A Snowy Monday Morning

It is in the wee hours of Monday morning the 23rd of January. There is a gentle snow falling outside with a recording of a roaring fire in our fireplace on the TV screen, I am trying to convince my mind to stop racing so that I can fall asleep. It has been many months since my last post… I sound like I am in the confessional. The fall came and went with very little fuss as I remember so we then slid into Christmas. I faced this holiday season with some trepidation: Brian had been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and Jenni had broken up with Nick after dating for a year. Jenni thought that this holiday season would be a perfect time to join Jenny Craig, which is a strict diet plan. Both situations meant some extra planning on my part but that is all part of being a Mother. Of course, Georgia would be joining us for Christmas again this year along with my Dad and after a very long absence my sister Liz. I was delighted that everyone would be together; Georgia at the age of three years was very much improved over past years. Last year she cried for over six hour’s non-stop it was maddening. This year she found a spot in the bedroom and made herself comfortable without bothering anyone. The addition of Liz was a delight she brought back the feeling of the years before Mom died so she was a very welcomed bonus. This year was the best Christmas I have experienced in over four years, my life seems to be divided into before and then after Mom died. We all spent Christmas day at Carl’s house it is where the rest of the in-town Crouse family came together for our family celebration. The day after Christmas, we went to New Jersey to spend some time with Gary’s side of the family.

There has been some family news: Jeff  Spies passed the New York Bar- I think that it is one of the most difficult Bar to pass in the Country so thumbs up to him next Jessica is the first Grand-child to be engaged to be married. The wedding is to take place in Pittsburg in the beginning of September. I am very excited; this wedding will be a joyful celebration and a welcome diversion. Mom would have just been ecstatic, she always loved a party. My only stumbling block is that Gary has a football game scheduled for the same day, as Jessica’s wedding. He said that there are only five home games and he does not want to miss one.

Liz told me that Eric, (Ph.D., vice president for behavioral health services)

recently got a promotion at work, I am unclear what his new position is and I was unable to find any articles on the Web- however congrats to Eric for his promotion!

Gary has spent the entire fall and now into February redoing the basement. The floor is painted a very nice “Sedona” orange- not sure if that is a color but that is what the color reminds me of. He is also trying to put the bathroom back together, wainscoting paneling with carpeting on the floor of the bathroom and laundry room. Gary ran into the same problem he had over thirty-five years ago. While laying carpeting in his last bachelor pad he measured backward and he repeated the same mistake. I thought of this misstep but I kept my mouth shut… oh well we laughed about it.

Brian and Jenni have been very busy in the New Year. Brian is having a One-man Show in April, which is a very, very, big deal. The show will be featuring his work on Fracking, which is occurring all over Pennsylvania. Fracking deals with taking gas out of the bedrock; this process is a very environmentally destructive process.

He has been very active in student activities at PAFA, the Buddhist Center, making some money doing portfolios for the graduating students and he will be holding a seminar teaching the photography of “portfolios” to fellow students. Jenni has begun her training for the “Iron Man” which will be held this coming September in Madison Wisconsin. Gary and I will be in Madison to cheer her on- I cannot wrap my head around running a race for over fifteen hours: swimming, biking, and then a marathon. How can people push themselves to that degree…? I am speechless. Jenni is so excited and I want to be excited but I just cannot understand.

I myself am still struggling with my own demons. I get so mad inside. I just want to take a pill that would make me happy and content. I sit in this chair day after day. I have been working on a piece I hope to post soon so I will hold my tongue until I can express my feeling in a more concise manner.