planet.  Yet Paris holds a special place in our hearts.  It’s the city where we met.  And now our beloved Paris was reeling from this savage attack.  We felt a certain numbness, similar to what we felt at the time of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, when we wondered if life could ever return to “normal.”  Although the obsessive worry subsided over time, our sense of security was shattered, never to be completely regained.  This is the world we now live in, a world where random acts of terror threaten the lives of every man, woman, and child.  Yet we learned to go about our lives, as we must, and eventually we learned to find joy again. 

In the last couple of days, when I thought about going back to my writing, I knew that A Reason to Smile was no longer an appropriate title.  However, I still want to share with you some of the brighter moments from the past week or so. 

First of all, Elliott is smiling again.  That’s because he has his lower teeth back, and they’re even better than before.  No more mush meals!  He’s relishing “real” food, and he’ll be ready to chomp his way through Thanksgiving dinner next week.  In addition, his new hearing aids are working out extremely well.  Also, in a recent marathon of medical appointments, Elliott got a good report from his ophthalmologist.  His eyes are stable and he’s experiencing less bothersome irritation since he started using antibiotic eye drops and ointment on a daily basis.  Finally, Elliott’s pulmonologist is extremely pleased with the condition of his lungs.  We’ve set up Elliott’s next appointment for May of 2016, the same month he turns 104. 

I’ve had reasons to smile as well.  I’ve done several days of subbing at Annandale High School, which requires me to get up a little earlier than usual.  While working takes a big chunk of time out of the day, it has certain advantages, such as allowing me to witness the sunrise.  Of course, there’s a financial benefit (paychecks!), a social benefit (seeing old friends), and a psychic benefit.  After much reflection (and a few good therapy sessions), I’ve come to the conclusion that I retired a bit prematurely.  Teaching was a huge part of my life and I really wasn’t ready to give it up four years ago.  Although caring for Elliott takes up much of my time and energy, I realize it’s important to continue working in a way that’s useful to society.  Already, I’ve noticed that I feel more content. 

I’m even feeling good about the shorter days.  Strangely enough, I’m looking forward to a few months of evening hibernation at home.  However, if you’re craving more afternoon daylight, did you know that you don’t have to wait until the winter solstice for the sun to start setting later?  It’s true.  I just discovered that, in Washington, DC, the sun will begin to set later on December 14.  On the other hand, the sun won’t start to rise earlier until January 12.  This is due to several factors:  the elliptical shape of the Earth’s path around the Sun, the axial tilt of the Earth, and the latitude of the particular location.  You can read more about this at the time and date website where I found this information. 

 

And for your edification, here’s the quote of the week from my art history class, where we’re studying Post-Minimalism:  “The tautological play in Conceptual Art is a linguistic play on Modernism’s emphasis on art being self-reflexive and self-referential.”  What fun! 

Last but not least, I get my daily dose of smiles by looking at Sylvie pics.  A big thank you to Elisa and Christian for the wonderful photos and captions.  It’s hard to believe my adorable granddaughter is four months old.  What joy she brings to our lives!