Another Year

I had a birthday this month. I was convinced this year would be better than last year. Time will tell but it's not looking promising. Ollie is not growing into the loving, little companion I expected him to become. His bad habits: biting, barking, and not allowing you to do anything but pay attention to him have become too much. I thought I'd find him a new home, a place where he'd get a lot of attention and exercise. So after soul searching and soul searching, I made the decision to part with him. I found him a home with a good friend which would ensure that I'd still get to see him. Three days passed and I received a woeful phone call. At the end of it I said, "So, when do you want to bring him back?" and without missing a beat my friend said, "Tomorrow!" It's Ollie's looks that save him. He is so darn cute. He also loves people, loves dogs, loves the car, and basically has many good traits. He's just too alpha for me.

For my 3 days without him, I fell in love me my home and all its prospects again. It's not settled yet. I still have boxes that I have not unpacked, mostly because I have no where to put stuff. So it's a work in progress and I enjoy that. When I woke up and Ollie was gone I thought how easy it would be to keep the house clean. No more torn toilet paper rolls, ripped NY Times, food kibbles scattered across the kitchen floor, no more stuffed animal parts with white batting rolling over the living room like tumbleweeds. But he's baack as Jack Nicholson would say.

Though it may snow tomorrow, Spring is in the air. Leaves have popped out on the hydrangea outside my office. Daffodils and crocuses are blooming; it's staying light out until 7. All these things give me hope. On the other hand, I have 4 dozen unplanted daffodil bulbs in my garage, no money to start gardening, trees that need to be removed and a host of other projects I'd like to work on. It's fun to look forward to them, but accomplishing them alone isn't so much fun.

This weekend is Passover. I will miss the Seder. People will be going dry-shod surrounded by lamb shanks, bitter herbs, and hard boiled eggs and I'll no longer singing all the songs I worked so hard to learn. I miss being an honorary Jew. I won't miss the brisket. One year I made Passover. My sister gave me what she considered the BEST recipe for brisket. I bought so much of it that you would have thought I was feeding a congregation. There were 5 of us and one was a vegetarian. After that, I never really wanted to see brisket again. But I deeply miss the charoset. I suppose I could make some, then eat it by myself as I sing Dayenu to myself or G_D.