Liz Logic

5% (More or Less)

I actually took time this morning to sit with a cup of tea to read the paper at a leisurely pace.  To be truthful, after our busy Christmas weekend - I don't think my body would have let me do much else.  The section of the newspaper I've always considered my editorial page is the comics.  There isn't a social or personal subject that is not covered at one time or another.  I think many cartoonists have a genius way to hit the message on the head within 3 to 4 panels.

I just read a strip called "Between Friends" that features 40 something women as they plod through day to day issues.  (I know it is a generation behind me but many situations still hit home.)  In the first panel, one of the women is talking to her friend as they sit sipping coffee or tea.  She says, "This year I resolve to be totally selfish and put myself first for a change."  The next two panels have no dialog - just the two friends staring at each other while sipping from their mugs.  Then in the last panel, the other friend asks, "How totally is totally? - to which the woman answers, "I'm shooting for five percent".

Just two months ago I wrote in my BLOG called ***Under Tall*** that I was going to shoot for putting myself first more often - ASAP.  Well, the as soon as possible still has not been possible (my own fault).   Today, I laughed out loud as I would take 5% as a good start.  Actually I think I could hit 10%.  No putting it off - starting right now.  I took time to read this AM and I'm taking time to write in my BLOG.  That's pretty good. 

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas.  One of our sons and family came from Maine and we shared the holiday with our daughter and family that lives close to us.  We were all together for traditional Swedish smorgasbord at our place on Christmas Eve.  I told my daughter that I don't know how my mother kept this time and energy consuming tradition into her 70's as I am feeling it.  To which she answered - she didn't.  Forgot I took over the meal when she was barely in her 60's.  Could it be that I have rolled my last Swedish meatball?  Could I really hold such a radical thought?  That would take me well over 5%.  Have a year to work that one out.

A SHOUT OUT!  -  to my daughter who has released a fourth book from her publishing company - Alexemi.  http://www.alexemipublishing.com   The new title is Journey to Fitness: Chronicles of a New Triathlete by Linda Jassmond Lanfear.

 

  

Like Rip Van Winkle

I have just had a Rip Van Winkle experience (or according to my mirror - a Liz Van Wrinkle experience).  I may have not lost 20 years but to me a month was just as bad.  At Thanksgiving my bragging about hardly ever getting a bad cold turned on me.  That just a tickle in my throat proved not caused by the strange weeds that grow here in PA but the beginnings of a cold that was to toss me for a loop.  The devious thing settled in my head, then traveled to my throat, did a job on my stomach, then moved into my lungs. I have never been one to bother a physician about a cold - I always believed that it would get better in 14 days with medicine - 2 weeks without.  That didn't work and with the pushing of our children went to my doctor to start a couple weeks of treatment.  When did they get so smart?  Slowly I began to function but still not out of first gear.  Then this morning I woke feeling a lot more like a human being and thought - looks like it's time to get on with life.

Good grief - it is just 6 days to Christmas.  Last time I truly cared - I had a month to pull everything together.  Where did that time go?  Then I looked out the window.  What?  There was a good old New England snowstorm blowing out there and from the direction - a true Nor'easter.  Had I not moved to PA?  Was the past year just a dream.  No that only happens in sappy TV shows or fairy tales in Sleepy Hollow.

Then I took a peek at my list of lists.  Looks like between bouts of trying to cough my brains out and the fog of yuk, things had still come together.  Perhaps in piles but at least in the house.  Through the wonder of my laptop, all the Christmas presents had been ordered and with just a couple of worrisome internet searches to find the perfect item, all were delivered.  

My how my grandmother would have loved it.  Imagine, never leaving the house - typing on a machine on my lap and seeing the words on a lighted screen.  Then with a press of a key bouncing that message to some other computer to figure what I wanted which in turn alerts another computer to pay for the order and then alerts another computer to have a real person to put it in a box and turn it over to another computer to ship to me at no cost.  Actually cheaper than paying for gas to drive around looking for the hard to find present and in many cases the item costs less than in a brick and mortar store.  How cool is that.  I've always believed that Gramma would have a hard time believing that we would buy water.  I think this would have truly boggled her mind.

The little tree is up, most gifts wrapped and Christmas cooking started.  Hey, I have 6 days.  That should be just enough to pull things together before one of our sons and family from Maine arrives to share the holiday with us and our daughter's family.

Now if only the major "unusual" snowstorm would just be a dream. But afraid it is a nightmare we'll just have to deal with along with my nagging cough.  Hey, at least I'm now awake and functioning a lot better than old Rip did.