Atonement

Today is Yom Kippur. It is a day of atonement. A day to look back on the year and repent for one's sins. Below is a better explanation:

According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt. At the end of Yom Kippur, one hopes that they have been forgiven by God.

This morning my blog wrote itself. 

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today my father is 94 years old. He still has all of his faculties and drives a new car.  He is the most knowledgeable person I know and can remember things that date back to his childhood. He still tells us stories that we never heard before. He is still the family historian. Just last week I asked him about some of his grandparent's traits and he filled me in. I always tell him that he cannot leave this earth until all of his stories are told. We both know that will not happen, but as long as he is here with us I will cherish every moment. Happy Birthday Daddy.

Change of Menu

Last night the pool girls went out to dinner. We promised ourselves that we would keep in touch over the winter and we did. We went to a nice Italian restaurant. For a change I decided to eat a healthier meal. I chose one without melted cheese and fried food. It was only pasta, spinach, grilled chicken and sun dried tomatoes in a wine sauce. It tasted very good, but as I was eating I missed the red sauce. I asked the waitress for a cup of sauce and poured it over the dish. I saved half for today's lunch. Before I packed it, I added more sauce. Old habits do not die fast.

Old Friends

Yesterday I called a doctor's office. I had worked at this office 22 years ago. After asking my question, I mentioned that I used to work there. The woman asked what my name was and I told her. She then told me who she was. She had been my manager at that office 22 years ago. When I left, she also left. She worked at a local hospital for 22 years, and 6 months ago returned to the original office. I was so glad to speak to her. We kept in touch for a few years after we both left and then lost touch. Now by chance we have connected again. Next week we will get together for dinner.

Easier Said Than Learned

Yesterday for the first time ever, my boss sat in front of a computer and began to learn her medical software system. After one hour her eyes looked glazed over. She had said that it would take her one hour to learn it. She regretted saying that. She saw first hand what I do every day and how complicated it is. No one really knows what a job entails until they sit down and try to do it. I guess that is what the show "Undercover Boss" is all about. I have a feeling that she will never ask to be shown the system again as it would take her weeks to even understand it.

Recognition

Last night I Skyped with my granddaughters. I love to see their smiling faces. For the first time, my younger granddaughter seemed to recognize me. She is 16 months old and has seen me in person only a handful of times. When she appeared on the screen she saw my face and smiled. In her eyes I saw recognition. It was not a general smile. It was a smile for me. I know the difference and it meant the world to me. My older granddaughter knows me well as she is four years old and when I visit her I spend most of my time one on one with her. Now that the baby is older, the next time I visit I think she will be old enough to sit and play with us and get to know me even better.

Flying Rock

Yesterday we were driving to my nephew's party. It was an uneventful ride until we heard a loud bang. Something from the road catapulted into my windshield.  The lowest part of the windshield cracked and glass went flying onto the dashboard. Thankfully I have glass insurance so replacing it will not cost any money. What are the odds that in the entire universe one rock would find its way into my car?

Turning 2

This morning the whole family will be attending my great nephew's 2nd birthday party. What makes it special is that this week he will turn 2 and my father will turn 94. They will both be at the party. Not many families are blessed to have that. They are two happy people with kind spirits. They both bring a smile to your face and a lot of joy to the family. I cannot wait to spend the day with the people I love the most.

Purging

Since this is the new year, I have decided to throw away anything that I used last year that I do not plan on using this year. I have a bag of items for my sister and a bag for work. Everything else is in the trash. I feel lighter. I feel freer. Nothing is clogging my drawers, closet or head. If I find that I need the item again, I can always rebuy it. A new year means a new start.

New Year

Today is the beginning of the Jewish New Year. I wish everyone a happy and healthy one. We never know what any year will bring and always have hope for the best. If your last year was rough, I wish you smooth sailing this one. If your last year was great, I wish you an even better one.

Mail Delivery

All it takes is someone getting the wrong piece of mail to open up a can of worms. Last Monday the mail for my office arrived after I left. I am the only one who distributes mail even though the doctor's names are on it, I open it first and give out only what is necessary. My newest receptionist thought she was helping me and gave out all of the mail to the person whose name was on it. Bad move. The newest crazy doctor was given a bank statement that had nothing to do with her and started to question the numbers. She saw fees for accepting credit cards and was not happy. If you want to take credit cards you have to pay fees. Next my boss started to question the fees. I told her that we have the most competitive rates and everything is fine. Now she wants to see the rate for each patient's card and have me check other banks to see if they line up the same. I now have a huge project on my hands for no reason.

