So, um, I planned to send out a newsletter last Wednesday, and got busy making bread starter and pie crusts and completely forgot. Oops! This newsletter will be short and you’ll get a real essay next Wednesday. For today, a week late, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, a few things I’m grateful for:
Vacations with family—Arthur and I drove to Ann Arbor, MI the Sunday before Thanksgiving to pick up our son Conrad and give him a ride back to Pittsburgh for the holiday. Our daughters Sophia and Miranda were already in Pittsburgh and it was so much fun to have all three kids under one roof again, making jokes, cooking together, playing board games, and just generally enjoying each other’s company.
Elections when competent people win—Here in Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro is our new governor and John Fetterman is our new Senator. As you may know, their opponents were, respectively, Doug Mastriano and Mehmet “Dr.” Oz. Dr. Oz has made a career out of hawking fake medical products to the masses. Mastriano said that God told him to run for governor. So, Dr. Oz is a quack and Mastriano seems to have a tenuous grip on reality. I am really glad they lost here in PA. Let’s hear it for competence!!! (Meanwhile, Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker recently talked about vampires and werewolves as if they were real. If you haven’t seen the video, watch it here. Let’s hope Georgians vote for competence, too.)
Movie Theaters—I attended my first post-Covid movie Thanksgiving evening. The new Knives Out movie—called Glass Onion—had a limited theatrical release and the five of us went to see it between Thanksgiving dinner and pumpkin pie dessert. The movie is a lot of fun, but mostly it was just great to be back in a movie theater. I’ve gone to see plays, but not a movie. One more bit of normal life restored after Covid (even though Covid is not gone—just less scary, I guess).
Taking a break from Twitter—Elon Musk’s disastrous leadership at Twitter led me to take a break from the site, and that pause showed me how present the app was in my mind even though I didn’t spend that much actual time on it. Twitter connected me with nurses and doctors all over the country and even around the world and that was wonderful. But since I quit tweeting I have felt mentally freer. With Twitter I was always thinking about what I should be posting, which is to say living in a social media future instead of the actual present. That was not good for my mental health, in a small, but significant way. I haven’t left Twitter for good, but now that I’m aware of the effect it had on me, my “break” may become permanent
Walks in the evening—Arthur was out of town a few weeks ago, which meant the dog-walking duties all fell to me. I was happy for him to take over the morning walk once he returned, but the evening walks, and especially the last walk of the day, restored a pleasure I hadn’t realized I was missing. I’ve always loved walking by myself, but with kids, 12 hour nursing shifts, life, I got out of the habit. It has been great to pick that habit back up. I find it very meditative to be out at that time, with Pickles for company; the world tends to be quiet around 10pm and there aren’t that many people around. Sometimes simple pleasures really are the best.
In the comments, please share something you’re thankful for—if you’d like. Of course I’m also thankful for all of you, dear readers!
Hugs,
Theresa
I am thankful that when I considered what to put down, I had so many choices to choose from. Think about all those who struggle to find a single bright spot in their lives. If you are as fortunate as I am, look for opportunities to shine a light into the lives of those who need it.
I am thankful that a vampire may not enter my home unless they are invited. I am grateful for Herschel Walker, for keeping the important issue at the forefront.