I have a new computer and nothing is making sense on this thing. This is supposed to be a post but instead it is coming up on the heading screen as an option. Well this is how us “elderly” are navigating this world these days. I am currently sitting in a closet that I have converted into my own little “office” of sorts. How wonderful to have a closet of this size at this age that isn’t filled with clothes that I don’t ever wear.

Currently John and I share one closet with everything we own in it. It also includes extra comforters, blankets, winter coats, my dresses and his suits that we rarely wear, dress shoes and some “medical supplies”. We have downsized several times. Each time being very traumatic. I hate using that word because “trauma” is a big buzz word these days and one person’s trauma can be another person’s picnic. But this really was traumatic stuff. Me being in a frenzy and tying up every loose end and John being in shut down and no big deal mode but really traumatized all the same. Each move was a reality check of where we were in life, all heading down “the home stretch”.

Here it is Spring 2026 and we are ever gaining steam toward the freakin mid-term elections which people are seeing as a do or die for “democracy” this year. If the Republicans take it again, it means they control the House and the Senate. If there is a break in the voting and the Democrats can win a few seats, then supposedly we return to a system of checks and balances, or a complete stalemate where zero gets done. Maybe that’s what we need at this point (?) My opinion is that they are all evil and I am sick of voting for the lesser of evils in every election. John is on fire for the Democrats taking some seats. All in all I actually wonder if any of this matters. But while bombs are going off in the middle east I guess it does. I actually do care about innocent, human life and it seems to be imploding everywhere.

I recently learned that during the Revolutionary war when the English took over Philadelphia there were only a handful of residents that cared. When William Penn founded Pennsylvania he invited anyone and everyone from near and far to live out their best lives without religious or lifestyle persecution. This left Pennsylvania full of pockets of communities that were not invested in the King nor invested in the “union” of the “united” states. At the time, George Washington was able to get about 70 individuals from Philadelphia to join his army whereas in New York and Boston the public was much more invested in beating “taxation without representation” and the King. I wonder if generations later Pennsylvania still contains communities of those who remained neutral since I believe the way we were raised has a lot to do with our political positions.

Another name for those who did not support the patriots were the “disaffected” and they were under suspicion because they were those who expressed dissatisfaction with the “cause”. The English who took over Philadelphia ended up just getting up and leaving because most people there were either neutral or disaffected. I think I may be a true “Philadelphian” as I am dissatisfied with “the cause” and I am hoping most of the politicians placed before us will just get up and decide to leave.

Spring will last for a hot minute and then the sweltering summer in the city will be here. This year we have talked about being committed to getting to the beach more often. Unfortunately, this does not mean at our relatives’ homes in LBI where there has been limited space for us since we left over 3 years ago. LBI has turned into a Mecca for New Yorkers and Northern Jersey-ites with higher expectations, luxury and private accommodations and pretty much overrunning “us” Philadelphians. So “we” need to look for a new, friendly place to soothe our souls. I believe we will be heading to beaches outside of Atlantic City as well as a week or two in North Carolina near one of their beautiful lakes. We need to remember, “when one door closes” often many new ideas pop up.

Our adult kids are with us on this as LBI is VERY different from the little isle of freedom that they knew. They long for the days of sweet little rentals with air mattresses for anyone that needed a spot, waiting on line for an outdoor shower, potluck dinners, walking barefoot for days, putting up with fans instead of ACs, 2:00am spicy wings at the CHEGG and just loads of friends, family and neighborly fun; not to mention watching the lead singer of the band at Buckalews channeling Stevie Nicks on Memorial Day Weekend. Oh the countdown to MDM is probably what I miss the most along with the day after “lobsterfest” where all the chaos was over and we sat in the backyard and picked the lobster meat from the bones that were left from the previous day. Yes, I am a huge spoiled brat who knows she’s lucky to have ever owned a place down there and hosted dozens of friends and family every Memorial Day Weekend for years – as well as ever even had a lobster to eat.

There is a war in Iran, the price of gas is escalating daily, the stock market has been tanking, but for some reason life still seems bearable and good. I mean I can still drive, and move and do things pretty much like I used to but reluctantly. I am also happy staying home and being more sedentary and thinking of getting my words out like this. I keep a close watch on the world but still don’t feel like my voice means anything in the bigger picture and that’s okay. I guess that also means what it’s like to be “disaffected” (and it’s crazy to sit here in agony wondering if it’s even “okay” to say this.) One day at a time and one Spring at a time. I think of when a friend of mine’s mother died and she said “she wont get to see the bulbs she planted in the fall, bloom in the spring!” I think of that every Spring and it makes me grateful to see the flowers bloom, feel the warmer weather and just know that the cycle continues and I’m still here to experience it.