Fog City

 As you can see the year is drawing to a close. I'm listening to my last Christmas CD, A Jazzy Christmas, with the likes of Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday and Peggy Lee. The season has taken its toll as it does each year. All the preparations and plans can and usually do come unglued. This year just as the family came together we were struck down by the pernicious and ubiquitous flu bug. We had to apply the covid protocols and separate individuals from the family herd to control the contagion. Unfortunately we were second to fall victim to the sickness, consequently we were eliminated from certain fun family functions. These new viruses tend to linger much longer than expected. Physically and mentally they are draining, which is frustrating, because you can't join in the festive fray without worrying about spreading the flu. We did the best we could and survived full of joy and blessings for the optimum minutes we did share.

If the ongoing news is any indicator we were the lucky ones. At least we were home, the millions traveling to be with friends and relatives were met with unbelievable obstacles. Blizzards, ice, whiteouts, airline cancellations, all of epic proportions stranded million across the land. Extreme seems to be the new common. The holidays are supposedly a time to remind us what is meaningful. A time for centering. I think mostly it is adjusting. Adjusting to extremes. Adjusting our momentum from fast to slow. Adjusting our audio from chatter to listening. One aspect of being under the weather is the silence in isolation. Sickness force adjustments, concentration, reflection, quiet, stillness, a kind of meditation or medication. Adjusting. 

A new year is just around the corner and adjusting will be a primary ingredient. You see I've gotten old and my body forces constant and permanent adjustments. I''m learning tolerance by having to tolerate all the things I can no longer do. This is extreme because all my life I took for granted certain abilities would last. But now the obvious limitations need tolerance and adjusting. As the larger world grows ever more extreme, so does my personal world. Adjusting to the simplest tasks becomes extremely more difficult. And so it goes!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"I'll see you in the funny papers"