Bfth's Boring Blog

 Yesterday was a busy work day.  Yes, they are all busy, but yesterday was a little bit more stressful than others.  With that said, the highlight of my day was mid-afternoon, when the sun broke through the clouds for a little bit.   I know it was February 23rd (which also was my grandmother's birthday), but temperatures were in the 60s.  (Hallelujah!)  As a result I had on a sleeveless top (with a light sweater over it) and leggings.  I knew I needed to take a break from the day and grab a few minutes of blissful sunshine.  It was too late to head for the patio.  (The sun was too far west in the sky and the patio was in shade.)  Instead I grabbed my Nook and headed for the front steps. Not the most comfortable place to sit, but in full sunshine.  It was quite windy, but not cold.  For a February day it felt WONDERFUL.  I sat there for a good 10-15 minutes reading. (Just started Isabel Allende's  Violeta ,...

  I am angry and upset with myself.  As much as I know it's not a big deal and I should let it go (cue the music), I'm having a really hard time doing just that.  I am NOT a "let it go" person or personality; this is a major character flaw! So what am I so (stupidly) upset about?  I purchased tickets to see "Clue" at  The Paper Mill Playhouse  .  My son is a theater kid and we all love going to see shows, but tickets are not cheap.  (Yes, I know you can get inexpensive tickets, but I also fully admit that as a theater snob I want to be up close and person.  I've said it before I want to SEE the actors’ faces and reactions.  I'm the same way when it comes to concerts.  I don't want to go to a concert to watch a performer on a screen, I want to BE in the moment and really see the perfomer(s).)  If I could we'd go to see shows all the time.  Honestly, I think we should probably see some more local community theater, but ...

 You are probably aware that Monday is a holiday; President’s Day.  So banks will be closed.  There will be no mail delivery. My son is off from school.  I don't have to work (however I probably WILL).  However, I have been informed that today is a GLOBAL holiday.  Today, February 18th is Global Drink Wine Day. Thank goodness for social media or I might have missed this.  I actually DID miss an earlier holiday.  Wednesday was International Syrah Day.  (I'm not a Syrah drinker so it's okay that I missed it.  Although I don't suppose I would turn down a glass if I had been offered.) It turns out there are quite a few wine related holidays that I had no idea about.  Thanks to the internet I now know (and can share with you):   March 3rd – National Mulled Wine Day  March 13th – International Riesling Day April 17th – International Malbec Day May 6th – International Sauvignon Blanc Day May 9th – Na...

  If you had a picture of me right now, you'd think I'm living a relaxed life.  I'm sitting in my parents' living room typing away and looking out the window which overlooks a lagoon.  It could be perceived as a charmed life. In some ways it may be.  I'm lucky enough to have the view and blessed to be able to sit here and write these words.  But that's not all of it.  What appears to be a relaxing day isn't necessarily so. My day began just after 4 AM (which is actually around the time that I usually get up on weekdays).  I was able to take 30 minutes to do some exercise.  (During the dark winter months I'm "confined" to my  "walk aerobics " which I've been doing pretty religiously since 2011 and semi-regularly since late in the last century.)  Then I ran upstairs to get dressed and ready for the day.  Sounds pretty easy thus far... I was out the door by 5:30 and headed south to my parents.  Their caregiver had an appoint...

We are nearly two years into to Covid.  Two long years and how we long for it to be "over."  But will it ever really be?  Despite "promises" in 2020; it’s not going to just disappear.  It will (in my uneducated mind) start to fade and be less lethal.  Vaccination will probably be an annual thing.  We will live with it; it will live with us.  Masks may go away, but probably not completely and no one will give a second thought to seeing someone wearing a mask in public.  (Remember when that was weird?  Do you remember?) Because of Covid I've seen my parents less.  Maybe that's true or maybe it's just something I'm letting myself think to make myself feel better.  Not seeing them meant that observations were not made.  Daily phone calls (and there are ALWAYS daily phone calls), were shorter (I used to call on my commute to the office...that is a distant memory).  I let things slip.  When I knew in my heart that th...

