The cartoonist, Lynda Barry, contends that most adults suffer from “play amnesia.” Living in these dark times, many overlook play...
How Gratitude Can Chase Away the Blues
It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy. —Brother David Seindl-Rast In an effort to tackle my Covid blues, which have intensified at the prospect of another solo holiday, I was drawn to the concept that a gratitude practice could make me happier. As I plunged into the gratitude literature, [...]
Pat Taub
A Very COVID Christmas
GUEST POST By JANET WEIL “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” – popular song by Donald Yetter Gardner, 1944 All I want for this Hanukah/Christmas season is two injections of COVID vaccine. Well, not all – I want the vaccine for my son the paramedic, my 99-year-old father-in-law, my husband about to turn 70, [...]
Pat Taub
Covid Thanksgiving, Sophie Loren, A Record Setting Group & More!
Covid Thanksgiving I surprised myself by adapting to my orphaned Thanksgiving better than I had anticipated. Even though I wasn’t cooking a big turkey dinner as I have on previous years, I decided to scale-back and cook for myself as if I were my own guest. I made a turkey breast, stuffing, cranberry sauce and asparagus, topped off with [...]
Pat Taub
GIVING THANKS TO YOURSELF
GUEST POST by MICHAEL STEINMAN Thanksgiving 2020 will be unlike any we’ve known, somewhere between weird and desolate. The CDC urges us to stay at home and skip family gatherings, which means that many will feel isolated. Zoom is a useful prosthesis, but Aunt Mildred can’t pass the biscuits through cyberspace. It may be [...]
Pat Taub
“The Crown,” A Great Read, Thanksgiving Recipes & Much More!
“The Crown” This week I binged on season 4 of Netflix’s “The Crown.” I thought it was the best season yet. Standout performances included Olivia Coleman as Elizabeth and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher. It was almost eerie the way Emma Corrin captured Diana with the same shy tilt of the head, wearing clothes that were exact [...]
Pat Taub
What? A Second Lockdown!
Just when we were getting Covid under control, overnight the infection rates skyrocketed. With every state setting infection records, we all know what that means: another lockdown coming our way. Now that I’ve been through one lockdown, what have I learned to make the second one bearable? Experience has taught me to accept my erratic Covid [...]
Pat Taub
Casting Off Regrets
Nervously I opened my aging report card. I earned respectful grades for healthy living, close relationships and meaningful pursuits, but a low grade for managing my regrets. No surprise. I tend to resemble Lady Macbeth uttering “Out damned spot!” In my case, it’s regrets that I can’t rub out rather than blood. I’m haunted over screaming [...]
Pat Taub
Election Insanity, “The Queen’s Gambit,” Fall in Maine & Much More!
Election Insanity Thanks to the Goddess that the Presidential election will soon be resolved, as the ballots from Pennsylvania and other battle ground states are expected to be counted very soon. Now we have to wait and see if Trump accepts the results. If not, I’m prepared to join any peaceful protests that ensue. A Biden win doesn’t [...]
Pat Taub
Post-Election Survival Tips
As I write this, it’s Election Day. I set my alarm for 6:15 in order to be at my polling place when the doors opened at 7 am, anticipating a quick in-and-out. Instead I waited for over an hour in the cold, flanked by young voters. While I’m hugely relieved to see the end of a nerve-wracking campaign season, I’m on pins and needles [...]
Pat Taub
Lisa Savage, A Perfect Roast Chicken, A Great Read & More!
Lisa Savage My pre-election jitters are bonkers, making me very grateful that the end is in sight. Just four days to go! I hate being boxed into the “lesser of two evils” choices. My preferred candidate was Bernie, but I will vote for Biden, because Trump is truly evil. All is not lost: one vote I can happily make is casting my [...]
Pat Taub