Safe in America

For the past year or so some Americans have been protesting our administration. They need to spend a few weeks in Russia and then see if they have what to complain about. There is a middle ground for everything. Especially when it comes to people crossing other countries borders. There is the "let everyone in policy" the "let's make sure who they are and if they should stay" policy and the "let no one in or out unless we 100% know who they are and what they do" policy. I like the middle ground. My boss lived the third option last week and was scared that she might never be allowed to leave Russia. She now sees how wonderful America, even with its flaws, is.

My Way

For years I have been asking my hairstylist to cut my hair a certain way. She always tells me that it will not be symmetrical and will ruin the line of the hair. She does it her way and it looks good. Last week I needed a haircut and my stylist is out sick for a few months. I had someone else in the shop cut my hair. I told her the way I wanted it and she was not concerned with symmetry. She did as I asked. It came out great. It looked exactly as I wanted it to and is one of the best haircuts I have ever had. It blends beautifully. I finally got my hair cut my way and I love it.

Books

Last night I did something that I have not done in years. I bought a book. I am from the old school where I like to actually have a book in my hands when I read. I have a kindle but it is not the same. I cannot flip back and forth to reread a page. I gave up reading for a while because my eyes get tired so reading a novel would not be consistent. The book I bought is a book called "Extraordinary Facts". It is almost 700 pages and has various facts about every topic. Each topic is a few pages and each fact is only s few lines. I can read a little or a lot because there is no story line.

To Do List

I have made a "to do" list in my mind of all of the things that I have pushed to the side for a while. They are not very important things, just loose ends. I promised myself that I would start working on this list in the fall and the countdown is slowly arriving. When it is all done, I will have everything that I need in order and everything else will be tossed away.

Expiration

This morning I did my yearly expiration check. I went through my pantry and checked each expiration date to make sure everything was current. As usual, I filled up 2 bags with items that had expired a few months ago. It is amazing how many items I purchased to eat and never cooked. After getting sick a few years ago from pancake mix, I am viligant about eating foods prior to their cut off dates. Check your food closets and I bet you will be surprised at what you find.

Third Hand

God created people with two hands.That was good enough until the year 2000. People now need three hands. One for their cell phone and two others to do whatever else they need to. Lately I have been observing people and I see that everyone has a cell phone in their hand constantly. They even have one when they are with other people. They walk in the street with them. Sit in restaurants with them. Look at them in doctor's offices. It has become an extension of their arms. One day the human race will start to mutate and grow a third hand.

The Dollar Bill

We have all had this happen to us. We are walking and out of the corner of our eye we spot money. Dollar bills. Maybe it is a one or a five or a twenty. For that brief moment in time we get a genuine rush of happiness. It is nothing we can control. It is raw human emotion. Wouldn't it be nice to feel like that at some point every day? I hope to find the way to do that.

The Motivator

I am a motivator. I get people going. Yesterday my mother had a slight cold and could not go with my father to dialysis. I called from work and she was lying in bed. That is not good. The family does not want her staying alone. I got in my car and drove to their house. When I arrived my father left. I got her up and  made her eat every two hours even though she was not hungry. She miraculously felt better. She wanted to walk around the house and then sit outside on the porch. She and I chatted all day. At dinner time we called for Chinese take out and she ate more than I did. All in all it was a great day.

Negating History

Today is September 11th. I went online to write this blog and there was no mention of anything special about this date. Have we forgotten the tragedy of 2001? There were articles about diet foods and what celebrities did last night, but not one memorial paragraph. Is America trying to rewrite its history. Statues are being removed from town squares and flags are being destroyed. If certain groups are offended by these things, I get it. Place them in a museum setting. Don't erase history. Acknowledge it and strive for better.

Pound of Apples

We had a great day apple picking. We got to the orchards and paid the admission fee which entitled us to get four bags to fill with the apples. We were allowed about 20 pounds. We picked and picked and were ready to leave so we had them weighed. There were only 5 pounds. We went back into the orchards. We picked again. This time we were 5 pounds short. Again we went to pick. This time we were $2 short. We decided to forgo the $2 as it was getting late and we wanted to go to dinner. Today I will make apple pie, apple sauce, apple crisp and any other apple dish I can find.

