Random Thoughts

The house is dusty.   The sheets need to be washed.   Visitors are coming and activities need to be planned. But first:   a PARADE. T oday (March 31) is International Transgender Day of Visibility.   Some of our neighbors tried to go into DC yesterday to celebrate at a big event, but traffic was horrendous due to another (BIGGER) event – the cherry blossoms are blooming .   The family tried to get into town, but traffic was so bad they eventually gave up.   I read a post about it on Facebook and said, “Hey, come march past our house , we will cheer for you!”.     They agreed, and with that, an idea was ready to turn into a PARADE . The only problem was, it was, the evening before…   There was no way this could actually become an “event”, but I sort of didn’t want it to be just me and my partner holding signs cheering as the neighbors marched by with their trans pride flags…   I put a post in the neighborhood Fac...

I was reminded of something important this morning: Getting through difficult times can be less trying if you can find a way to let go and ACCEPT. I know, trust me I know , that is much easier to sit here and type than it is to DO when confronted by difficult situations in real life.   And yes, before you call it out, let me be the first to say that I know this example I am about to share is NOT (in the grand scheme of life and all of the horribleness humans must endure) a “ difficult situation ”.   But it was being in this situation that brought me a bit of clarity, which is why I want to express it here. We are on vacation in Florida.   We rented a condo on the beach.   Today’s forecast was something like 80% chance of rain.   So yeah, it was not looking like a beach day for us. But when we crawled out of bed at 10:30 am – the rain seemed to have passed.   The sand was wet from a storm, and the sky was grey and cloudy – but it seemed l...

I am not a religious person.   I don’t talk about that much, but when I do, I realize it surprises people.   I haven’t had a “place of worship” to call my own since I was a teenager really, and that has suited me just fine (though I must say, there is a certain church near me full of very like- minded people that always leaves me feeling peaceful and full of joy when I go, and I went to a Bat mitzvah in Chicago years ago that left me thinking I should have been born Jewish because I fit right in and liked the genuineness of it all…) Anyway, I don’t find my “center”, my gratitude, or my “place” in a church, mosque, or synagogue.   I am a spiritual person.   I feel grounded.   I feel thankful (and take time each day to reflect on that which I am thankful for).   But I don’t feel the desire or need to follow an organized religion. But oh – once a year – once a year the National Cathedral in Washington DC moves away all of the chairs.   They cle...

Maybe you run. Maybe you journal. Perhaps you meditate or do yoga. Me?   I take a photo.   More specifically, in 2018 I took a PHOTO OF MY HAND* every day. 2018 was the 5 th year I deliberately took a photo of something every day.   In 2014, I photographed the bed I woke up in every morning.   In 2015, it was my FEET.   2016 and ’17 were my HAND, and I continued that subject into 2018. I would guess at this point that your reaction might be, “Ummm, why?”.   And that is a logical question, a question that I now realize has many answers.   But the most honest, seemingly important answer is this: Taking a specific photo every day grounds me.   I have one shot at it – I choose the location of my photo based on the most significant event of my day.   But hey, days change!   What if I commit to my hand photo at 10:00 am, then “something better” comes along in the evening??   Well, that’s life, and it is a good...

This might surprise you.   The only thing about it that surprises me is that I am just now willing to admit it publicly: I dislike holidays. Holidays - without the rose colored glasses Now before you go into your, “Susan, Susan, Susan, it is just this year !   You have had a hard year, it’s the first Christmas without your dad, your sister is sick…” spiel,   let me clarify that it is NOT just this year.   I have disliked holidays most of my adult life I think.   It’s just now, after the shitty year I have had, I am ready to talk about it.   Holidays are a recipe for sadness.   Holidays set people, us, all of us, up to fail.   Let’s look at the current holiday – Christmas.   Not only are you expected to buy amazing gifts (that fit) for a bazillion people.   Not only are you expected to have a Pinterest perfect tree in your perfectly clean living room.   Not only are you supposed to bake cookies and cakes and p...

I would pretty much bet my paycheck that we are the only people “working” in Bethlehem who don’t actually believe in the story of the wise men and the manger… Let me back up.   There is a DRIVE-IN CHURCH in Daytona Beach, Florida.   I know this because we live part-time in Ormond Beach, the city next to Daytona, and we happened upon the drive-in church once while out on a drive and found it hilarious.   What a concept, eh??   A drive-in CHURCH! Us outside the Drive-In Church the first time I saw it in 2013. I thought it was hilarious.  I didn't realize how KIND and ACCEPTING the people who go there are.  I hadn't met them yet! Then one year I read a little blurb advertising DRIVE-THRU BETHLEHEM, hosted one weekend a year by the drive-in church.   If that ad didn’t intrigue me, nothing would…   So, I signed us up!   No, I didn’t sign us up to GO to Drive-Thru Bethlehem, I signed us up to VOLUNTEER at it!!!   The fir...

I haven’t had much time lately to sit down, relax, think, and create.   Writing seems a luxury of times past, as all of the minutes of every day lately feel taken up with care taking, errands, laughing with my sisters, doctor appointments, and the like.   Not that I begrudge any of that – I am exactly where I need to be right now doing what I am supposed to (and want) to do. But I cannot let a MARY DAY pass by without putting my thoughts on “paper”. For the uninitiated, Mary Day is October 20 th .   It is the anniversary of my mom's (Mary) death – October 20, 2002.   I can’t believe it has been 16 years already.   16 years seems short and at the same time very, very long.   When someone important in your life dies, things inevitably change.   All of the “big events” that happen remind you of the hole they left behind.   Births of what would have been great-grandchildren…   Holidays…   Weddings…   And now, ill...