This past week, I was away visiting family for Thanksgiving. Instead of blogging, I was chilling, eating, and reminiscing. During that time, I also avoided looking at Facebook, exercising, and journaling. I regret that last one more than the others. There was no excuse for skipping that habit.
But I am here now, with a new week starting for me in about eight hours. And I brought along a blog post. It's a start. Let's see what tomorrow has in store for me.
Tomorrow is a new day.
One day at a time.
It is what it is.
(Me showing off tonight's blog post.)
It is 5:57 pm on the last Sunday in November. I am sitting in an office lobby, waiting for my child to finish her appointment. Someone is running a vacuum, making their way down the office hallway. When the person enters a room, the droning fades enough so I can hear the drumming of rain against the window. With my computer on my lap and open, I type away. A week has passed since my last blog post, and I am desperate to get back into my routine.
Then the vacuum stops. A man steps out from behind the wall. He says hello. I smile, and return the greeting. And then I find myself slipping away into his life story. He is sixty-seven years old, retired, but doing this as an escape from his home life. Thanksgiving was jammed pack with current and future in-laws. Only two out of three of his adult children made it to dinner. One is in NYU working on a masters; the second, he did not share any details about. The third, who is getting married next summer, and does Broadway shows, is in Fiddler on the Roof, and currently touring the country. We bond briefly over janitorial stuff (it may surprise you to know I spent many of my teaching years mopping, stripping, and waxing floors).
He returns to his work, and I return to me weekly goal. Sharing these little vignettes with you. But soon he wraps up his work, while I delve deeper into mine. As he heads to the door, vacuum in one hand, cleaning supplies in the other, I get up and hold the door for him. That is when he reveals the long road ahead of him. He lives in the neighboring state, up in the mountains. However, he has something to look forward to at the end of his journey. All the football games he missed while cleaning various offices.
Again, quiet settles on the office. Well, except for the drone of the HVAC system, and a radio station feeding no one else but me Christmas songs, traffic updates, and commercials. I sit back down, and type away. Missing an entire week of blogging is hard enough. Not the actual skipping. That was easy—I just did not do it and filled the time with other things. It is the regret that is weighing on me. And so, I refuse to make it two in a row.
Now it is 6:25 pm. Despite all the lights in this lobby, the cold, dark, late autumn night seeps through the window and casts shadows around me. The heat is running, but I still feel a chill, so I continue to wear my zippered hoodie. And the Christmas songs are not helping. Do not get me wrong, I love this time of the year, and music that saturates it. But I would rather listen to just the air spewing from the vents. In fact, the two noises seem to be battling for dominance. Unfortunately, “Silver and Gold” from that old claymation holiday special is winning.
The computer clock reads 6:33 pm. Only seventeen minutes to go. Sorry. I lied earlier. This appointment is only fifty minutes long, not an entire hour. Soon my child will emerge, and I will have to take her place. A check and an invoice will be exchanged. Then I will spend a few minutes entering a future appointment into my Google calendar app. I love that app, except when I realize how many tasks I have to complete. Which happens way too often.
There is something else that has been happening way too often. Skipped blog posts. Today is the last Sunday of November (I mentioned that already). In about five weeks, a new year will be upon us, a traditional time for reflecting on the past year, and making plans for the next one. This home stretch is a good opportunity for me decide on the direction of this blog, while reinforcing my habit of blogging twice a week. So, set your expectations concerning content accordingly. Hopefully whatever I write is interesting enough to keep you coming back for more.
In the meantime, it is 6:42 pm. Time to wrap this up. Sort of. I still have to go home and transfer this text to the other computer, because this one does not have wireless capabilities. Fixing it is on my to-do list. Way down on it. Like, in all probability, it will never happen. But I leave it there. Just in case. What will happen is a Weekly Checkup this Thursday, followed by a December full of blog posts.
And all the other things on the front end of my to-do list.
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