Introspective

You started it, Dianne! Well, no. To be honest, I started it myself. You just sort of pushed me over the edge. I guess I started it a few days ago when I started talking about my mother and others talking about dying in the near future.

The times we're living in today, the general state of the world, and of this country in particular - just not conducive to optimism and good cheer. We start to take it personally. Begins to make us start wondering if we're doing it all wrong. And maybe, in the case of much older people, like myself, makes us start to wonder if we want to keep on going at all. We don't always acknowledge even to ourselves that we're thinking that way, but that's what it amounts to in the end.

My physical state at the moment is not all that wonderful. Winter has a lot to do with it. I ache and I creak and I'm so very tired. Between arthritis and angina and a myriad of lesser problems, it just seems sometimes to be too darned hard to get up in the morning and face another day. And when I do, I hear about war and political shenanigans and global warming and economic disaster, and I want to go back to bed.

I think maybe that's why I've started doing memes like Shadow Shot Sunday, and Mellow Yellow Monday. They not only distract me from what's going on out there, they are actually fun and cheery, and often beautiful. I know it's why I don't want to watch anything on TV in the evenings except inane sitcoms. I don't want to go to bed thinking of anything serious. If there's anything of import that I'll want to see, I record it for another time. On a night when everything on the air is violent or suspenseful, I just don't turn on the TV. I find the Britcoms on PBS the most entertaining. And I love Big Bang Theory. Ooops. I shouldn't say that. Whenever I start talking about a series I really like, it goes off the air. Hope I didn't jinx it.

There are a number of blogs that I turn to for beauty and inspiration as well. They keep me going through the day. And people like Dianne and Gina and Deborah and Ann and Sylvia, David and Ralph and Cliff - OK I'll stop, even though I haven't mentioned nearly all of them. And there's my family (which includes Lisa). But there are days when they just aren't enough.

Once we accomplished our goal of getting Mr. Obama headed to the White House, there was a terrific let-down. Felt like nothing left to do. I know. There are many things left to do - but that's how it felt for a while. And the way things have come about, January 20th will only be the start of a very long, difficult road over the mountains of problems that will have to be overcome. It isn't as if we've reached the peak, and it's all downhill from here.

OK. Have I brought everyone down to my level? Wow! Talk about depressing. Well, I'm not going to delete it all now. Just let me say - if I skip posting some days except for the memes, you probably wouldn't want to read it anyway. It would be like this one. When I start reminscing again, or thinking about my grandson, I'll write some more. (Yes, I have good days as well as bad, even in the winter.)

Want to cheer up a little? Here are a couple of pictures of said grandson - for no particular reason except that they cheer me.