°°°Sunday, December 31, 2023
In bed by 10 and up at 6:30. Let Lilly out. Winter Weather Advisory until noon: mixed precipitation with snow and ice glaze, slippery roads. 29°, high of 34°, wind WNW at 7 mph, 3-19/30, wind chills today 17° to 31℉, 30% chance of some snow. Sunrise at 7:23, sunset at 4:26, 9+2.
Treadmill; pain. 17:35 & 0.36, a welcome early end when Andy texted that he and Peter were about to come over to look at Geri's mixer situation on the bathtub. While I was 'on board,' I watched an interview of Bradley Cooper by Steven Spielberg about Maestro. RP & PP developed while Andy and Peter were here moving A&A's stuff out.
I'm grateful for last night's lovely dinner and visiting with Andy, Anh, Peter, Lizzie, and Drew; for the delicious pasta dish that Andy cooked and we all enjoyed; for watching the kids and Geri playing with a virtual reality game thing; for learning about all the activities and competitions that the kids will be involved in come March; for listening to Andy describe, as only he can, his exploits in replacing plumbing stuff in their old house and for volunteering to come over today to look at our plumbing challenge with the bathtub for learning that Anh is now handling not only her 4 original parishes but also the Cathedral parish, work she's done for the last 10 or 11 years; and for alerting us to the wonders of air frying,; and for the massage gun they gave us along with thoughtful gift cards (even for Lilly.) Blessings upon blessings.
Milwaukee's warmest year on record. Climate change + El Niño.
Last New Year Resolutions. " I don't know that I have ever made New Year's resolutions. Perhaps I have but, as with so many things, I have no memory of any. This year I should try. 1. Try not to be a jerk, selfish, self-centered, judgmental, supercilious, intellectually vain, pity partyer. 2. Try to be kinder, more understanding, more open, and more accepting of differences (except for MAGA types and dangerous Republicans.) 3. Try to paint more, be more communicative, draw more, and walk more. OTOH: Emily Dickinson "In this short life that only lasts an hour / How much - how little - is within our power.""
It's hard to judge on Resolution #1. I am still subject to each of those vices. On Resolution #2, I have to be all of those things, though I am far from perfect on any of them. I think I have made progress on being more understanding of differences in our polarized society, though probably not more accepting. I can't be accepting of the differences with the Religious Right, crypto-fascists, ruthless capitalists, and the like, though I did exclude such folks from this resolution. I think I have probably succeeded in Resolution #3. I've probably done more painting than I did last year, perhaps mostly because of binging on Camille Claudel's portraits. OTOH, I think I've done no drawing. I've been doing well on the treadmill, which I started almost 3 months ago. In the last three weeks, I've been on it every day but 2. It's terribly boring but thank God for YouTube! Whether I've been more communicative is questionable. I've always been guilty of too much introversion and aloofness and it may still be the case.
All in all, last year's resolutions seem pretty reasonable and worth another run, so I'll keep on trying.
New Resolutions: Stay more in touch with Ed Felsenthal and Larry Anderson. Try to maintain some semblance of the Clausen/Lowe/Goldberg dinners. Those resolutions (or goals) came to mind quickly but I got to thinking more about the passing year and the upcoming one on the way to Costco with Geri. The past year saw two good, very long-term friends leave us - TSJ by his unexpected death and DPL by moving far away. It had me move one year closer to my own death, and all of us marching along the same route. I'm thinking about my life this past year and my reflections on some of it as reflected in this journal. How much of this year have I wasted with negativity? How many opportunities to do some good, both for others and for myself, have I squandered? How much, by sins of commission and more by sins of omission, have I lived out the words of Yeats' Vacillation? Things said or done long years ago, / Or things I did not do or say / But thought that I might say or do, / Weigh me down, and not a day / But something is recalled, / My conscience or my vanity appalled. Today and tomorrow are days for some self-reflection.
1. I should live next year as if it is my last year, as well it may be. Live next month, week, day, and hour as if it is my last, and accept that it may well be the last with no more warning than Tom had on January 18th of this year.
2. I need to appreciate being alive and appreciate all the beauty around me - beauty in Nature, beauty in people old, young, and in between, and beauty in art through vocal and instrumental music, painted and written images, and fine writing.
3. I should write a letter each week to Sarah and Andy, to leave them some record of their father's thoughts and values as an old man. I needn't concern myself with whether they read them or think much about them, especially now. I wish my father had been more open with me during his last years. On secnd thought, I suspect this is a delusional pipe dream.
4. I need to be more mindful: (a) of the gift of Geri's presence in my life; (2) of the clouds above and the earth below, the birds all around, the squirrels, white-tail deer, wild turkeys, chipmunks, and all sorts of critters; (3) of the food I eat, the water and tea I drink, and the air I breathe.
. . . .
I started on my resolutions: I called Ed Felsenthal who told me that I beat him to the punch - that I was on the top of his list of people to call today and tomorrow. He appreciated the call and I appreciated talking with him and telling him, as I have before, that his friendship has been a blessing in my life. I sent Larry Anderson a New Year's greeting by email and told him he's a good man.
Holiday dinner of Costco lamb chops, buttered white potatoes, Caesar salad, Geri's great tapioca pudding. Then watched season 1, episode 1 of Fisk on Netflix and went to bed at 8:40. Happy New Year's Eve.
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