My 2020 Voting Story "The Mind makes a Promise that the Body can Fill"

 My 2020 Voting Story "The Mind makes a Promise that the Body can Fill"

This is the Year of the Vote I guess. The biggest year of Voting I've lived thru and I've turned a few corners and the act of voting is front and center this year and do I have to also say it: what a year? I guess I do want to say that b/c this year has been revealing, reflective and I daresay processed differently by different people. So "what a year" I'll say and you stamp it with your experience for a personalized result!

I'm driving on a chilly, damp 50 degree, very misty-just- short -of- rainy day. Work, 2 short appointments. Now to the drop off location for my family's absentee ballots. I've got precious 3 in my possession. Paperwork is sparse saying: drop box will be located behind the Bd of Elections Bldg, giving said address. From what I've seen online/TV, all around the election facilities - drop off, and early in person and Covid etc - the process is rather more crowded and taking up more space than in past years. So I know I may have to pivot if I don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time attempting to vote. Altho I am prepared to. 

Waze takes me in her efficient, occasionally annoying, way. Highway, moving well. Carnegie, not bad. Heading North to Euclid the slower pace syncs with my wipers pace as the mist becomes drizzle and I'm checking out a wet, Impressionistic view, my windshield and the rain softening the streets of the CLE and my hynie heater warming my posterior fuzzing the view from my interior. Sitting at a light now, a tableau sets up on the sidewalk to my right: an old man, leaning against the stone of a church. His t shirt, what I can see under his coat, is anti Trump (Pence too?).  With purpose he sets off but first he has to make some involuntary steps to get going. This is a ballet move, his right foot moving ahead on the pavement and then back in 3 or 4 times before he can propel forward bringing his cane into the process.  I see his wife/woman/IDK a few steps behind. She's being careful to give this man his room, some dignity. But she's right behind him. He gets going but not for long and I soon see this is the sequence: involuntary tendu, some forward progress, rest, repeat. She stepped in once. This is what making an effort to vote looks like. Thick misty rain, body that doesn't want to cooperate. Voter Man moving forward from doing his duty.

 I move slowly away as they continue slowly South and I directly North now noticing the large yellow and white flashing traffic sign: Stay Right to Drop Off Ballot. This is looking promising. Signage. Organization. Yay!  Yes, it's a bit slow with the rain and uncertain drivers, all understandable. I am chill, my car is moving, I'm in the right lane and my seat heat is on. Is the radio? I can't remember.

Good work by the Board, this drop off is all right lane, thru the makeshift drop off area in a handy parking lot and then right turn only out. As I pass to the white plastic overhead tent shielding our votes in boxes I lower my window "Hey" I smile to the man in a reflective vest "Can I trust you?"

"Well" he says "only if you don't wanna get wet!"

"No, for sure. Thanks so much, this was not bad at all"  The handoff. We share a smile and I wave, slowly cruise and smile at the next guy too for good measure, thanking him. 

All right, duty done, I voted! Right turn only out the lot and I'm heading for home. Would have normally taken a left out of that lot but no complaints.  Right down Prospect to 90. On the right just ahead I glimpse Voter Man making the end of an effort to get into the back seat of a car. I can't see much else and 10 seconds later, I wouldn't have seen a thing. Right turns, I've been making only right turns. Thank You Voter Man. Didn't think I'd be thanking anything right this year. lol. And that was my loop around downtown in  year like no other when I made a scenic drive and so many of us made the effort, visible, whatever that means, to participate. 

Creative and satisfied

 Today was a very satisfying day. By coincidence or not it's Sunday, traditionally a day of rest. And I feel very rested and full, complete. What did I do? What did I not do? Oh the suspense. 

Just now I finished about 20 minutes playing piano, which I've done perhaps 3 or 4 other times today. I created a mock playlist with stuff I should be able to sing and play - a la meme fois - by now. And I was pretty pleased with the progress there. 

Working backwards, Cali dropped by and we had champagne and made ramen with egg for dinner. We had some discussion about expanding our family real estate game now. It's a probable win win and that's obviously positive!

Jake and I took a walk, showed him the paths around the Normandy and Mom's new place. He was impressed and they do have a great raised garden bed, ponds and water features, good landscaping and some very woodsy areas - plus mini golf so I can see the fam gathering there for a cocktail hour sometime.

Rearranged some furniture, slightly. Hit the Jungle Room with some love and covered the chaise with a soft washed, large whaled, muted green corduroy fabric (old curtain) and it looks great and feels greater. So comfy. Real fur tails (inherited, vintage) and faux fur pillow. Brought in some plants that summer out of doors on the deck and winter in the Florida Room of old, now the Jungle Room. Angled/turned the butcher block a bit and it's better in the kitchen/stove nook it creates, much better. 

Played and sang. Did some harvesting in Tomato Land and threw some sauce - San Marzanos, peppers, onion and italian spice - in the oven to roast. Ultimately burned some. But good effort. Saved some.

I wrote an entry for my cookbook. Tips. So much to say there. But that project is in a good place now too. Lots of progress. We need to do a few recipes again and make some final decisions re costs/photos/etc. But basically it's written, I think. 

Xo

The One Third Life Method

 Well I am sussing out this idea that recently came to me. I'm old. Oldish, I guess. That's not the idea 👈 My Mom's 90, Gramma lived to 100 and, while I don't want to get ahead of myself here, reflection is what I'm doing and maybe I have another 30 decent years of life as I know it. At 64, if I dissect things roughly I've spent 30 years becoming the adult "me", the next 30 being "us" and, perhaps, the next 30 be???-ing That's interesting to me as 30 years seems like a lot but rationally I know the years speed up with age and this 30 will fly by......

So what is the third third? I am on the cusp, the precipice of that. Health, enjoyment, relaxation, passion. Perhaps more or less.

 3+3+3 = 9  or 3-6-9 -all really good numbers with vibrations that matter so maybe this One Third Life Method is something. A map, a reflection tool, a reassurance? 

Recognizing a moment of pure luxury

 The garden, the tomato plant - they give. Obviously. I'm a believer! 

Yesterday at  table, enjoying brunch on our sunny comfortable deck - IN Ohio! mid October gorgeous weather - I was able to pick our side dish of vine fresh cherry tomatoes almost at the instant that I thought of serving them. Our amazonesque, indeterminate tomato plants are growing intertwined with the clematis that is covering a man made 'wall' of an old brass elevator door on the South side of our wood deck. I'll try something new and get a photo here, perhaps.  Anyway, ripe tomatoes peeking thru the clematis vine, showing bright red against a massive green foliage backdrop, are sugar sweet and it's a luxury to be able to saunter over and grab a handful to add to the plate. I love so much the little moments of luxury of which this is one. All the senses involved. 

In this photo you can see the overall picture of our deck  and the clematis covered door, right in the center. It's difficult to see the tomatoes but some peek out right at rail height between the bench and the blue shutter. We've been working on making this area a right proper "room" so we can entertain, both ourselves and others, as long as possible in the pandemic. Jake has made a heat directive attachment for our gas heater to make it more directional, less 360 degree. And I repurposed an old sewing tool, a cardboard pattern table that folds up like a screen with a thin reflective "blanket" I had on hand. So we'll see how well we do over the next few weeks with that. 

**Editing and adding closeups of the brass elevator door and the tomatoes!