On Her Birthday

Wednesday, March 05, 2025

If genetic advancements had been available during my mother’s lifetime—capable of extending health and longevity—I might be celebrating her birthday with her today. I’ve long wished for at least one more conversation, a chance to ask the many questions that could fill the blank spaces of her early life.

Reflecting on why I never asked more about her life brings back memories of my own trials and tribulations growing up. Each day was a lesson in adaptation, filled with new challenges and shifting realities. I naturally focused on myself—learning, adjusting, and figuring out how to navigate life one step at a time.

Back then, I felt an urgent need to escape a past that seemed confining; I needed to step into a future that was broader, more inviting, and yet daunting. All that forgotten past included both my parents and grandparents. I might never have seriously reconsidered all of them if not for the rise of DNA and its profound ability to connect one’s history with one’s future.

I give deep nods to technology and genetics and to an equally powerful force—the unbreakable connection between parent and child. Its hold isn’t always smooth but shapes and defines us in enduring ways.

Today, on my mom’s birthday, I’ll hold her in my thoughts. A sudden memory might surface, filling in a blank or two about her life. I like to imagine that she can somehow “hear” my thoughts—so I’ll share a few, letting her know how I’ve grown and changed, shaped in no small part by her insight and encouragement.

Dear Friends: Science fundamentally reshapes how we perceive and evaluate ourselves. Diana

Keyed-Up

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Yesterday was supposed to be a day off, but I got called to work during the store’s opening shift. Before leaving home, I opened the drawer where my car keys are typically stored. Those I wanted were missing—misplaced. I hurried around looking and trying to recall when I last had the keys. I couldn’t find them, and luckily, other keys in the drawer let me drive to work.

Throughout the years, I have misplaced car keys often enough that doing so again isn’t surprising. I repeated routines by double-checking jacket pockets, the car’s inside, and other spots and areas, but now they’ve been lost for days.

Losing something as routine as car keys—especially when they’re usually carefully stored—suggests possibilities depending on the context. The cause could be an abstraction, a break in routine, a memory lapse, an outside interference (the “Cockatoo took ’em”), or something symbolic.

I lean toward symbolic meanings, which turns me toward uncertainties caused by this nation’s current political leadership. Losing my keys is a signal of my high discontent.

Keys are symbols likely related to access, control, and movement ideas. Misplacing my keys could reflect my increasing concerns about impending fallouts from “external instabilities.” I feel alarmed by the thought that I/we will face fewer reasonably predictable and reliable possibilities related to our preferences and choices ahead.

The inconvenience of lost keys is one thing, but anticipating insecurity in a broader sense is something else entirely. The signs of growing hostility, division, and extremism make it feel like we’re edging toward something ominous. I fear some sort of Kristallnacht event suddenly occurring–a terrifying point.

Maybe such concerns are making me do some things differently, such as adjusting routines, paying closer attention to new sources, or considering practical precautions. Sometimes, when uncertainty looms, small actions, like losing keys, can reveal a loss of personal control.

Staying informed, connecting with like-minded people, and having contingencies in place for unexpected shifts are helpful solutions. The disappearance of those keys is likely related to my stressful feelings about increasing uncertainty.

Dear Friends: Because “talking” always helps, those keys might turn up today. Diana

Yes!

Sunday, January 05, 2025

Today’s header image–“a find” in my Facebook feed–perfectly speaks for itself. A snapshot of joy and beauty that reminds me of many fun outings, most specifically, “chasing rising full moons” with my friend Susie. This image “says it all” without needing a caption.

The Calvin and Hobbes strips brilliantly point to adult sophistication using the antics of a six-year-old hyperactive boy and his “toy” stuffed tiger. I enjoy these strips that reconnect me to my early learning and to “my now.”

Last night, in a phone conversation with my longest-time friend, Linda, we reflected on the passage of time and on the evolution of human awareness. We discussed some complexities of living and marveled over the gradual unfolding of awareness between youth and maturity. Our periodic catches-up on each other’s lives helps us measure how much we’ve learned and continue to grow over the years.

We mutually recognize that a life journey involves self-discovery and expanding perspectives. Last night’s conversation, like most of ours, deepened our connection.

Later, I continued pondering the intricate tapestry of human experience and am still reflecting on it this morning. I selected today’s header image because it reflects many of the positive human attributes Linda and I were discussing.

Dear Friends: The “human experience” is rich with laughter, love, loss, and growth. Diana

Challenge

Monday, October 28, 2024

I’ve looked repeatedly to see where my dog Chase has repeatedly escaped from the dog area. I wasn’t watching the right spot until yesterday when he went over a seemingly inescapable fence section. I saw Chase climb the six-foot, all-wire fencing, perch atop, balance to position himself, and then leap a gulley to reach a supporting surface.

