Living in Rochester, you get used to snow. It's there, you shovel it, the town plows, and it pretty much goes away-- though not as quickly as my husband would like. The panic in DC earlier this month gave us Upstaters the giggles. When I lived in NYC, snow was a treat. Central Park in the snow is beautiful and quiet and mysterious, a wonderful place to cross country ski. Snow made NYC seem like a much smaller place. The brave souls who ventured out on the slippery sidewalks and in the park shared a friendly comraderie, smiling and saying hello... I loved the snow in NY.
And I loved it in VT when I was in college. Those sunny, bright, over-exposed, sparkly days after a big snowfall... frigid but gorgeous.
The snow is falling here today, in what is supposed to be the storm of the Rochester season. So far, it's a little disappointing. All the storms this season seem to have gone south of us, or east of us, or west of us. I'm probably begging the fates to hand us a whopper, but I wouldn't mind enough snow for my kids to have a snow day. There's nothing like the feeling of waking up in the morning to snow piled up against the door and the voice on the radio reading your school district's name on the closing list... it's not unlike that Christmas morning rush of euphoria, only there is no wrapping paper to get rid of.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
You're not alone....
I got an e-mail from a friend last night. She's depressed, worried that at mid-life she isn't where she should be, overwhelmed by day-to-day stressors that seem to grow as each day passes.
I told her I could relate to her frustration. I wonder how many of us are at a place in our lives that actually matches the expectations we had when we were younger? Some things in my life have turned out as I hoped: I'm married with children and we live in a house in a good school district. Those are important things.
But there's an on-going dissatisfaction with the passage of time-- the feeling that there was supposed to be something more, something greater I should have accomplished by now. Was it writing a screenplay? Earning an Emmy? Actually, in my case, all I really hoped for was a succeesful work-life balance: a satisfying career -- with a temporary step away to parent my preschoolers-- and happy homelife. Wierdly, that goal seems more unobtainable than the Emmy. Too much gets in the way: the car breaks down and needs an expensive new transmission; a planned addition to the house costs way more than anticipated and leads to crushing debt; income is unpredictable and health insurance more and more costly...
As the old saying goes: "At least we have our health."
As we get older, I think we wind down our own aspirations and replace them with aspirations for our kids. I want my children to have experiences, not stuff. To be everything they can be-- while understading the need to help others along the way. When I get too wrapped up in my own dissatisfaction, I try to remember that crabby moms create crabby kids... and they don't need that.
I think I still have great things to accomplish. This blog is one way of getting me there. And in the meantime, I still have my health! Fingers crossed!
I told her I could relate to her frustration. I wonder how many of us are at a place in our lives that actually matches the expectations we had when we were younger? Some things in my life have turned out as I hoped: I'm married with children and we live in a house in a good school district. Those are important things.
But there's an on-going dissatisfaction with the passage of time-- the feeling that there was supposed to be something more, something greater I should have accomplished by now. Was it writing a screenplay? Earning an Emmy? Actually, in my case, all I really hoped for was a succeesful work-life balance: a satisfying career -- with a temporary step away to parent my preschoolers-- and happy homelife. Wierdly, that goal seems more unobtainable than the Emmy. Too much gets in the way: the car breaks down and needs an expensive new transmission; a planned addition to the house costs way more than anticipated and leads to crushing debt; income is unpredictable and health insurance more and more costly...
As the old saying goes: "At least we have our health."
As we get older, I think we wind down our own aspirations and replace them with aspirations for our kids. I want my children to have experiences, not stuff. To be everything they can be-- while understading the need to help others along the way. When I get too wrapped up in my own dissatisfaction, I try to remember that crabby moms create crabby kids... and they don't need that.
I think I still have great things to accomplish. This blog is one way of getting me there. And in the meantime, I still have my health! Fingers crossed!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Gotta start somewhere....
So often, my husband Frank and I read what someone else has written about various topics du jour... and we say "that's our column!" Or "we should have written that!" So now I will... regardless of whether anyone is there to read it!
I'm a writer. It's what I do; it's what I know how to do. It's a marketable skill-- or so "they" say. We'll see. In the meantime, I'll write about what piques my interest. I'll write every day. Politics (from the common sense angle), media (the good, the bad, the ugly!), my family (my kids will hate me for this), education, arts, the outdoors.... I want to write about it all.
Wish me luck!
I'm a writer. It's what I do; it's what I know how to do. It's a marketable skill-- or so "they" say. We'll see. In the meantime, I'll write about what piques my interest. I'll write every day. Politics (from the common sense angle), media (the good, the bad, the ugly!), my family (my kids will hate me for this), education, arts, the outdoors.... I want to write about it all.
Wish me luck!
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