May 31

Thoughts about friendship, and a movie recommendation

1965

Again with T, I went to Millbrook for the Memorial Day services. I also stayed overnight at her place.

Comment 2023

T was about to move far, far away, to another state. I was desperate to spend as much time as possible with her before she left. The next time I saw her was at our 30^th reunion. 

1976

Graduated yesterday. I felt very, very proud and accomplished as I walked in. Yet there were the PhDs next to me, looking even more accomplished and even prouder. I want that. I want to have done that, and I don’t care what it gets me. I have to start ordering my life. No more three hours a day watching soap operas. I must talk firmly to myself!

Isaac Asimov does not watch soaps!

Margaret Mead does not watch soaps!

Virginia Dryansky does not watch soaps!

James Laver did not watch soaps!

I might only have a short time left! I must get to work!

Comment 2024

My heroes and role models. Virginia Dryansky was Jim’s advisor’s wife, a consummate hostess and faculty wife who went back to school in her 40s and became a dance therapist. James Laver was THE fashion historian/author in my student days.

1982

Connie and Jack were here for a visit for several days. They helped out a lot, and the chance to get out also made me feel better. I must keep that up, even if it’s just a trip to the department or the library. Or the store.. or a walk to nowhere!

Kiddo is awake and alert more and more; she looks at people now, though she still doesn’t laugh or show any signs of recognition. It is fascinating to watch babies unfold.

The visit made me feel much more confident of my ability to be a good mother. They were very complimentary and supportive. Kiddo was a model baby, I must say. We went to the zoo and she slept…we went to Behnke’s nursery and she slept. She’s been “up” a bit at night - - after the 10 PM feeding. Not really colicky , but chatty and not inclined to sleep. Perhaps it’s a stage. Probably it’s a stage! The whole thing is a stage!

1994

Our 8^th Memorial Day weekend at Busch Gardens. Why to I get so testy about spending money on this shared vacation? Life was easier when our lives were more similar. We could stay in places where we could cook and share the work, keep the costs down. Now they want to eat out, which is much more expensive. Oh, well, I guess time will tell if friendships can survive a big change in lifestyle.

There are dozens of things to do before I head off for Montreal tomorrow.

For example:

Get Rex

Do laundry

Pack

Complete presentation

Finish packing office for move

Make Dr. Appt (Mine)

Make reservation for Kiddo 1 July 6-15

Comment 2023

That’s quite a list for one day, lady.

I don’t know about you, but it’s been hard for me to maintain friendships over time. Sometimes the issue was distance, like when I was a kid. I moved from Nebraska to New Jersey, then to Connecticut, losing touch with friends along the way. Friends moved away, like T did in 1965. College friends and grad school colleagues scattered after graduation. The couple we vacationed with for nearly a decade moved to a higher income bracket and lost interest in low-budget getaways. I am not a phone person, and many of my friends are reluctant letter-writers. 

Then I think of my grandfather, saying goodbye to his mother and sisters in their village in Russia and heading to an unknown future in a strange place when he was just sixteen. Thank heaven for email, telephones, and Zoom. I just have to use them.

2009

It’s the end of May and I am in Phoenix for the Costume Society. This was a great opportunity to reconnect and to make new connections. Today is my day off. So far I took a walk - - saw a jackrabbit and a lizard! (Just a small one.) Then I read the Sunday paper in the lobby and saw some friends off. I spent about 10 minutes on the treadmill - BORING!! For the last 2 hours or so I’ve been by the pool, soaking up the ambiance. The dessert takes getting used to. It’s dry beyond belief - - 8 % RH the other day. That’s even weirder than the 100 degree temperature. People are here with their babies and children, and with their friends, enjoying the sun and the water. They cool things down around here with water mist coming out of very fine jets above the building entrance and around the edge of the pool deck. There are waterfalls running into each pool from the “buttes” for which the hotel is named. The landscaping is dry but still green and colorful: cacti, aloe, flowering plants, and trees with feathery leaves, like mimosas. 

Mmmm- Mimosa…

2019

Watched Eega on Amazon Prime

May in the rearview mirror:

A wonderful month of celebration. So many birthdays, a wedding, and finally spring weather. I planted all of my seeds and transplanted my seedlings. I also made progress on the book. It will be a struggle, but I am enjoying the exercise.

Oh, exercise. I did better, but my weight has not budged. My knees complain every day about the extra weight, and there is no doubt that I need to ease their burden.

Comment 2023

EEGA! It’s on Netflix now and you need to watch it and then we can all talk about it. It’s directed by the genius behind Baahubali (1 and 2) and RRR.