That’s how he’d been managing. Knowing eased some of my frustrations, but countering his escapes from there was challenging. That section of fence needed heightening, but it’s in a high, rocky area where my footing wasn’t stable.

“One does what one must.” “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

So, in the dusky evening, I dragged a leftover roll of fencing fabric from the barn to the needy area. While self-balancing to avoid tripping over rocky jumblings, I unrolled, laid out, and wired a foot of new height onto the original fence. My work wasn’t stable before darkness prevented completing the job.

Nonetheless, after letting the dogs outside again, I watched Chase. He stayed in their area. Later, around midnight, I let the dogs out briefly, and Chase re-entered the house with his buddies.

Today, I’ll finish that section of fence-topping and then do more fixing. I saw partially dug spots where Chase wanted to crawl under the fence. His innate sense of physics makes him a great natural engineer. If Chase learned to read and write, he’d teach much and provide income for me.

Dear Friends: He’s a never-closing chapter that resists containment, needs safety. Diana

Doggone Dog!

Monday, October 21, 2024

I’ll finally have these couple of days off from work. The department store where I work part-time is short on employees, so I’ve worked alone in the Jewelry Department. The department has been busy with increasing Christmas shoppers, and I’ve worked long hours.

Last evening, after coming home dog-tired, I was out feeding horses when my dog Chase appeared unexpectedly. He had escaped the yard but not by digging because little Mitzvah would have slid out, too. Chase must have discovered a vulnerable spot in my mostly eight-foot-high fence.

I returned him to the fenced dog area and watched him dash toward the dark side before reappearing beside me, free. Although the evening was early, darkness prevented locating and repairing the weak spot.

Later, I let the dogs out briefly in the middle of night. When Chase didn’t re-enter the house with the others, I opened the garage door and found him waiting to enter. Early this morning, I let the dogs out again. Soon, Chase was missing–this time, not waiting at the garage door nor responding to my calls, and it was raining.

Chase showed up at the garage about a half-hour later. Right now, he’s sleeping; he won’t go outside again until I have located and addressed his escape spot.

Chase is two and one-half years old and started living with me when he was eight weeks old. My property includes a half-acre that’s fenced for my dogs. My others are happy, but Chase is another story. He’s always digging, jumping, and seeking ways to achieve freedom, not because he’s unhappy or wants to leave, but simply because it is “who he is.”

I constantly worry about keeping him safe.

Over the years, I’ve lived with many dogs, some bigger than Chase’s fifty pounds. None ever behaved in manners as strong, smart, focused, and determined as Chase. He wants to be my constant companion, 24/7, which is impossible. Luckily, he’s still safe, and I hope he will age out of escaping behaviors.

Dear Friends: Just another “Chase Story” and unlikely the last one. Diana

Eventing

Saturday, September 28, 2024

In today’s header photo, my dinner partner Adrain captures me and my dinner at the restaurant, Spork. This is a mirror image of the one I took that evening of him and his meal. I used my photo (a little blurry and fun) as yesterday’s blog header.

Adrain’s photos are good. He loves photographing with his phone and sharing images. Today, I’m using his photos as reminders of our enjoyable event.

The restaurant was fun. Our event is one I’ll remember more after having become lost on the westside while trying to find Spork; Adrain came to my rescue.

I’m a carb counter and didn’t recognize anything related to my preferences on Spork’s Asian-style menu, so I ordered what Adrain loves: crispy chicken on rice and salad. He’s right, a tasty dish.

Today’s header photo beer!

Writing about my dinner with Adrain has reminded me of “My Dinner With Andre,” a popular 1981 movie directed by Louis Malle. After the experience of “Spork,” I could write more about atmosphere and conversation while dining out with a friend. Now, I discover myself wishing to recall that old movie better and will try to find and watch it again.

Dear Friends: Each experience is an event. Diana

Sporked!

Friday, September 27, 2024

The header captures my friend and co-worker Adrain tackling his crispy chicken bowl. I’m sitting opposite him and will do the same after my camera action. That was yesterday evening, at a restaurant called Spork, where we met for dinner.

My drive there and my search for Spork illustrated how much his city has grown, and our dining experience updated my restaurant behavior. I was a fish dipping into deeper waters.

About Adrain: This year, he’s been a good friend to me and my coworkers at the department store where we work. He had a previous career, and that path was recently relaunched. He’s excited—with good reason—for he’s bright and capable. We enjoy swapping perspectives and encouraging one another.

