The park across the way. There used to be an iron baron’s mansion there and then our county hospital up until the pandemic in 1918. A lot of the trees are from the mansion days.
I took this a couple of days ago when all the kids from the Waldorf school opposite the other way were on break. They use this park as their playfield even though the school is private and expensive. The park is in constant use on school days. It shows the wear and tear and the lack of maintenance funds at our Park Department. Still, it is lovely and I am happy to have it nearby.
What do they say? We should all touch grass.
There is an article in the Atlantic about older people who have become addicted to their electronic devices. So much so that normal human interactions are suffering. Still feeling the holiday idle I spent almost all day yesterday with my iPad in my hand or attached to it by wireless headphones.
And the day before after the lovely Christmas lunch I had with Kes and Most Honorable, we all settled in the living room with their cat Henry and each of us our own iPads. We were actually using them as conversational aids and interacting with each other and sharing things. But yeah. It is something to be aware of, just how much time I spend looking at, or more in my case, listening to screens.
I did play with Henry. He lost his companion cat Jack this last year and is still finding his way. Unlike Carlo who has settled into a life without his brother Diego, just fine. Carlo had something to say about me going away all of Christmas Day when I got home.
There was a rent increase in the mail yesterday. I thought I had managed to slide through this year without one. It is not as steep as last year’s, and I am glad for that at least.
The guys are all sending me YouTube links. They must spend an inordinate amount of time watching videos. How do they do that? Do you think it might have something to do with the fact that they have partners that do the chores? I noticed that Walt is putting on weight. He’s going to Mexico for a couple of months, leaving on the 6th, so I won’t see him in person for a while. I hope he is more physically active down there.
This year my word for the year was “chuffed”. I was, at least a few times, and I am happy with that.
The tone of this last year was overwhelm and anxiety having to do with the whole nonprofit thing I took on the year before. For 2026 I am choosing “relief” as my word. I may not get there but it is for sure my goal, to unburden myself of the most worrisome aspects of this volunteer gig. It is probably going to take me the better part of the year.
What I want is to wake up knowing I am useful but in ways that are familiar and manageable with significantly less contact with a number of individuals I now encounter regularly. I participated in a ridiculous number of meetings this last year.
This next week I don’t have any League meetings and that is, in and of itself, remarkable. Yay.
Back to almost my full teaching schedule except for another week off from my in-person class. Mrs. Sherlock said this morning when we went for a low-key walk that she is planning on coming back to the Weights and Bands class. She adds a certain enthusiasm for the class that I have missed so I hope that works out.
It is cold, a few degrees above freezing but for now at least, dry. That makes everything out and about so much easier and I am grateful. We are just weeks away from crocus and the daffodil shoots are up. I just need to hold the faith, hang in there, and get ready. The seasons will change.
And I will get through this overwhelm. I will.
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