Traditions

Thanks for the get well wishes, readers.  They’ve lifted my spirits…as has HH, who marched off to work yesterday chirping, “It’s not a death sentence!”  Very funny stuff from that guy.

I am definitely mending, though the voluminous amount of clear drainage coming out my nose and thick chain of phlegm sludging down the back of my throat plague me 59 minutes of every hour.  I sound like a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and I swear that all the cilia in my lungs beg for mercy when I cough.

One good thing about this illness has been that I’ve knocked out three books this week.  I am an avid reader, but I’ve been a little behind the past few months due to my first summer reading selection (which has become my only summer reading selection.)

Just a little light beach reading…I took this picture in Cape Cod at the start of our vacay in June.  That was three months ago…

It’s a great book, but it’s HEAVY, if you know what I mean, and what I mean is intense, slow, hefty and full of dates/names, etc. that force me to read slow.

Plus it makes me want to cry.  I’m over halfway through it now, and I really recommend it, especially if you’re like me and love to read about WWII.  The author does a great job with this one-volume history in both covering the aspects and framework of the war for people that might not know much about it yet focusing on the individual perspectives…the “bottom-up views and experiences” of the little people.  That’s what makes it unique.

It’s a great read, but it’s taking awhile, and it’s not appropriate for reading with a death sentence head cold.  So I tabled it this week in favor of three books, mostly read in a semi-comatose state in this very spot in my living room…

If you are looking for a good book, I give four Kleenex boxes out of five to The Girl You Left Behind (I would have given five, but Liz annoyed the snot right out of me) and The Light in the Ruins.  I am currently finishing up Ready Player One, and so far, as a child of the 80s I adore it.  It’s original and captivating.  I can’t wait to see how it ends.

I’ve also discovered a new free word game…Wordly.  It may kill my Candy Crush addiction (something’s gotta give, right?).  If you’ve got the cojones to take me on, I’m AnjN.  Send me a chat message if you start up a game with me so I know it’s you; otherwise, I’ll probably let it pass.

Finally, the real topic of my post…traditions.  I decided to start a new tradition for my boys this school year.  I call it Bacon Mondays.  Basically, it means that I’m going to cook bacon every Monday morning.  Original, no?

I hope that the sizzling smell of succulent sow (not to mention my alliterative prowess) will lure them out of bed and have them raring to go and ready for learning!

Along that same line, I’ve decided to start Frankie Fridays, at least with my 14-year old (since I’ve introduced him to so much good music, he’s giving me some slack.)  Every Friday on the drive to school, I shall hold him captive and force him to listen to Frank Sinatra for the ten-minute journey.  Today, between coughing and snotting, we listened to All the Way, Fly Me To the Moon, and That’s Life.

I’m raising a gentleman, and a gentleman should know the Sinatra catalog.  Don’t you agree?

Do you ever think that as soon as you can’t run for some reason, suddenly you see runners everywhere?  They’re all over the place, and they’re making me so jealous!  I’m going to head out tomorrow, Kleenex in hand, and test the running waters.  Wish me and my lungs good luck.

As always, happy running, readers!

• General Malaise
• illness
• Running