Everything I do is typically on this city’s east side. I rarely travel to the busy and touristy west side–where I became lost yesterday evening. Fortunately, I was near Spork, and Adrain found me, guided me into the restaurant, and introduced its–what? Tai/Chinese?–menu while explaining the ordering/seating processes. I found myself in good hands.

Brand new to me was the camera action in that busy restaurant. Almost everybody was taking pictures—selfies and groups—similar to lunchrooms in my part-time jobs. Adrain always uses his camera like a pro, and this dinner wasn’t any exception; he comfortably photographed and texted. So did everybody else, and soon, me, too, a little.

The upshot is that the evening might have relaunched Miss Eastsider. She ventured out, explored new venues, appreciated her kind friend, and had mucho fun.

Dear Friends: Plus, I found that another special buddy is my phone’s camera! Diana

Word World

Thursday, June 06, 2024

An article entitled “What’s your nudge word for 2024? Let us help you discover it” caught my attention in today’s Washington Post. I was attracted to the idea of a nudge word after earlier exploring something similar and selecting a word.

The Post set up the discovering process as a game. I studied it and decided to play.

Everything starts by identifying an overarching word. The lead question is: What single word describes your hopes and dreams for 2024? The game then offers many categorical choices: active, optimistic, mindful, relationships, strength, growth, and personal relationships. I chose “mindful.”

Next, another game step was to “Focus on words that will nudge you toward positive change.” Many words related to mindfulness were offered, and I selected such as observe, awe, gratitude, notice, thankful, breathe, awareness, anticipate, and balance. Finally, I found one that summarized it all, and already that word was a favorite: appreciate.

I’ll take it. So, “appreciate” will be my nudge word for 2024.

Last month, I was thinking about “appreciate” in relation to my upcoming birthday. I wished to actively and often feel more appreciative as a change and birthday gift to myself. For several weeks, I paused and focused on appreciating but eventually got too busy and preoccupied with unrelated thoughts.

I appreciate the Post article’s cool word game which helped me renew a pleasing frame of mind. To me, appreciating touches a deep sense of gratitude and recognition, and taps into wishes to feel seen, valued, and understood. I am recommitting to actively being mindful and appreciative and staying on track this time.

Dear Friends: Words, tiny little abstracts that trigger big feelings and thoughts. Diana

Cheesing

Tuesday, June 04, 2024

This is National Cheese Day (really!). Later this week (get this!): June’s first Friday is National Donut Day. In exploring celebratory days, I’m finding that opportunities to appreciate are overwhelming, and it’s enough already. I’ll stop searching and yet make a shout out: Happy Cheese Day!

I wrote yesterday morning that the outside weather looked blowy and chilly. I was correct for those conditions lasted all day. My window this morning reveals similar weather behavior. For me, this is a day off from work and I’ve planned to tackle much-needed outside work. If today remains windy and cold, I’ll stay inside where plenty needs doing, too.

While inside, maybe I’ll poke into the cheese world. There’s much to explore about its cultural significance and the human passion for making it. I could learn by reading or streaming documentaries about the history of cheese, its different kinds and methods of making, and its lasting cultural significance.

Good learning can transform perceptions. Learning could turn my chuckles about National Cheese Day into awe.

Learning an appreciation of cheese on this day represents only a beginning. More ahead and scheduled annually, will arrive on October 15.

Dear Friends: The donut product also has a history and a big (bah!) cultural influence. Diana

Surprise

Friday, May 03, 2024

This is my birthday month, and typically, I ignore my birthdays. However, this year, I feel different. I want to give myself a gift—something special, like a fancy saddle, a new dress, or an Uber laptop. My changed attitude this time around surprises me, but I’m not obsessing about it; I’m simply enjoying the possible fun of self-surprising.

Planning for a self-surprise has me preparing an unexpected and exciting experience–a surprise to inject novelty and wonder into my birthday. It’s a fun way of feeling joy and breaking up routines. Besides, the process will keep me curious for weeks about what will become that special delight.

The gift could be more broad. I could arrange to take a special trip or sign up for a class or workshop to learn something new and wonderful. It could also be a scavenger hunt: I could wrap something that I want or is a special treat and hide it somewhere. I could create a series of clues leading to the hidden gift’s location, stash them, and enjoy my gift later.

In this little mini-adventure, I am blindfolded and exploring. It’s a roll of the dice and requires the element of surprise. Any outcome must be tailored to my interests and above all, very manageable.

Dear Friends: Who knows what’s coming! Diana