12/13/14

 

On the day I begin writing these words - after opening my eyes I realize it will be 89 years before the next date with sequential numbers.  I wonder whether there lies a connection between (last year) Hanukka and Thanksgiving falling on the same day for the first time in 75 years.  It's the type of odd coincidence I like especially given that (in my own metaphoria) Thanksgiving came early for me this year by practically 3 months.  

"Huh?" you might ask.

On the eve of Rosh Hashana (3 months ago) I was surprised by a ‘stroke’ and saved from a life turned into a horror story as a result of an early intervention.  While it is called a stroke as a conjugated form of the word strike, after the initial shock the stroke emerges as a stroke of luck disguised as an impediment.  Recovery from the immediate damage is not without its' ebbs and flows, but consistently upward - thank G*d.

 

Up until 3 months ago I held that over-use of the word 'wonderful' was a sign of old age.  It was a 'wonderful movie'; that's a 'wonderful' tie you're wearing; it's 'wonderful' that you got that new job; she's a 'wonderful' girl, I'm sure you'll be happy.  It's not so much the word, but the diminishing capacity for creativiity leading older people to use it as a 'go to' adjective.  If that was 3 months ago, imagine the effect of a stroke to confirm one's own feelings of age, fatigue, and all of the symptoms that supposedly arrive with it - old age that is.  Having the stroke was it.  I'm no longer just a member of AARP, I'm now the uncle who is excused for his grumpiness: 'leave him alone, he's recovering from a stroke', or don't get him upset, he's recovering from a stroke', or don't mind him, he had a stroke.

It's a new world.

 

In the tryptich (fancy word for 3 pictures) the two dogs to the right are Lenny & Tommy.  Like a sled-team they're pulling Becky our neighbor the length of Cavanaugh just as I step cautiously out to the front to take a picture of our zany 'seasonal' tree (to the left).  Becky asks how I'm doing, and I tell her we've entered our tree in a zany xmas tree contest.  She believes me too, proving once again that when your neighbor has a stroke, anything coming from his mouth is believable.  

Our neighbors from across the street have a beach house in Rhode Island so they're never around to ask us about our lawn, the stroke, or our 6 kids.  Luckily, we'e exempt from their gardening tips and (even luckier) exempt from the report how perfectly adjusted their own 2 kids are.

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So today, 12/13/14 feeling more ready than any time during the past 12 weeks - I’m reaching out with some holiday cheer; to share with you a small piece of inconsequential rumination.  Last year around this time, the tenor (I'm sure) was different, but this year the message of good will is even more heartfelt.  

I do hope i got your email right...

 

Wishing you and your loved ones all of the goodness in the world, and in no particular order, a Happy Hanukka, a merry merry Xmas, and a fresh New Year - full of promise, with all the usual extras, toppings and fixins... depending on where you eat your burgers.

 

On the mend,

Peter