December loose ends

Well, last night's movie was even more disturbing than the previous one. Ashes in the Snow -- about Lithuanians being sent to Siberia at the start of World War II for simply being engaged in the arts and sciences and making statements in opposition to Stalin and his rule. At least in the previous movie seven people escaped and three actually made it on foot all the way to India. In this one? There was no escape.

Why do we watch these movies? I think Ed and I choose them for different reasons: I feel that the horrors of World War II as played out in Europe and especially in Poland, belong to my past, even though I was a postwar child. I go back to it because I'm rooted in that era, on that soil. Ed has a more intellectual curiosity about the war. And so when we find a new war themed movie, we tend to watch it, no matter how depressing it may be.

Still, did we really need to pull out a movie about so much suffering in this beautiful, spirited, joyful month? Well, I suppose life requires a balance -- of the tough stuff, to make you that much more grateful for the good in your days.  But I swear, tonight we'll find something more cheerful! Maybe.

It is sunny outside. Just above freezing. About as good as you're going to get in December (well, for us, a snowfall would be even better!).

 

 

 

(hens beg to differ: for them, a snowless winter is a happy winter)

We eat breakfast...

And then Ed loses himself to a zoom call. That's fine, but the window for a deliciously bright and sunny walk is rapidly closing. My big task for this day is to grocery shop for the two family dinners I need to prepare this week and... well, to restock the fridge for the New Year! So long as I'm in Madison to shop, I may as well stop by a park that's very close to my store of choice. Owen Woods -- the conservation park that abuts the neighborhood where I used to live when my girls were small.

It offers a lovely half hour loop (that you can actually stretch out a bit if you want more walking minutes), with both a forest to inspire you and a prairie that at least in late summer, is quite pretty.

And it has hills, so you can patch yourself on the back for doing your movement bit for the day.

Grocery shopping is also a pleasure: I dont need a lot of food -- our pantry is not bare, not by a long shot. I take my time with it. And I think about Jimmy Carter, because my car radio was full of stories about him. (I didn't vote for him: though I lived in Chicago the year he ran for office, I did not know that I was legally entitled to vote.)

I think about his ethic -- his stewardship, his work to eradicate poverty and, significantly, disease.  You've heard about it all,  I'm sure. I haven't read his biography, but it seems obvious that much of his work was prompted by choices made and beliefs adhered to for the better part of his life. As I walked the aisles of the grocery store, I thought about how so many of us view the New Year as a time to make resolutions. They're usually good ones, concentrating on self improvement, on doing better across different domains. But of course, we can't all be Jimmy Carters, eradicating disease and building houses for the homeless. Nonetheless, we do have so many opportunities to do small stuff! On my walk in that store today, it struck me that I had at least ten encounters with store workers or shoppers and each one offered a chance to say or do something that would maybe sound a little positive, appreciative, helpful. I thought -- maybe we should not try so hard for the big stuff, which usually fizzles by around January 6th. But wouldn't it be grand if we all did lots of small stuff? For each other? For people, for the animals in our midst (I hereby promise I will cut back on calling the obsequious cat at the farmette "you dumb cat!")? Wouldn't that be just fabulous? 

Of course, we all tend to think of ourselves as being good and having kind hearts and great intentions. It's all those mean others who spoil the game and poison our world. But even if we do pat ourselves on the back occasionally (and why not... life is tough and most people do try to make something of it for themselves, for their loved ones), if we could only clean up our act just a little bit more, a few nice words here and there, a smile, a door held open, a note written on the spur of the moment to someone who surely would like to hear from us (maybe!)... 

Those are my thoughts on the day before the day before the New Year. Now, if you'll excuse me -- I want to do a quick search for tonight's movie. A happy one for a change, maybe? How about that for a good idea?!

In the meantime, at home, the tree still stands. 

with love...