Sick girl in bed
Remember when you were feeling puny and the words to live by were “take two aspirin and call me in the morning…”?
Now, if you are just a skosh off your normal, exuberant self, people immediately ask “Have you taken a Covid test?” and then cancel that coffee date you were counting on in the morning.
And just when things were settling down — when we could once again recognize our friends because they weren’t all masked up like Ninjas — and the headlines were telling us that the worst was over IF we’d been vaxxed and re-vaxxed, boosted once, twice, triply, and stayed off airplanes and out of crowds — then here came a host of other concerns!
Long Covid, for instance. Supposedly non-contagious. Supposedly only affects those who successfully got through Covid (or is that an oxymoron?) and for which there are no answers to the obvious questions like how long? Or why me?
When I began sleeping round the clock a few months back and ached in every muscle, bone and orifice, I was finally told (but not by a member of the medical community) that it might be my body’s reaction to an anti-toxin overload. Say what? Well, it’s true that my first bout with this dread-whatever-it-is began two days after my third booster (with which I also had a flu shot.) So… maybe so.
Do I accept that it’s (in some way) Covid related? No, of course not. Do I honestly expect someone from the medical community to tell me what is going on? Repeat second sentence of this paragraph.
And having written all of this — it’s high time for another nap.
Measuring time. Sometimes I think I have it down pat. The roast is done perfectly when expected, I get to the doctor’s with that ten minutes to spare, or I have all my ducks rowed up in time to enjoy a solitary moment with the full moon rising.
At this time of year, you might notice it in the late afternoon. Dark already. Deep dark. But not time to think about the evening meal yet. In fact, did I even bring in the garbage dumpster? Are the bears out there already? And how is it that I didn’t answer even one of my emails out of the seven that were waiting for me this morning? Where did the time go?
Again, really? If I do something spectacular with these next four or five hours of pitchy, icy blackness, will that earn me points so that our Oysterville Regatta will last longer than its usual “fly with the wind” speed next summer?
It’s been happening for a while now. Ever since retirement, I’d say. Suddenly the end of November is upon us and Christmas is already demanding our full attention. There’s the Naughty’n’Nice List to double-check, the gifts to gather and wrap and beribbon, the baking to be done, the house to decorate — maybe even outside as well as in! — the events to attend — and the loved ones to gather close. Oh my!
As I reflect on all of that, my own little holiday plans seem much more manageable. And, wonder of wonders, good friends have offered help — to climb-that-ladder-to-adorn-the-top-of-that-ten-foot-tree kind of help. I feel teary with gratitude and Christmas spirit. And I’m here to reassure you that even though these holidays are bittersweet, they have their own special comforts and delights for us old folks!
So… the headline said: “Want to live to 90 years old? A new report reveals how you can.” Always interested in what’s ahead for me — after all, I’ll be 90 in just three years and a couple of months — I read on.
Well… sh**! I’ve never reached the five-foot-three mark in my life. “Five feet two, eyes of blue…” that was me. Until maybe ten years ago when I began to shrink. I think I’m under five feet now and no telling if I’ll even be tall enough to measure by 2026!
My Bloody Mary came with a small garni of celery and a generous piece of beef jerky on a cocktail swizzle (which I finally managed to extricate in multiple pieces.} The menu, divided into four categories: “Snacks,” “Small Plates,” “Plates,” and “Sweets” was exotic (by my standards) and made for difficulty in choosing. The listings, all spendy, included Foie Gras Tart, Beef Tartare, Bitter Greens, Sliced Duck Breast, Sweet Carrot Crepe Cannelloni and many many others.
