Stray Thoughts

I got to chatting with one of the women behind the check out desk at my local library about how we find new books to read. She, too, takes out more books than it is humanly possible to read. She calls it "taking the books on a vacation." They leave the library shelves and travel home with her. Then return to the familiar shelves where they can tell the the other books about their adventures. Okay, I made that last part up. She mentioned there are very few fictional books that take place in Ellis Island. I'm really surprised. She also said she writes tiny vignettes about people she encounters during the day. Sometimes it is just three lines. Then she asked me a question no one has ever asked me: do you have a book in you? This summer for the first time I really feel I have a book swirling inside of me. I just don't know what kind of book, who my lead character will be, the plot, or anything else important. Only that the book is swirling around inside of me. Vignettes a...

  Last night I attended Neil King Jr's author visit at the Princeton Public Library to tout his book   American ramble: a walk of memory and recall . This was a joint event with the Princeton Historical Society. As Eve from PHS   introduced Neil , she included the line: "He worked a multitude of jobs, from busboy and ranch hand to cab driver and private investigator, before settling into a career in journalism." I was hooked. Full disclosure, I have not yet read his book. I am on hold for it at our local library, and do intend to read it. Another disclosure, I did not take any pictures last night because I did not intend to write a blog post about the event. I went with Don because it sounded interesting. So why write this post? As I sat in the crowded Community Room, I was equal parts fascinated with his story and dreaming about writing my own book. What would I write about? Could I turn some of these blog posts into something that would garner the interest of a publishe...

  As I attempt to write more often this summer, most posts will be of glimpses into my daily life. They often will not include photos.  ~~~ Today, in an effort to beat the heat, I decided to go for my daily walk before breakfast. It was already 78 degrees out and very humid, with a forecast calling for 94 degrees and even more humidity. As I passed people, I commented how we were going to get it done before the heat kicked in. I smiled as I passed a group of elementary school campers joyfully running around under the watchful eye of their leader. As seems appropriate these days, I steered clear of the group so they were not nervous about having an strange adult with them. As a white woman of a certain age (read: old enough to be the grandmother of each of the campers), I don't pose a threat, but I still didn't want to raise anyone's  spidey sense .  Up and around the the former bocce field to add in an extra 300 steps. Passed the half dozen campers again, now playing...

  Today I'll share two quick stories. The first a chance encounter. The second an emergency encounter. While running errands yesterday I bumped into Dawn, a mom with three kids who I've known since Ashley was in grade school. Her daughter is four years older, her middle child a year younger, and the youngest is four or five years younger than Ashley. This story is about her youngest who attended the school where I work for a few months when I started. It was actually this connection that made me feel God's hand in landing the job.  Let me back up to 2019. I learned about the opening from a friend of a friend (who has since become a friend). Her friend said the school where she was retiring from had a need for a Development Director. Annie knew a little bit about my background and thought I would be ideal for the position. I applied. After a few months of back and forth, I started the job. When I announced my career move people suddenly told me about their connection to the ...

  I failed to post something yesterday (July 15) because when I came home we lost power. It came back on within a few hours, but by then my internal battery was drained. A few years ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, something I rarely talk about. This year I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroid, something I talk about even less often. On most days I swim through life and don't think about either. I take a low dose of Ozempic for diabetes, and an herbal supplement for my thyroid. This week I had a phone appointment with my endocrinologist (the amazing Dr. Adi). My thyroid is back to out of whack, which means all of my numbers are off-kilter. It will take a little bit of tweaking and patience, and prayers, to try to get back to normal. Meanwhile, I need to accept that sometimes I need to recharge. Today I was able to wrap my head around trip planning. I still have the last week tp plan, but that can wait another day.

I decided to leave my job of 4 1/2 years because I knew it was time. I'm surprised how hard it has been to sever my ties. Partially because while I left, they have asked me to stick around until they hire a replacement and I can train that person. So, I haven't really left. Also because no one said goodbye and good luck. My leaving was not announced to the teachers. The board didn't send me a card expressing their well wishes for my future. I haven't even been asked to turn in my keys since I am still helping with the transition. While I didn't expect a party since part of the reason I am leaving is because I was told not to interact with the staff, I still thought something would be said or done. I'm leaving a bit sad because I feel I didn't do enough for the school.  It has been startling to me how often people ask what do I do, and soon I will have to say nothing. I'm too young to be retired.  I'm using the next few months to travel and figure out...

Today I bumped into an old friend, which is not hard to do when you've lived in the same town for over 20 years. In this case, it was someone our daughter went to school with. Someone we exchange Christmas cards with. Someone, at one point, I thought I could take the next step of friendship with, but for some reason or another, it never quite happened that way. Even today as we were chatting at the entrance to PetSmart I thought about inviting her to get continue the conversation over a cup of tea, but I didn't. As she said "I don't want to hold you up any longer," I didn't reply with "I'd love to keep chatting." I just realized our friendship would always just be a quick catching up on the lives of each other, our spouses, and our daughters until the next time we bumped into each other again. While that should be enough, I still wish we been able to move to the next stage of friendship.

Yesterday my hair dresser asked Nadia to call me to encourage me to come in an hour early. She said there was a strong storm in the forecast (news to me) and she wanted me to be safe. I thought that was odd, but I'd take her up on the offer. The day turned out to be sunny and clear, so no need for concern. When I asked her about it, since it seemed out of character. She said her best friend's sister (Susan) was killed in a flash flood earlier in the week and she wanted to make sure I was safe. Well, that gave the conversation from the day before a new perspective. Be safe -- flash floods are nothing to mess with. They can sweep you away in an instant.

  It has been both a long week and a short week, if that is possible. The week started on Sunday with Ashley calling to say her car suddenly stopped working. More on that in a different post. Speaking of suddenly stopping to work ... thunderstorms are threatening to take away our power. The internet keeps coming and going. Now it is Friday. Don and Ashley are both behind the scenes at shows -- Ashley at Bucks County Playhouse with Alien8, Don at Somerset Valley Players with Guys and Dolls. Me, on my own. On Tuesday I thought I would be home alone since we were down a car, but it was repaired yesterday (several days earlier than expected). I decided to spend this sticky night in Princeton. While waiting in line for ice cream from the bent spoon, I overheard a couple of 20-somethings chatting. The woman was animated talking about a number of different topics with an excitement I have missed in my own conversations. The man, a friend, had a lilting Island accent I later learned was fr...