 I live in NJ.  As of March 7th students and teacher will no longer be required in wear masks in school.  The same will be true in MA at the end of the month. In nearby NY, the indoor mask mandate for business will end.  Is it over? It's not over.  It may be waning, but it's not over. I'll admit I don't know how I feel about this.  I still go into stores wearing a mask.  Sometimes it seems like the whole place is masked and other times it's like I am the only one there with face covered.  I want to get rid of the mask, I truly do. (Despite the fact that I have a basket full of cloth masks that are double layered along with packets of disposable masks.)   I have gone without a mask.  For that time in the summer when it seemed okay to do so and all was fine.  At a concert where staff was masked but 99% of the audience wasn't.  (And I ended up with a cold; not Covid.  Makes me think I should have worn a mask.) We've...

I came up with a new saying for myself today.  It's one that I think I'll be saying over and over to myself this year.  Are you ready?  My new mantra is:   Even if it ain't perfect it's something.   That's how I feel about life right now. Nothing I'm doing is perfect.  I'm doing the best that I can.  I know that sometimes that's not enough. However, now is the time to apply this new catch phrase:  Even if it ain't perfect it's something. Even if what I'm doing is not quite as much as I would like to do, it's something.  As much as I might want to do more; it's okay if I don't.  At least I'm doing SOMETHING. At least I'm making tiny steps forward even though I may see other things go sliding backwards.   This all started this morning when I had a few minutes to do something. Most of us don't get a heck of a lot of downtime. There's always so much going on in our lives that who knows what the heck we're doing...

DISCLAIMER :  Please note what I have written (and what you are about to read or at least what I hope you are about to read) is MY opinion.  It is based on MY experience and yours may be different.  (I HOPE yours is different).  This is NOT a knock on school counselors as a whole, it is only based on what I (and my family) have experienced.  Again, I truly hope that your experience (and your family's experience) is very different. Today I received an email from the high school that announced (in part) the following:  "National School Counseling Week is celebrated from February 7th through 12th. This celebration highlights the unique contributions school counselors have in our schools and how students' school experiences are improved as a result of what school counselors do each and every day. " Let me be blunt; my son's school experience has definitely NOT been improved as the result of a (high) school counselor.  His current school counselor barely kn...

  Most parents, I think, would do anything for their child/children.  I know there are exceptions, but I truly believe that most of us (myself included) do everything within our power (and sometimes without) to provide our child/children with everything they need and more. A newborn is reliant on his/her parent/caregiver.  We respond to that.  (No matter how exhausting that might be.)  As a child grows, we need to allow them more independence.  (This is a really hard one for me...just ask my son!  I have a REALLY hard time of letting go.  However, I AM working on it.)  Although my son still could use some lessons being an adult, he's relatively mature.  He could survive on his own (probably) and I could leave him alone for a couple of days if needed and he'd be ok.  (I, on the other hand, would be a total wreck, but...).  He will need to learn how to live on his own and I need to learn how to let him go. That's how life is....

 ...the answer is you don't!  (Although I really did like the 1980 movie.  Rewatched it recently; late 1970s comedy speaks to me.) I know that the cost of just about everything has been going up since the beginning of the pandemic.  It's not that I wasn't aware, but yesterday it really seemed to hit me.  I was doing some mid-week grocery shopping at  The Fresh Grocer .  It's closer to my house than  ShopRite  (which is where my husband and I have our weekly Friday morning "date" at 6 a.m.) and it is generally less crowded although the prices are slightly higher (not incredibly higher like the very local  Kings ).  When my husband I do our weekly shopping, I have noticed that our overall total has gone up.  In days of yore, I could do a weekly shopping trip for under $100.  That's not happening any more.  However, when we do our weekly shopping I am more focused on getting what we need and getting home (so that I can g...

  Eleven more to go in this year of 2022. I had hopes that 2022 would be a good year; or at least a better year.  So far:  meh.  But I shouldn't be judging a year just by one month.  After all the next 11 could be fantastic.  (Cynical Bfth says:  don't hold your breath.) The problem with January is we come into it with such high expectations.  The "old" year is over and we leap into this New Year and month with celebration, expecting new and great things.  Only they don't always happen; and they usually don't happen within that first month.  Or at least that is my experience. We expect so much of January and are disappointed when it doesn't deliver. Once we get over the celebration of a New Year, January tends to go downhill.  Holiday decorations come down.  We clean and clear away the trappings of the festivities and are left with cold days which tend to be gray. Even when there is sun; it still arrives on our horizon la...