For Now in Everyday Ramblings

Every year about this time I start checking for signs of spring. This tree, moss, crocus bulb continuum is my go-to. With the below freezing temperatures for over a week we are slightly behind schedule. This is from Friday, midday.

There is something deeply comforting right now in the cycle of plant and natural life in general going on out there. The daffodils are growing strong and there will be flowers in a matter of weeks. The birds and flowers don’t know what is happening politically in the world quite yet.

I finally had the opportunity yesterday to see Mrs. Sherlock in person. She’s been in class periodically the last couple of weeks now that the bulk of her move is really and truly over, but this was the first time she didn’t have something on with tradespeople and all the rest.

It was hovering at freezing and the ground in places was slick and frosty, so it wasn’t a long walk. We parked in a neighborhood where the streets are angled so we were never all that far from the car if it got too cold for us and the dog. But gosh, it was so good to see her, have her all to myself, and I know she felt the same way about me.

She’s hooked up with a caregivers’ group and I hope she can get some respite care in now and then. Since his hospital stay, Mr. Sherlock is having more and more trouble with his memory and is insistent. He will ask the same question over and over again. It is one thing to know about this aspect of memory care but a whole other thing to live with it day in and day out with no relief. And they are in a significantly smaller place, which means they are in close proximity all day.

It’s affected her cognition. She is distracted in a way that is a bit concerning.

When I got home, I got a call from my League partner about some tax filing we were attempting to do. I used to do this particular activity professionally and was astonished at how complicated it had all gotten with electronic filing.

Besides a trip to the grocery in there as the temperature was above freezing by then and the roads were clear I spent the whole afternoon down this incredible verification and ID rabbit hole that included a video call with an IRS contractor to show her my passport and driver’s license.

And we worry about TikTok invading our privacy and collecting data on us!

I so wish I had more support on this stuff. It was all stressful and we weren’t completely sure we got it right by the end of it. And it was a time sink hole. By the time it was done all I wanted to do was read the new installment in a police procedural I have been following that was released Thursday.

Just what I needed. I could have gotten some more sleep but dropping into the story as it was unfolding was excellent distraction.

My niece is all moved into to her much smaller place and facing her big second round of chemo next week. She has mouth sores, and her hair is already falling out. I absolutely hate that she is having to go through with this.

Underneath all of this, while I am keeping my national and international news consumption to a minimum, I am still struggling with the cognitive dissonance of everybody (it seems), going about their lives and their business while the support structure of what we have come to know as our rights and responsibilities as people living in this country is being rapidly dismantled by grifters, ambitious resentful wannabes, before our eyes.

It makes me so very sad. There are bright spots, flares of hope out there, and I know there are many people working incredibly hard to say to the world, hey, it isn’t us, we are here doing our best on the side of compassion, kindness, and generosity. But still…

We all have our way of dealing. I am not criticizing anyone’s choice that is for sure. This reflective turn inward so many of us are taking might in the long run prove quite useful in building a foundation on which to begin again.

Because that is what I think we all need to do, get up every day and begin again. That simple act is resistance enough.

For now.