Snowbird season draws to a close
I read a great quote recently, that it’s hard to live the life you want if it’s already killed you.
Hmmm.
Not much else to say after a statement like that, yes?
Not saying life has stolen my thunder. Not by far. I’m lucky that every day brings a new chance to get it right. But I wouldn’t mind going to sleep for three months and letting other people deal with everything I’m dealing with. Or, hell, dealing with what THEY should be dealing with THEMSELVES anyway.
I hear one of my distant cousins is threatening to call me this weekend for not taking proper care of my mother. I let everybody else go into voicemail; she’s going to be no exception.
My cousin takes care of everyone, so I guess she expects everyone will want to step out in front of moving buses just like she does. It’s only in TV and movies that people can say, “I give up,” and let people go off on their merry way. In real life, they either never move out or they continue to stalk you via the Internet. Lucky me. 😉
Even to those my cousin hates, like her crazy sister, she grudgingly sends loving care packages. I used to think my cousin was a saint. But we can’t all be saints, you know? I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but under “occupation,” “saint” ain’t an option.
But there are genuinely good people out there who aren’t searching for bragging rights. My next-door neighbor moved back to New York today; he’s one of those “snowbirds” who lives in Florida during the winter. He’s a celebrity hairstylist who can afford two residences, apparently. Good on him. 😉
He brought over a dozen plants yesterday, and left three orchids on my doorstep this morning. Yesterday he called me over to benefit from the cleaning-of-the-fridge ritual. I have lots of Pellegrino and German beers and shrimp and hummus and all kinds of delightful gourmet goodies in my formerly empty fridge now. What a treat!
It was nice of him to pick me to be the beneficiary. He says I’ve been a delightful neighbor — quiet, polite, friendly — and wanted to say thanks.
I will never get the proper respect or treatment from the people who, frankly, owe or owed it to me. But it’s nice to be the beneficiary of a stranger’s kindness “just because.” Sad how we really have to depend on others just to keep going sometimes, especially when we can’t expect it from those to whom we’ve shown it. …