#14 Home

A rare day at home. Cleaning, laundry, long walk with the dog. #Thankful

#13 Friends

Slugging around the house today with a cold, a little exhausted from yesterday, when a text came across the phone. Two friends have bought me a massage in Asheville during the week when I'm taking a little sabbatical -- starting the day after I "step down" from City Council. "You deserve it," they said.
Ohmygoodness. I may deserve a massage but nowhere on earth did I ever deserve such kind and thoughtful friends. Overwhelmed with gratitude.
#LoveMyLife

#12 Thankful

It’s Thanksgiving morning and the sun is just coming up. Birds are beginning to chirp outside my door and it promises to be another beautiful, clear day with a sky of Carolina  blue.
It’s been a whirlwind week. Hubby and I were treated to a trip to the top of the nearby water tower. I cast my last vote as a sitting Council member. I rode in the local Christmas parade in a red ‘62 Chevrolet Impala. Convertible.
Our kitchen is jammed with food waiting to be cooked. In a few short hours our home will be filled with family and friends. Babies. Laughter. Music. I feel so, so rich, and immensely grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Postscript. Dear Hubby took this amazing picture of our sweet great-grandson. His eyes opened wide when he saw me in the parade. If you zoom way in, you can see my red '62 Impala reflected in his loving eyes.
#LoveMyLife

#11 New Friends

We had friends over for dinner last night and it was just a lovely time.
Sweet hubby and I worked all week to clean house for them. I polished silver. He dismantled the oven and gave it a good scrub.
We had a simple but tasty meal and plenty of light wine — but the laughter! We laughed and laughed.
She was elected our new mayor a couple of weeks ago following seriously hard campaigning and they have been exhausted — and we were so happy to share a night with them of pure relaxation. Dear hubby and I are winding down as my term of office comes to a close. We are all in the same experience of public service, at opposite ends of the spectrum. Last night we just relaxed — and laughed.
#LovemyLife

#10 Heartstrings

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I take our great grandson to preschool and return to take him back home. Each and every time I show up, whether to take him to school or to take him back home, his face lights up and he is happy to see Nana. It just makes my heart light up like Roman candles. ❤️

#9 Performances

It was a hectic day with all the best parts of being a council member in a small town. In the morning I was invited to watch a senior citizen step team perform. What a treat! Then they served us a covered dish luncheon with the best of homemade food: fried chicken, ham, meatballs, macaroni & cheese, potato salad, cooked green beans, corn, deviled eggs, oh my! I can’t remember it all.
As I was serving my plate, a lady touched my arm and said, “I want you to go over there and get a slice of that homemade pineapple cake.” I smiled and said, “OK, Thank you,” and continued serving my plate.
She touched me again. “I mean NOW.” So I left the dinner line, ran to the dessert table, and got a slice of heavenly, made-from-scratch 3-layer pineapple cake with buttercream frosting.
It was worth the special trip.
Then in the evening I headed to our high school where I served as a judge for students’ senior projects.
What a treat.
I was a member of a team who judged 5 high school seniors who presented their requisite projects for graduation. 14 other teams judged kids throughout the school for a total of 70 presentations.
The kids have worked on these projects for a year and a half. They have practiced their oral delivery with mentors and advisors. They dressed up in their Sunday best and presented to us.
What’s always so surprising is how nervous they are.
The topics ranged from History of the Marine Corps to Benefits of Organic Food.
Every team of judges has an asshole, someone who is ultra-critical or loves to hear himself talk —or both— and I try not to be that person. I give them lots of encouragement and if they have given it good effort, I rank them high as the sky and send them on their way.
So the day started and ended with watching people do their best to perform for me.
It doesn’t get much better than that.
#LoveMyLife

#8 Family

Our SIL had his wisdom teeth removed today so T called and asked if we might keep her #1 son. I will call him GGS1. Would we!?

They arrived early  in the morning. He had had a banana, and said he did not want to "eat-eat." Hubby cooked bacon and eggs anyway, and we set a bowl in front of the boy. He ate! We felt that we should give the referees' "touchdown" signal.

We sat a while in Nana's chair and watched choo-choo videos on Youtube. As 9:30 rolled around I packed him up and we headed to the library. A local preschool was just entering for story time but GGS1 just wanted to play with choo-choos.

The library has a train table and rolling bins filled with tracks, trains, people and wooden blocks. They have fancy bridges. They have Y's and V's and all sorts of interchanges.

We had played for about 40 minutes when a mom entered with her daughter, another 2yo. The kids co-played, sometimes handing things to each other, sometimes holding fiercely onto others.

11:00 rolled around and I began to detach him to head home for nap time. He became angry and actually hit me! I picked him up, told him I love him, and it makes me sad when he hits.

He compliantly helped me pick up (a little) and we headed home for nap.

He returns in about an hour so T can work tonight. SIL is still too groggy to watch his kids. We are happy to accommodate.

#7 Warmth

As we count down the last days of public service, I took my last ride in the Veterans’ Day Parade. It was a glorious fall day— brilliant blue sky, cadmium leaves and just a bit of a chill in the air. Smiling onlookers smiled and waved tiny American flags as we cruised by, resplendent in our vintage convertibles. As I thanked veterans for their service, many of them called back, “And thank you for yours!”
It was a real Norman Rockwell kind of experience.
I rushed home to prepare dinner for guests: a friend and his daughter, whom he has not seen in some time. She came to visit from Arizona, where she dissects archeological bits for a museum.
Dear Hubby helped soon as he got home from work, picking fresh kale from the garden and lighting candles around the house.
We had grilled salmon with lemon caper aeoli, buttered rice and sautéed kale. Focaccia and gorgonzola. A light rose wine. Coffee after with just a tiny scoop of lemon sherbet and one piece of chocolate on top.
The daughter is just lovely, physically beautiful, kind and so so smart. Her dad looked at her with a heart full of love. We looked at him looking at her and enjoyed the reflections of pure emotion.
Altogether it was just a great, warm day.

