The Covid Gap Year-ish

     This is my first post since November of 2020. I was fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by mid-February of 2021. In June, I resumed my volunteer position at Golisano Children’s Hospital and I felt life was more “normal” than it had been in a long time.  Also in 2021 I closed two Guardian ad Litem cases - one to permanent guardianship and one to adoption - and decided to retire from that volunteer role. It was rewarding but I tired of waiting for the child services agencies to do their jobs. 

     The Delta and Omicron variants of the coronavirus sent a lot of people back into seclusion mode and it was just a shame. I have never had symptoms or a test and I feel very fortunate. 

     My life in retirement continues to be pure joy. 

Refreshing the Blog

 As of July 1, 2020, I am fully retired. I worked very part-time as a complaint investigator for 10 years.  The resolution of special education complaints involves examination of Individual Education Programs (IEPs) and whether or not the IEPs were implemented. Schools were closed from mid-March, indefinitely, due to the coronavirus pandemic.  When I heard that we could expect a huge influx of complaints I knew it was time to move on. Honestly, how could anyone expect teachers and therapists to implement IEPs as written when you cannot be in the same room as the students!  Online technology can be very effective but not for all students. 

Volunteer services at the children’s hospital where I helped inventory breast  milk in the NICU were suspended in mid-March.

The Guardian ad Litem program operates virtually now.  I continue as a volunteer by visiting with my children through FaceTime and What’s App  Courtroom appearances are through Zoom  I actually prefer it to driving around town.

Am I busy? No.  Do I stay productive?  Somewhat.  Am I happy?  Yes.  I realized my favorite hobbies - reading and cooking- are very satisfying.

I do miss going to yoga classes.

I honestly did not know my blog was still alive. I just might take it up again to add my thoughts about being a Guardian ad Litem.

Fixer Upper

I have embarked on an unexpected but very pleasant encore mini-career. That is as an assistant to spousey as we remodel, renovate and restore the house we bought last November.  The job duties are simple: hold the flashlight, hold the level, listen for popping sounds coming from the light fixture, etc. But the challenge for me is remaining patient. I have had a ladder in my living room for months. I set up a temporary kitchen in the laundry room with the fridge and a microwave in the entry foyer. It all works but I do miss counter space.

Summer Fun with My Niece

We had a busy week. Started off at The Varsity after arrival and the next day toured the Atlanta Botanical Garden and CNN. My niece took a golf lesson and worked out at my fitness center.  Friday we headed north to the mountains for some cool air and interesting waterfalls hikes.  Best of all was DragonCon night at the Georgia Aquarium!!! Today we saw the Dream Cars and other art works at the fantastic High Museum.

Elements of a Great Novel

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain is loaded with imagery that nails it with wit and charm. Two examples that come to mind right now (paraphrased): a one-woman strike force of small kitchen tasks and his hair was combed back in a sort of retro Deep South prison warden look. 
The military analogies peppered throughout and juxtaposition of sport/entertainment/business types help sustain the Kurt Vonnegut vibe.
This author's voice - internal and external - is pitch perfect.

I love this book! I am looking forward to my husband's review of it.

Getting Back into the Blog

After a lengthy hiatus, I am prompted to write about my summer project.  Entertainment Weekly magazine published a special double issue July 5/12, 2013. Their writers and contributors put together lists of the "100 All-Time Greatest" movies, books, TV shows, albums, and stage productions.  My project is to read the books on the list that I have not read. So far I have been astounded. How did I miss The Children of Men by P.D. James? I am not a big fan of science fiction but this one - set in 2021 - is crafted in elegant language. The time is a few years after Science has determined that the last born generation of human beings cannot reproduce.  So you have to ask yourself - what is the point? What is the point of maintaining museums, homes, buildings, parks, families, et cetera, et cetera. I hate to be trite but this book is truly thought-provoking.

And how about A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole? Toole was evidently a tortured soul, brilliant in his college career teaching literature, and frustrated by not getting this work published.  So he killed himself.  Years later his mother, through sheer persistence and a lucky contact with Walker Percy,  got his masterwork published.  And it won the Pulitzer Prize.  If you have any experience at all with New Orleans, drunks, gay men, and/or pretentious academicians, this book will resonate. It is hysterically funny in parts.  The writer is eerily a pre-Ken Kesey.

I am one third into Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain. If you want to get inside the head of a U.S. soldier fighting in Iraq, this is the book. OMG. This is great. Stay tuned.