Random Thoughts

Do you ever get into a “holding pattern” of deep thought?   Like, just pondering things in your head, “big” things, things you will not find an answer to (because, frankly, there are no answers) but you still can’t shake the thought of them? I do. You probably could’ve guessed that, eh?   I mean, if I DIDN’T, then why would I have raised the question here, right? Maybe I have been in the over-thinking cycle (and, let’s be honest, the sadness cycle) because of everything going on in the world.   I mean – WARS.   People dying.   An upcoming election that I honestly can see no good outcome in.   Poverty.   People with no housing, not enough food…   If I think about it too long, I can find myself in a vortex of darkness. A few years ago, I met a man that I now admire from afar.   He is living with brain cancer, and I crossed paths with him at a brain cancer event shortly after my sister died of glioblastoma.   His name is Ada...

I learned this lesson years ago, but apparently I needed a refresher course this evening: We “pay” with what we can.   “Currency” does not take one form. The first person to visit the Little Yellow Free Pantry gave me my reminder of that concept.   The pantry has been open since 2:00 pm on Saturday, but as of 6:00 pm Monday night far we had not had any shoppers, only DONORS!   And we have had some amazing donors!!   But I have been busy trying to figure out how to best get the word out to people who actually need the food. But then I looked outside, and in the darkness, I saw the little glow of the pantry lights…   I thought, “Someone is putting MORE in there?   It is chock full right now!”.   Then I saw a bag on the ground…   I grabbed a mask, stepped out on the back porch, and said, “Hello!”.   A woman answered back, and I walked closer to the pantry to talk. I introduced myself and she told me her name.   She was an older black...

Gifts mean a lot to me.   I love to GIVE them.   I know lots of people say that, but I really take joy in finding a gift that fits a person, wrapping it, and giving it to them.   And I enjoy getting gifts, of course!   But I also really, really like HAVING gifts.   Like, WRAPPED UP, STILL WAITING FOR ME gifts.   It’s weird, I know, and it drives some people crazy.   We have a pile of unopened gifts in our house, some of which are probably a decade old!!   I have learned that I can only allow myself to “save” unwrapped gifts from my sweetheart.   Gifts from family and friends must be opened (relatively) quickly when they arrive, so as not to hurt people’s feelings.   But gifts between David and I can be left to “simmer”, I can wonder what might be in them, and I can pretend like there will never be an end to the gift giving.   That our love and exchange is endless.   A few times in my lift I have been given gifts ...

Let me say first - I do not write this piece to “brag” or to point out a good deed – good deeds do not need to be broadcast to the world.   I write this to remind you to LOOK AROUND and notice people. I got home from a weeklong trip late last night.  And I was cranky (“cranky” is probably putting it mildly…).  I didn't get my preferred 8 hours of sleep before the alarm went off and I had to jump in the shower and get ready for re-entry to real life, a morning job.  Luckily my husband rearranged his scheduled a bit so he could drop me off at the metro, and the day began. The job was only one hour.  I had several errands on my to do list, so when I was done I decided to  metro around town to see what I could accomplish. But in the back of my mind, I was still cranky.  It was HOT.  I was carrying a HEAVY BAG that kept getting heavier as I purchased more items and had to CARRY THEM because I didn’t have my car.  My shoes were comfo...

We are not party people.   I am not comfortable AT parties – the socializing and loud talking feel foreign.   What is one supposed to SAY?   Who are you supposed to TALK TO?   Parties just end up as stressors for me.   And double for HOSTING them – we just don’t do it.   Oh sure, once in a while in Florida we will have a couple of neighbors over, and even THAT small affair involves much preparation and hustling about.   But I don’t know if we have ever hosted a party in Virginia.   Our house is never “right”:   there are dust bunnies, there are dirty socks on the floor, the tub is dirty.   But tonight we threw a party in Arlington.   A SLIP ‘n’ SLIDE party.   It was to be a celebration of the heat – of the summer.   It has been over 100 degrees with the heat index the last few days.   I wanted to bust out the Slip ‘n’ Slide the other night, but our houseguests ended up going out that evening and it seemed wrong to...