#6 Two Goodbyes

A dear sweet 94-yo man passed away this weekend, and his funeral was today. Clyde Young was a member of the Civitan Club of Salisbury for seventy years. Yes, you read that correctly. He joined the club in 1947.
Thirty of us Civitans  crowded in the front rows of the church for his service. Women and men, most of us past a certain age, all dressed up and paying homage to a kind man who just loved to play his trumpet.
He was a pediatric dentist so early that dentistry barely knew what that was. He served in the Navy in WWII. He was a kind man and a good dad.
Me, I'm not too sure about the Great Beyond. Luckily I can't sing so I didn't have to make professions I don't believe. But I try to get what I can out of every experience and today's message was the simplest of all: Life is a gift. Try to share your gift with as many as you can.

I dashed from the 11:00 funeral to the 12:00 Transit Board meeting: my last as Council liaison. To my surprise, they had a nice little luncheon and cake (my favorite vegetable!) in my honor. One member had written a letter and stood to read it to me. The Director gave a little message about me, too, and presented me with a gift: 100 bus passes for our annual Christmas giveaway at the homeless shelter.

I left feeling very loved and appreciated. Life is a gift.

#5 A New Council

Today marked another major step in my transition from Council member to private citizen. The next new Council was elected.
Determined to exit gracefully, I did not endorse anyone. To the dozens of people who asked me whom to vote for, I politely declined.
We had the right to vote for 5 people to serve on Council, but I found only four who deserved my vote. All four were elected. Best of all, my friend Al Heggins came in first and should be selected as Mayor, if our Council honors the city’s centuries-old tradition.
I couldn’t be prouder of Al. She stayed on the high road, steadfastly refusing to say a negative word about her competitors. She tirelessly knocked on doors, even as late as the night before the election. She ran a clean, strong campaign — and she won.
At the December 5 meeting, I step down — and she swears in. Life doesn’t get much better than that.
#LoveMyLife

#4 Appreciation and Beef Bourguignon

I was awakened this morning by a text from a friend: "Great letter from A.R. Should b whole page full!"
Turned out a citizen had written a letter to the editor in the local paper recognizing some things I had done and lamenting my imminent departure from Council. I have to admit it was a great way to wake up.
J and I traveled to Winston-Salem and shopped at Whole Foods for the better part of the afternoon. I made beef bourguignon for the first time ever tonight, and it was amazing. Yes, I drank some of the cabernet as I cooked -- but J loved it, too, and he didn't have any. So there.

#3 Globe

J and I started our day riding our bikes to the Farmers’ Market, then to the downtown bike shop. He cooked a yummy dinner and we watched a Netflix show about a hotel in Singapore.
It’s been a little chilly so we’ve had the tiniest fire in the fireplace.
We are closing out the night learning all about India on Globe Trekkers.
It’s a big world out there. How much more will we see in our lifetime?

#2 Sanity

As I get older, I find that sanity is a highly underrated commodity. We don't say thanks for it when we say Grace. We don't acknowledge it when we see it. It's a lot like a clean house: we only notice it when it's NOT there.

My life is much like yours, jammed to bursting with work and friends and family and a zillion meetings where action is sometimes taken, but more often just talked about. In-between, I struggle to accomplish the mundane but necessary tasks: checkups for me and the family with doctor, dentist, and eye physician. Calendars. Carpools. Laundry. Pet care. Litter boxes. Unload the dishwasher. Eat. Load and run. Repeat.

In-between those, comes self-care: showers, hair, makeup, caring for contacts, reading, philosophizing, mani's and pedi's.

I find the older I get, the more I need to take a few moments every day for quiet. No surfing. No reading. Not even a quiet little podcast. Quiet, calm, and still. Four measly minutes a day.

Ah, sanity.

#1. Returning to Normal. If we can remember what Normal is.

I have not posted to my dear Blog in over seven years. Is this a sign? Are there other things in my life I've neglected for seven years?
With only 31 days left of public service, I've begun transitioning to normal life. With intention.
I've written letters to the people who helped me make public service successful. The street hole guy. The Fire Chief. The City Clerk. Lots of friends who held fundraisers, pulled up campaign signs, that kind of thing.
I've planned a retreat for the week after I "step down." A week by myself in my favorite city. A couple of private art classes. Yoga. Art galleries, long walks, weather permitting.
I've attended the last meetings of my boards & commissions. They had cake. Little gifts.
So.... deep breath. It's happening. This whirlwind life, being "on," being available to the public, is coming to an end. Soon.
After eight years, it has become my normal.
But--
It's not normal.
Normal is normal.
Privacy. Not being approached in public places about problems. Not getting texts or voice mails when someone is shot or killed. Going to market without pearls on.
Will I miss it? Certainly.
But it's soon over. And I have surely missed normal.
So this blog, this dormant blog, is about to fire up.
In a nice way.
Someone I admire has blogged every day for years, at the end of each day -- about something she is grateful for. Not political rants. Not whining or wishing. Just gratitude.
This is what I hope to do. Because, even at my age, I aspire to be a better person.
Don't we all?