Monday Musings

 Random thoughts on a Monday evening

We were having a rousing discussion on the word “elderly” in a group I am in so I asked my therapist offspring if she thought I was elderly. She said yes, and that she occasionally describes me as such to people who don’t know me. According to the kid, by their definition it has to do with needing assistance. I probably need less than ten percent assistance (although I’m probably kidding myself) but still, there it is. I have absolutely no objection to the word, mind you. I was interested in the various perspectives.

Said kid works hard and has a husband and her own dog and fosters to care for, so  some weeks we only see each other for a few hours on Monday and some weeks not at all. We are also supposed to go to a nice dinner in the next couple weeks. But I am grateful for the help she gives the hour or so she is here. I got a washer installed but the hot water did not get turned on and I cannot reach or climb over the small space, so she fixed that. She also occasionally does a “move the furniture”vacuuming and says I don't need to hire someone that she will help (we’ll see). This week she pulled all the boxes out of storage so I could deconstruct Christmas and next week she will load them away. It’s the little things.

I’m not a planner but this year I’m thinking about making a list of all the projects creative and otherwise I want to do. I’ve tried in the past, and it hasn’t worked. But I’ve got two new hobbies, and the same amount of space so I also need to figure out the logistics of what things I can do at the same time, lol.

I’m not dismissing inflation in any way, but right now it's not knowing what will be in the stores that makes me crazy. I’m okay with substituting and making do but in my personal life it’s the supply chain stuff that’s honestly more irritating. This is probably partly because of my downsizing and I admit it. And the fact that I’m doing little travel. Electricity is cheap in Texas and that’s how I heat my house, my rent only went up twenty five dollars and my internet and phone remain constant. I know gas is up, but other than the occasional day trip I’m not yet traveling again. Obviously my thinking could change at any time depending on what happens.

Occasionally it takes a comment from someone else to give you that moment of clarity, you know. I mentioned to my daughter that one of the factors in my non-cooking (because the fact that I hate it and like to eat out) is that come four thirty or five at the latest my fibro and other issues kick in. The thought of cleaning up after cooking, even for just me, is exhausting. To which she commented “Just use the slow cooker in the middle of the day, freeze everything except for that night and then you just have to zap everything at dinner and leave the dishes to soak”. Out of the minds of -whatever.

We’re at that waiting so see if the shoe will fall when it comes to so many of the things going on around here. My quilt group has canceled and moved to complete virtual at least for this month. Church worship and activities are on track right now but we were told yesterday that our monthly eating get together may be canceled depending on the numbers. The senior center is requiring all masks and closed for a week but are now open. So as of today I am restauranting with people I know who are vaxxed and boosted and church stuff with the same. I’m not returning to hibernation, but I also did not make my weekly trip to a local wine bar to hear Irish music over the weekend. It’s tightrope walking, it seems.

It’s a few minutes before eight. That means I need to take a nice hot healing shower and knit or read. And decide if I need to scream at the television or cheer away. As the kids say, If You Know, You Know.