I had to run outside when I saw these clouds last night. The colors were stunning.
Not long after I saw this, I saw what I’m pretty sure was a young fox trotting down our busy road. Not across it, as I’ve seen before, but on the road, headed somewhere. Very strange. And then, of course, I worried about him.
Very low key around here lately. Don has been resting from his very active weekend. I’ve been dealing with anxiety, reading a lot, listening to classical music, meditating. I sometimes listen to the app, Classic FM, which is London-based. It tends to calm me, as the music they play tends to be rather traditional. I like it. And I use the Calm app for meditating. Even though I’ve been railing a bit lately about tech and the dangers of too much tech, I have to admit I’m grateful for tech advances like these two apps as well as others that I use frequently. (By the way, I’m going to post more about AI soon. Now, it’s hitting Zoom, which I use for coaching. I may have to find an alternative.)
I’m loving The Man Who Died Twice, the second in Richard Osman’s series about elderly detectives. Though, nowadays, when I read the someone is ‘elderly’ at the age of 75, my first response is “Elderly? No!” But back to the series – a lot of you have already read these books. What a joy they are! They’re also extremely well-plotted mysteries with plot twists that often catch me by surprise. I am also impressed by Osman’s characterizations; full-blooded, complex human beings who, despite being of a certain age, have lived full lives and are still living full lives.
I remember being young and thinking of elderly people as sweet, but gray. I never thought about the entirety of their lives, what they’d done, experienced, and lived through. Ah, the arrogance of the young. Now, of course, the shoe is on the other foot, and I know otherwise.
Has evolution given us a gray-haired appearance as we age in order to fade into the background as we get nearer to the end of our time here on Earth? I often complain about my gray/white hair combined with the pale skin I’ve had all my life. I could have dyed my hair, of course, but I chose not to, so gray and pale is what I am nowadays. I miss the beautiful brown hair I had, which was full of all sorts of natural highlights. The other day, Don said to me, “Well, you could dye your hair. Nobody’s stopping you.” I am stopping me because I don’t have the patience for dying my hair or touching up roots. Besides, I’ve been gray for a number of years and reversing that would look silly. And obvious.
Anyway, kudos to Osman. It’s about time we have a novel with complicated, rich characters who happen to be in their later years – who are active despite their aches and pains, whose minds are sharp – and who make us laugh. Miss Marple for this century.
Hopefully, I’ll do some painting today. We also need to mow, but I’m so congested today that we’ll see.
See you on Friday!
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
