Grateful

So, this time last year we were so grateful to have with us a most beloved cousin who had been hit by a car just a few weeks before the holiday (and who had given birth to twins just months before that).  This year, our celebration and gratitude were far less somber and more the ebullient chaos that I have known and treasured lo' these 16 years of wedded bliss.  Everyone was there, everyone in good health, no one unemployed (at least, by choice), everyone with a reason to look forward to tomorrow.

I spent Friday by myself relishing the fortune and bliss that is owning my house and fleece pajamas.

Note that I am wearing pink to match Her Highness

On Saturday, I wrapped myself around a certain puggle and soaked up enough fur therapy to last me until I see my best bud, Souper, next month.

And so it goes...

And so it goes...

Diagnosis? Senioritis!

With only two courses left before I begin my dissertation-type defense, my classmates and I have been felled with a whopping case of senioritis.  It is highly contagious and very virulent.  It is remarkable the steps I will take to avoid having to do one. more. ounce of homework.  We're talking cleaning the bathroom, exercising, and even the dreaded yard work.

please pray for me....

The Love of a Good Man

There is a woman at work who re-applies her make-up in the evening at work.  I see her on occasion in the ladies room touching up her under eye concealer and blusher.  Today when I witnessed this, I thought to myself: how lovely that she makes herself pretty before going home to her family. I internalized this as a sign of her respect and affection for her husband that she would, literally, want to have her "best" face on when she first sees him after a long day.  Years ago, in one of those dumb girly mags (I'm looking at you, Glamour), I read this "Dear Abby"-type letter from a guy asking how he could get his girlfriend to stay "dressed up" when she got home in her sexy, professional outfit instead of immediately ditching her duds for sweats and a curry-stained T-shirt.  There's a couple of worrying points about that letter, not the least of which is not being able to ask for what you want from someone you love, but I thought the concept of "being pretty" after a hard day's work worth considering.  Of course, what constitutes "pretty" for the great love of my life has almost nothing to do with what I consider to make me pretty (read: he prefers no make up, while I think I look like an extra from World War Z without it), but the point is to do things for the one you love to show you love them.  And sometimes, that means thinking about what they need from a partner.  As Wesley says, " I have made my body strong because I thought you might be pleased by a strong body. "

GPOYW

Cheers to middle age!

2016

The Republican pundits where saying last night that they need a candidate who can win "the Latino" vote and carry Florida.

You know who that is?

That's Jeb Bush.

It's a sobering thought.  Believe me, I am going to wring every ounce of reproductive choice and affordable health care I can from the next four years.  You were warned, my friends.

Closure

This NYT article, entitled "I Heart Upredictable Love" by Richard Friedman really struck a chord with me.  Here are two excerpts:

Professor Berns discovered that the water and juice elicited greater activation in the brain’s reward circuit when the reward was unanticipated than when it was delivered in a predictable fashion. The pattern held true whether the reward was water or fruit juice — even though most subjects claimed a clear preference.

and

These data might explain, in part, the paradox of people who complain constantly about their unreliable lovers, but keep coming back to them, time and again.

I dated a boy in high school, and it started out as your typical teenage love affair but ended in a total train wreck, finally, my freshman year of college.  I've never been able to reconcile why, when I knew better, I still turned to him again and again no matter how many times he broke my heart.  I feel like this article offered that lightbulb moment.  The pain of the first break-up was so acute, I would have done anything just to make my lungs fill with air again - even forgive his infidelity.  Each successive break-up was less painful, but more embarrassing.  When was I going to learn?  According to this article, not until the "reward" of his affection was less than the pleasure of finally being free of the nightmare.

 

Expectations

Last year, we had over 100 trick-or-treaters.  This year, we've had less than 12...oh, wait, here's another...less than 20, wait...oh!  Red Riding Hood?! How clever!  Your cape is so smart (and stylish!) on a cold night like tonight!

Ok, now they're rolling in.  It still looks like the turn out will be far less than in years past.  I guess that just means more Kit-Kats and Reese's cups for My Beloved.

  I heart Halloween!

At the Tone, the Time Will Be...Too Late

I still have not heard back about a job that I interviewed for over 2 weeks ago, in spite of reaching out once to the recruiter.  Raise your hand if this would qualify as a "red flag" for you?

Halloween, Take 1

I regret to inform you that today's trick-or-treating is postponed until Saturday when our municipal services expect to have the roads cleared of debris that may be hazardous to the 4-12 yo set: downed trees, live wires, aluminum siding.  You know, the usual.



We spent yesterday playing Red Cross to several of our neighbors who don't have power by way of providing coffee (thanks to Ace's dad for the french press!), hot chocolate, Toy Story, legos, and running a 200' extension cord across the street so one guy can run his refrigerator and sump pump.  Oh, and then we all spent the later afternoon combing the streets looking for one neighbor's lost dog who decided to show up on his own accord after we had all slunk home in defeat.

It is not very often that we get to tend to the bonds that bind us as a community.  I am grateful for the opportunity to show my gratitude to the families around us for being such good neighbors.  No one has their car up on blocks, posts political signs in their yards (with the exception of that one guy who put up a Steelers banner the day he moved in - blecch!), plays loud music into the wee hours, etc.  I can't say I know any of them very well, being a "bedroom resident" myself, but I can say that they are all good neighbors.

GPOYW

We are sharing a "cardamom and ginger shake", so I will give you only 1 guess where I am in this photo.  But, seriously people, look at how he has his hand over mine...I mean, are you kidding me with this kid?  I am so in love!