The only day of the calendar year that’s more depressing than September first is January second, with that “hey, the party’s over, dude!” vibe, which forces us to accept the reality of the dead months that lie ahead, but I’m not going to do that.
I’m not going to accept that, because it’s really only true in those brutal winter months.
Autumn is gorgeous, but I still have the end of the summer blues and an unscheduled pool closing in a few weeks, ( we haven’t even had Labor Day yet)so bear with me.
Instead of dwelling on the inevitable end of summer, I’m going to reflect on the year so far, the good and the bad, the highlights and the lowlights, ( the latter which autocorrect called “ kielbasa”in a recent blog) and everything in between, time permitting.
It was a year of losses that stung, but in the long run, may be looked at as positives one day.
Tomorrow marks six months since saying goodbye to our crazy sixteen and a half year old poodle, Luke, and I’ve used the time to reflect and conclude this:
We didn’t end his life; we ended his suffering.
Happy memories, even when we see those torn bed coverings that he gifted us with, replace the tears we no longer shed daily.
It was the loss of my eyeglasses to unforgiving waves at Belmar beach, glasses that should have been tossed anyway years earlier after Jim tried to Superglue their broken frames.
It was the loss of unwanted pounds that people started to notice: the loss of my straight, cowlick-free bangs that I wish they didn’t notice quite as much.
It was the year of a particularly tough loss.. after getting a perfect score on the written and mock spinning/solving/“quick on the buzzer”test, and after an amazing Zoom call with an associate producer, presenting myself in a dynamic, witty interview that would have offered me a shot at guest hosting a late night tv show under any other circumstances, I didn’t get a booking for “Wheel of Fortune “ .. a game show which is absolutely within my …wheelhouse.
I was the hare in this race, but I’ve stopped obsessively checking my email.
The tortoise won, I didn’t.
(The tortoise, who couldn’t solve puzzles even when they’re ninety nine percent complete, but who wowed the producers with their tale of their homemade potato salad that’s the star attraction at their family reunions. But I’m not bitter. I’m a hare.)
And I’m pretty sure I was put in the rejection pile because I stupidly and unknowingly said those forbidden words at the very end of the Zoom interview ( “ bucket list”) but I’ll try out again once I’m eligible, after a year has passed.
Sigh.
Only to be defeated once again by that tortoise who is probably named Mitch, who was chosen because “ he started watching the show with his grandmother when he was four, and he wants to give her a shout out today because she is a long time survivor of restless leg syndrome.”
We were told in an email to show high energy during the Zoom call, to present ourselves as though we’ve” just consumed a jumbo mug of coffee. “
I don’t know about you, but if I drank that much coffee, I wouldn’t present as the Energizer Bunny, I’d be a caffeinated maniac that would conduct the entire interview from a bathroom stall.
When I was a contestant on “The Ten Thousand Dollar Pyramid “ in my senior year of college, I was chosen because of my decent playing skills, not because of a frenetic, hyper caffeinated personality, which is ironic, because one of my consolation prizes was a Mr. Coffee maker.
But 2026 is a year of great wins too.
It was the year I started my seventh decade, traveling with friends aboard Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, spending my January birthday with the tail of a wild monkey accidentally in my mouth at an animal sanctuary in Roatan, Honduras.
( don’t ask, but you Curious Georges have my permission to search the blog archives)
It was a year of a Valentine’s Day snowy escapism to continue celebrating my milestone birthday with Jim and Evan and Michelle at Woodloch.. so different from our usual extended family summer getaway, but just as magical as an icy, wintry palace.
April had us on a geriatric river cruise, exploring shrimp boats and the wrinkled faces of our dining companions, but also intriguing us with our tour of famous movie sets that were filmed in Beaufort, South Carolina.
( the musical score from “ The Prince of Tides ” was on a constant loop for both of us, even weeks after. )
June, of course, is the most important month of all, in ANY given year, as we were once again spending it with both blood and adopted families , making memories at our beloved Woodloch Pines in the verdant Pocono mountains.
It was a summer of maddening current events, soul crushing news that we woke up to every morning, but also joyful personal escapism , with live regional theater at our favorite, the New Jersey Repertory Company, and a couple of other outstanding shows too, like our afternoon with Groucho Marx one weekend, followed by a spectacular Beatles cover band the next in the same venue.
It was a year of the delightful sounds of locals Dakota and Elle, ( especially their terrific show, the musical “Daddy Long Legs” on Mother’s Day weekend ) and seeing a live performance by Sutton Foster, afterwards admitting we’re both majorly crushing on her.
Kelli O’Hara shared her stage and they both got standing O’s DURING the performance!
And I’m talking multiple O’s.
The audience members were orgasmic, especially during the duo’s salute to Dame Julie Andrews and the legendary Carol Burnett from when they played Carnegie Hall in 1962.
It was the summer of finally meeting my comedy idol, Craig Shoemaker, in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, and seeing his hilarious opening act, Theresa Hummel-Krallinger.
( and this is after another night of a million laughs, courtesy of comedienne Julia Scotti, earlier in the season.)
Craig randomly showed up on my feed during Oscar season, and has tapped into my creative, humorous side ever since.
It’s like discovering a twin that got separated at birth, only a much better looking version, but one who nonetheless shares my brain with his deep understanding of the true definition of pure bliss, which is, obviously , attained only through vicarious pleasure.
2026 had us kicking up our heels at two weddings.. our beloved family friend, Dylan’s, to his beautiful Marianna, in February, and our awesome cousin, David’s, to the wonderful Marissa, last month in Ohio.
Yep.. I’m counting my blessings in these waning days of summer.. a summer filled with sun, fun, friends, and family.
We’re a little gun shy when it comes to booking vacations after the disastrous journey to Ohio( we made Jack Lemmon’s “ George” and Sandy Dennis’s “ Gwen” from Neil Simon’s “The Out-of -Towners “ look like seasoned travelers) but after losing those glasses in early July, I need a gentle Caribbean beach fix.
Which I’ll get.. in December.. the month between our birthdays, when we’ll spend a quiet, restful week in the Dominican Republic.
Because we’re going to need it.. especially when I tell you where Jim is taking me for my birthday week in January, 2027.
We’ll be going to St. Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick, about a half hour away.
To the maternity ward.
Yep, I’m tearing up as I type this, but that’s when our fabulous daughter in law, Michelle, will be bringing the latest branch on the family tree into our world.
If you think Joni Mitchell’s “ The Circle Game” made me an emotional wreck before, like when Jim would strum the familiar chords on his guitar around the campfire, you should witness what that song does to me now!
( it actually does THIS…it just made me giggle when autocorrect tried to edit it as “Jim singing around the vampire”)
This kid, our first grandchild , is in for quite the ride!!
Especially if I’m behind the wheel!