Apple Picking

Once every year we go picking. Some years it is for pumpkins and other years it is for apples. This is the apple year. We will drive East towards the orchards and gather apples from the trees. This year my granddaughters picked many types of fruits. They picked strawberries, sunflowers, peaches and berries. I have pictures showing their happy faces as they went down every orchard aisle. Today my grandson will go. He has been asking about picking apples off of trees, so today he will get his wish.

Security

There has been a lot of talk in the past year about immigration and how a country needs to keep its borders secure. My boss went to Russia to sightsee and then was going to Slovenia to lecture. In order to enter Russia she needed to be sponsored. She needed a stamped visa from the place where she is staying. She got a visa from both hotels stamped with her dates of arrival and departure. She had to visit the Russian immigration center in New York and be interviewed. She had to answer questions as far back as what clubs she was in when she went to high school. Keep in mind my boss is 64 years old. After staying in Russia and seeing everything she wanted to, she decided to go to Slovenia a few days early. The Russian government refused to let her leave until the day that her visa says she is supposed to. No discussion. She will remain in Russia until September 12th, like it or not. This is a sharp contrast to America where jumping a border and vanishing into thin air is acceptable.

Holistic Approach

Sometimes doctors need to hang up their "doctor brains" and replace them with "grandma brains". In some cases, the old fashioned way that grandma helped us heal was far better. Years ago if you had a cold, you ate chicken soup. If you had a belly ache, you had tea and toast. I work with a psychiatrist that believes that what we eat affects not only our brain but our total system. He shies away from traditional medications whenever possible and leans towards nutrients, diet and supplements. Most people follow his advice and do not need a second visit. One great tip that he gave me years ago was to eat pears and drink pear juice and pear nectar when your stomach was not feeling well. It is the most wonderful remedy and not well known.

Right of Way

We have all had this happen to us. We are driving down a one lane residential street and another car is coming at us. Common sense would be for each car to bear towards the right to let the other one pass easily. Sometimes the other person is an inconsiderate idiot that stays directly in the center of the road and flies by you s o closely that you think that they are going to sideswipe you. I cannot understand what they are thinking to drive so recklessly and with a feeling of such entitlement.

Wearing of the Black

I have a friend who just retired from teaching. She mentioned that this is the first year that she has not worn black the last week of August. Wearing black was her way of protesting that she had to go back to school. I shook my head as I heard this. What was the big protest about? Having a great paying job? Accruing a huge pension as a Tier one worker? Having healthcare from the city? Having a job that gave you 13 weeks off a year? I wanted to tell her to try working a regular job. No huge payout and 2 weeks off a year. What would she do then? Go Naked?

Last Pool Day

Today is the last pool day until June 2018. It was a wonderful pool season. We caught up on all of the winter's news and rehashed the summer's news. It was a simple place to go when you had nothing else to do. You always knew that someone would be there to stay with. Hopefully people will make plans to get together this winter. I will miss the pool atmosphere.

Senior Sports

I remember years ago when my friends played basketball at the pool. They would get a group of guys together. They shot hoops and returned to the pool red and sweaty. Now they are getting older. Yesterday one man brought a basketball to the pool. His wife yelled at him for bringing it. The other man's wife told him that he was not allowed to play since he has a pacemaker. The two men looked at each other and gave in. Then one of the men asked his wife for a quarter. He put it on the ground and asked his friend to play hit the penny. In this case it was hit the quarter. They bounced the ball back and forth, sometimes hitting, sometimes missing. For some reason the reality of aging was now clear.

Funny Cards

Who thinks of funny greeting cards? Whenever I need a quick laugh, I look at greeting cards. The people that write them have a nice job. They must sit in an office and think of stupid things and then draw a picture around it. Where else can you produce an item with a kid picking his nose or an old lady in her underwear and get paid to do it?

Last Hurrah

Today is the start of the Labor Day Weekend. Summer has flown by and the next four days will have to keep us going until next summer. I am not sure how the weather will be but I am hoping to squeeze out a few more pool days. All in all it was a lovely summer. Even though it had its ups and downs, as of this moment my life is on an even keel.