Forgive me, Mr. Claws. I'm afraid I've made a terrible mess of your holiday.
I’ve leapt into the 90s with this quote. I do
love me some Nightmare Before Christmas.
2023 has been busy and
surreal. On the plus side, we were all kept running to vacations, to weddings,
to engagements and activities galore. On the minus side, there was a minus
side.
I think it’s all going to
even out with enough miles behind us.
We do have a new member of
our family this year. We are fostering a delightful 10-year-old Cairn terrier
named Nessa. Think Toto from the Wizard of Oz. She is still quite spry for her
age and has told our 2-year-old Corgi Piper that she wears the crown in this
group. Nessa’s owner is sadly quite ill, so we are treating this foster like an
adoption unless a miracle happens, and the owner is capable of taking care of
her again.
Trips, so many trips this
year. We were in Big Bear for a wedding, Chicago for a library conference, and
Temecula for another wedding. We also took our week in the mountains, which was
delightful, came home to repack and fly off to Hawai’i. We were on the big
island in Kona with my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and nephew, plus all of
my sister-in-law’s siblings and their families. We didn’t really do any
touristy stuff, but I enjoyed the feeling of being in this big chaotic jumble
of a family, not to mention all the food.
Dale got to go to Angels’ spring
training camp, where he did a lot of ushering. There were a couple of nights
when I had dinner at Craftsman Pizza and tried to find him on TV during the
game. Alas, I never did. He also volunteered at the U.S. Open Golf Tournament,
although he missed this year’s Boston trip to play golf with his friends. His
mom is requiring a lot more help these days and he’s been on-call to take care
of her, our developmentally disabled cousin who lives with her, and the house
they live in. He still manages to golf and to coach a team in the local parks
and recreation basketball league.
And I see him every now and
again.
My year started off strong. I
had an author booth at a lot of festivals, I was guest speaker at the National
Federation of Women’s Clubs Convention, which was thrilling, and Dhani and I
finished in the Top Ten at the AQHA Level 1 West Championships. And then my
semi-routine mammogram discovered breast cancer. It was Stage 0, contained, and
all I had to have was surgery. No radiation, no chemo, just five years of
monitoring and hormone-blocking meds. The next time you see me, I may have
grown a beard.
Marcus is still working the
day job at Cal State Long Beach while he plants himself in the world of
barbershop. It seems that the Newfangled Four are constantly traveling around
the country singing, competing, and making goofy videos. They came in 6th
at this year’s International Barbershop Competition, and vow that next year,
they’re aiming for the top. He’s also still in two choral groups, but I’m
afraid his days as part of Westbeat have come to a close. I will miss seeing
him perform in Downtown Disney, but a guy’s gotta pace himself. In the
meantime, he’s having fun as an amateur bartender, whipping up unusual and
tasty concoctions. I may have to hire him for my next soiree.
In the Tim Burton version of
Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter tells Alice she’s lost her muchness. “You
used to be much more…muchier.” I’m thinking these days about the muchness of
life and how many times I didn’t do something because I was overwhelmed by how
much energy it took. Then COVID came along and I realized how many things I
missed out on because I thought I’d get to them later. And this year, going
through breast cancer, I wondered if I’d have a “later.”
So, don’t wait. We know life
is fragile but it’s hard to believe when we’re sitting here, hale and hearty.
Take the vacation. Go to the concert. Stop by the little shop you admire.
Invite a friend to join you. Use up every scrap of every minute of every day.
To quote Auntie Mame: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to
death.”
Fill your
plate!
The Carlines