Nothing much new

Viburnum outside my triple-paned window

Dear friends and family,

As soon as the red leaves fell, a couple of days after I loaded the picture on the blog, the hidden viburnum came into view. The Pollyanna in me says that when something lovely disappears from my life, something else takes it place. I sneer a bit about the Pollyanna attitude, but allow it a corner in my mind to counteract the self-pity I might otherwise allow myself to feel. My options get smaller; fatigue, itching, and now spleen pain are ever with me. But I force myself to look at whatever viburnum, so to speak, I can call up to replace the energy and activities no longer possible.

Today was a good example of compensation. Eli and Miriam spent a good hour with us. We have known each other for over 40 years and have much to talk about. They are in the book group that Merwin has been attending, and we share the same wedding anniversary—year and month. Our plan has always been to go out to dinner to celebrate our anniversaries—and this one is 60! I am thinking of take-out from a local restaurant. It's hard to imagine being able to spend 90 minutes sitting at a restaurant table. But take-out can be great too.

Later, our near daughter Dawn came over after her job interview at Nassau CC. We hope she gets the job! She was wearing an outfit I had given her (one of several). It was an expensive suit when I bought it about 6o years ago, and it was great to see it on her. I think I paid $18 for it with my employees' discount. I can only part with my beloved old clothes when I can give them to someone I know who will enjoy them as I did.

Laury came in the morning to work on the captions for the screen shots she had selected for our Measure for Measure edition. In a few days, our work will be sent to the publisher. At this point, with all her other responsibilities, she is doing most of the final edits as well as the photos. Wonderful Laury. What would I do without you?

In between the visits, I worked on the essay I am struggling to write. Also, I spoke to Harvey, Arthur and Dave. I told Dave I was reading an article about procrastination in The New Yorker. His immediate response was, "Did you finish it?" Once I got the joke (and it took a minute), I laughed and laughed.

Lots of love and laughs to all,
Bernice