Can it really be almost 5 years since I've posted anything here? And my life has changed some. Of course, we've survived the pandemic (well, most of us have), and have only just begun to process that trauma; yes, it really was a trauma. Being fearful of a death-dealing virus, being isolated, being separated from so much of what gave meaning to our lives -- that's trauma for sure. Of course, I didn't realize it when I was living it, just rolled with the punches as they came, did what I needed to do. But I did ask myself what it really meant to be a priest, when I couldn't lead worship, celebrate the sacraments, make pastoral visits, even keep office hours. I thought I would do tons of reading and writing, but I didn't. In fact, as my world became smaller, I had less and less to say, and though I kept my journal, it wasn't very full. What did you do? I joined the Great Courses Plus (which has now become Wondrium), and for a paid subscription, I traveled the world, studied the plague, and dipped into various and sundry topics. I joined Amazon Prime, and ordered lots of stuff online. I walked my dog and shouted to porch-sitting neighbors from the sidewalk. I learned about Zoom, as most of us did, and eventually I could take yoga and other exercise classes via my laptop. And I spent lots and lots of time down at the trailer by the lake. I walked the beach, miles a day, and collected enough beach glass to fill two lamp bases, and enough left over to fill two more. I let the lake soothe me.
Probably my biggest project was losing 75 pounds. No, I didn't gain the "pandemic twenty," as so many of my friends complained. I joined Noom in February 2020, just before the big lockdown, and actually stuck with it for the 15 months that it took to lose the weight. Now I weigh about what I did in high school and college, and I feel so much better. No more chronically "iffy" blood pressure, far fewer aching joints (except the ones arthritis seems to have moved into). I guess it's not for everyone, but I highly recommend it. It was just right for me, with a coach and little lessons and reminders each day. Honestly, I never thought I'd see this weight again, which is by no means skinny, but seems healthy for me, and I've formed the habits and mindfulness that I need that has helped me maintain this weight for 14 months now.
I moved again, yes, in November of 2020. I liked my sunny one-bedroom apartment, but it was just too small. During my working years, I had become accustomed to living in 3-bedroom houses that were provided by the churches I served, and in 3 years I just got too cramped in a one-bedroom. I used to gaze out my living room window at the carriage house apartments with little porches, that were right across the parking lot. When one came vacant, I snagged it! I moved mostly by myself -- many trips with plastic bins loaded onto a hand truck -- down two flights, across the parking lot, and then up another flight. But I love this new(er) place, with its two bedrooms, long hallway, and most of all, the little porch! My study is in the little turret room that opens to the porch; I've always wanted a turret room. Out here, where I'm writing now, I mounted flower boxes to the wrought iron railings. I call it my "French chateau." Ha! The view could be better: the parking lot, and the back of the building where I used to live. But I watch the comings and goings of my neighbors, and my little dog has a bed out here, so she joins me, and I can sit in the morning with my coffee and write.
And I have a new little dog! Well, I've had her for 4 1/2 years now, so I guess she's not new, but new since I last write here. My darling Clementine went to heaven, and a friend asked me to foster a little 10 pound Bichon puppy-mill rescue. But I'm a "failed foster," they tell me, as she curled right up in my arms and my heart, and I just couldn't let her go. Her name is Dori, the name she came to me with. I wouldn't have picked that name, but I figured she had been through enough in her little life, and didn't need to go through learning a new name, too. She's my dearest friend, and I'm convinced that my dead people sent her to me, to get me through the pandemic. She has only one eye, lost one at the puppy mill. I'm so grateful they didn't kill her. And she's excellent company.
I still travel. In 2018 I spent 2 weeks touring in Southern Italy with my friend Cheryl, and this year I celebrated my 70th birthday with a week in Paris. In November I'm going to Portugal for a week, to a Jungian conference that was scheduled for 2020, then 2021, and now finally it seems like it will happen. I've never been to Portugal, so I'm looking forward to that.
There's more. But this is enough for now. I'll be writing more often now, and will include pictures, when I figure out how to transfer them from my phone. It feels good to be back.
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