As the saying goes, It’s been a hot minute” since I last blogged. There has been so much in my world that I just did not want to sit and type. LOL. And sometimes this over-arching need to share every moment gets tiresome – I honestly do not need to see everyone’s latest recipe or drink they invented! I am toying with dropping out of social media. It sure wears on your soul. We do not have local or national TV in the house; we stream what we want to see. So I miss headlines now and then. My husband dropped out of an online messaging group and he noticed immediately how his overall demeanor and stress level lowered and smoothed out. What we take into our heads, and surround ourselves with, truly influences who we are.
We traveled to see our middle son and his family. They relocated pretty much across the country from where we live. It takes 17 hours of flying. Not the most fun thing. However, we had oodles of miles and were able to upgrade; I got spoiled. Hubby was attending a conference near where our son lives for a week. He flew out and I joined him at the end of the conference. Which meant I had to fly by myself. Don’t make fun of me! I spend most of my time at home, or with my husband. Occasionally I see close friends and our family, but I rarely leave the state, let alone by myself. Plus I had to leave our dogs…arrangements to be made, etc. Anyway, I had to deal with layovers and connecting flights and lugging my packages in my rolling suitcase (took fun stuff to the kids) through the airports. There were SO MANY PEOPLE!! Don’t get me wrong; I am no recluse. However, where I live, there are only 700,000 in the entire state, and it’s Alaska. There’s a lot of space in-between all those people! LOL! Airports and airlines are crowded things. Ugh.
It was fun to see the country from the air, though. Flying during the day is new to me; it seems like all the flights out of Alaska are in the middle of the night! So, I took lots of photos of how flat the country is. From one side to the other. Flat. Just sayin’! LOL!
Going to a place you have never been is exciting on so many levels. The architecture; the layout of the old towns; the miles of fields and farms. I loved every moment of our visit. The small towns were the best. Some of the buildings were literally from the early 1800s. Gas stations from the 1940s. Signage you know has been up longer than I’ve been alive! The antiques. The prices! Oh my word. It is far less expensive than up here. I came home with Amish butter – if you have never had it, treat yourself. I brought home Amish honey in big jars for $10. Unheard-of up here. I was able to see America like I never have and I am beyond thrilled my grandchildren are being raised there.
It was so incredible to drive down some of these roads and see homes that have been lived in for 100s of years. Farms that have been in families for generations. Downtowns with spires and grand town halls, complete with bell towers. Regular, normal families walking down these streets with their kids. Small businesses eeking a living out of small town life. Little cafe’s and wonderful local parks. Schools where the busses pick up and drop off every student, at their house. Where all the kids get hot breakfasts and lunches – regardless of economic need. Where you can walk to the local drugstore and see hand made soap for sale (yes, I brought some home). And where people know their neighbors. It was a much needed trip to once again feel good about this country. To glimpse into the diorama of quiet life in small towns. I actually got to see an Amish farmer driving his black buggy down the street. I was so excited I forgot to snap a photo. It was a long enough stay, in a quiet small town, that I desperately want to go back again, even with layovers and 17 hours of flying.
The trip was over too soon and we had a tearful goodbye. And then we got home and discovered we had brought with us our grandchildren’s bugs. Sigh. The day after we got home we found out our grandchildren’s school closed because too many kids were sick. Yay me! So for a few weeks in November, we both had the crud. (Not c19 or anything, just seasonal crud). I was still busy submitting campaign information for our local elections, so it kept me occupied at home. I couldn’t work the polling place because of the crud, but I kept my fingers in the pot. LOL.
One of the amazing things about Alaska is the snow. It is gorgeous. We had what we are calling the Blizzard of ’22. We got snow upon snow upon snow. And the 75 mph winds were insane. Power outages galore. Hubby was out of town when it hit and I was able to shovel the front to clear a path for our new stove to be delivered (haven’t had a working one in months) and to get our wood stove going. I was proud of myself. Poor man had to trudge up the driveway and dig himself out in order to even bring his truck to the house. What a way to end a week traveling! The snow was deep. We had 6-foot berms in our front yard. No joke.
Our dogs love the snow. And when it piled up that high, they loved the advantage! Maggie is barking to let me know she’s ready to come inside. Kolbe had looked out there and chose to stay inside with me. LOL. Smart guy! The snow got so high, it is over our 6-foot fences in the back, so the dogs now go outside on leads. Otherwise they think it is ok to just walk over the fences into everyone else’s yards. The winds also pushed the snow so we have portions of grass on one side showing, with 7+ foot snow berms on the other side of the yard. Most people say we set records for snowfall and winds. We already had the record for the most rainfall this summer. Alaska. We won’t have a drought anytime soon. Snow melt season is gonna stink!
I am thankful the temperature is back up into the 30s. Those -20s were a killer. The hubby went ice fishing this weekend and they didn’t even set up their tents. Heaters were going, but they were able to sit outside. That’s something!
Christmas came and went. In-between the holidays, we celebrated 38 years of marriage. We had a nice meal out, just us two. And then New Year’s came and went. Another wonderful evening just the two of us. We had been invited out for fireworks, but honestly, blowing snow and 35 degrees? Nah. Wood stove, a nice cup of hot coffee, and a good movie…we were fine. In bed by 10pm. LOL!
And here we are. Months after my last post. No one hardly comes to read my blog anymore. And that is fine, too. Everything has its season. Perhaps my blogging days are winding to a close.
I had a doctor’s appointment for blood work follow up and my annual physical. (That experience could entail an entire post!) I’m fine, by the way. I’m 1″ shorter than I used to be. A few pounds less, and I was consistently told things like, “for a woman of your age,” or “well, considering your age, ” and “you are in that bracket of 65 and older now, ” and “you qualify for the monthly medicare foot-care clinic.” Ugh. I finally told them to knock it off! I’m not that old. Good heavens!! In a way, maybe I am getting too old to opine on social media. Once people hear I have 6 grandchildren and graduated from high school in the early 70s, they tend to place me in the “irrelevant” category. I have always noticed that because of my size (still overweight, with gray hair) people don’t notice me too much. I blend into the background. Now that I am older, it seems that what I have to say, or add to the conversation, is not as germane as it once was. And that makes me sad. Pissed a little, too. Because when I see the idiots in our legislature here and on the national stage, I know they could use some old-time wisdom. Some people just age..they skip the wisdom part. And if my voice no longer carries outside my living room walls, maybe that is the right order of things. It’s up to my kids now; their generation is becoming the ones running things. My dad, who is 96, still rages against his cage in the memory facility he lives in. But I am glad he’s still angry – it means he’s still thinking and things are not right, on some level. And he’s locked away, no longer relevant to the world. It’s sad when you start realizing that you are one of the “old people” walking around. LOL.
Thinking on it all, I do have much to say, but there is a lot of clatter out there. I don’t want to become another “clanging gong” in amongst all the others. My posts may become irregular, or perhaps even cease altogether. I’ll ponder it and see what I feel as life moves along. I cling to my faith first and foremost, and to my husband and our love for one another, my family, and my friends. My circle is quite small these days.
And I try to be my best self where I am. I think God wants that of us all. Participate locally, to make this world a better place. And comment on your life once in awhile. I think that’s where I’m headed. Who said aging is a cup of tea??? LOL…
kaiserswest 