(Reality) Check, Please!

No one could say that useful trait of denial ever dodged my family. I remember my sister’s starry-eyed rendition of “I Enjoy Being a Girl” for her 7^th grade talent show – in spite of her very modest vocal skills.

A day of no events at all

To give you an idea of the madcap, carefree life of being retired, here’s my Tuesday. 

          Woke up, and realized with no surprise that my cold is still with me. I’m now at the coughing up a lung stage.

Shuffled around with a cup of tea, praised Mamie after she delivered a pee and then a poop on her pad in the bathroom. Yes, I’m insanely spoiled to have adopted a dog that came pad trained. It was 29 degrees out at 7:30 this morning.

          Made French toast, watched a little news – bad idea. The news, not the toast. 

          Took Mamie out for a big walk around the condo complex. Forgot to wear a hat – another bad idea. Will an ear infection be next?

          Went with My Guy over to the tile restorer company to arrange for the Pepto-Bismal tile in the upstairs bath at the still-unsold house to be transformed into a tasteful off-white. At ginormous expense, by the way.

          Went to the *@#! unsold house to put the second coat of blue on the other upstairs bath while My Guy put a last coat on a bedroom.

           Came home (sainted My Guy stayed and blew leaves for another hour) where I was greeted – as usual – by Mamie as though I’d been gone to the North Pole and back. One mad-dash lap around the back yard calmed her down a tiny bit.

          Went out again to buy curtains for the now-blue bathroom to hide the fact that we should have also painted the window. No luck. Tomorrow I’ll pick up some fabric and make them.

          Walked Mamie.

          Dinner.

          And here I am.

         

The Big Day

     I’ve been checking the weather so obsessively it’s a shame that the Weather Channel app doesn’t provide rewards points. 

Wrapping it all up

     We’ve pretty much cleared the house of all that excess food and now I’m wondering if W would notice if I start spiriting Christmas decorations one by one back to the basement.

The Shower of the Century

      After years – and I mean years – of our family cooking along quietly, we are now on a roller coaster of events, one seemingly right after another.

Banjoes, Bugs, and Bubbles

eHarmony, and other online dating services seem to be doing their job. We’ve known several couples, at least two of them in their 60s, who are together today because of them. Our nephew is the latest in the list. 

Mazel Tov!

         In spite of knowing exactly two people (mom and dad of the bride) at this weekend’s wedding, we had a delightful evening. It took place on a breezy warm summer evening at a restaurant on the edge of the water in Westport Connecticut. We really enjoyed how different this Jewish service was from previous weddings we’ve been to. I learned later that depending on whether the couple is Orthodox or Conservative or some other denomination, the family has a fair amount of latitude to incorporate whichever cultural and spiritual elements they wish. 

          First of all, it was a small wedding, certainly under 100 people. We arrived and were guided around the building to where chairs were set up on the lawn facing a simple chuppah, a canopy supported by four poles, which in a Jewish ceremony symbolizes the home the couple will build together. What a lovely idea. 

          The other ladies and I did our part to help out the facility’s groundspeople as we aerated the lawn with every step of our heels. There’s a real art to getting across a spongy lawn in heels – if you’re not careful, your heel will plunge down into the soft earth, tipping you back and then requiring you to yank up your foot like a toilet plunger. A useful workout for the calves. 

          Once we were settled in our white chairs facing the bay, we all stood up as the parents of the bride both escorted her together to meet her waiting groom. Instead of being shuffled off to sit with everyone else, both parents – and the mother of the groom – stood with the couple throughout the ceremony. 

          I was unable to see much since we were in the very back, but I could make out the bride circling the groom several times. I did a little research and learned that this is to symbolize righteousness, kindness, and justice, the virtues of marriage. There was also general laughter when the rabbi instructed the groom to break the glass, saying it would be the last time he’d be able to put his foot down. Before long the ceremony was over and we all called Mazel Tov! 

          We nibbled appetizers while looking out over the sunny bay but then grabbed our drinks and headed inside as a storm swept toward us. Before too long we all found our tables and were chatting with our dinner companions when the DJ struck up Hava Nagila and the entire room piled onto the dance floor. People sang and circled in the Horah left and right and back and forth regardless of age or talent. They had the stupid Electric Slide and Chicken Dance beaten by a mile.

          There was the usual dinner and speeches, but then before I knew it, the bride and groom were on chairs, hoisted up and danced around the room, as were the parents of the bride. 

          This was one fun evening. I may begin a new career crashing Jewish weddings.