Friday the 13th TGIF

Ah yes, Groucho understood how it works.  :-)

I have always liked Friday the 13th (the day, not the movies) - I'm not sure if it's because of my contrary nature, or that I love black cats (or any cats, let's face it), or I just enjoy other people feeling uncomfortable (OK, admittedly that does always amuse me).  But in any case, today is Friday the 13th of March, and though it started out rainy in Philadelphia, the sun is supposed to appear this afternoon.  

In the ever-present world of coronavirus updates, an event I was really looking forward to enjoying next week has been cancelled.  The Free Library of Philadelphia Author Series had scheduled a talk by Hilary Mantel and signed copies of her new book, and we had bought tickets a few months ago.  It was cancelled yesterday, which is truly disappointing but understandable.  

A few of you commented on my post yesterday that if I couldn't work from home, at least I could get some knitting and reading done.  Which is a lovely thought, but I would come into work anyway, since the deal is that if you can't work from home and don't come into work, you don't get paid.  And I need to get paid, so that's that!  For now, the place is still open, so we'll see what does or does not happen.

However, I had already planned long ago to take a few days off next week, partly because my niece and her husband were going to come up from Baltimore for the now-cancelled book talk.  I am not cancelling my days off though because they were approved long ago and in some ways, I'm looking forward to them even more now ...

Moving along - let's do a TGIF, shall we?

Thinking about - how people in charge of things can be so mercenary and cruel.  With so much going on and so many people having trouble anyway, the addition of cancelled work and school puts many in a true bind.  Not everyone has a large savings account to rely on, or the ability to telecommute when they don't even have a home computer.  Some people say, "Go to the library," but even libraries have to limit computer times for individuals in the interests of fairness.  It seems so many businesses are only worried about the bottom line, not their employees.  And at least in Philadelphia, all schools have not [yet] closed because for a lot of the kids, the only meals they get on any given day are those they get at school.  But at least there are already plans to help bail out banks, so our priorities are straight, right???

Grateful for - working on the assumption that I will indeed wake up tomorrow morning and be able to live my life, I am grateful that I will have made it to my 64th birthday.  Not only that, but for the most part, I am doing well and functioning in life.  That is the true gift.  I plan to enjoy it all, even if this is not the happiest of times in the world.  

Impressed by - the individuals who are going out of their way to help not just their friends and neighbors, but complete strangers.  I read a thread on Twitter yesterday about a woman who was walking into a grocery store, and heard someone calling her.  An elderly man and woman were in their car, afraid to go into the store because they were already not in the best of health, but they needed some basics.  The elderly woman asked the other one if she would mind picking some things up for them, gave her $100 and a shopping list.  The woman not only picked up their groceries, but gave them their $100 back because, "if you can't help a neighbor, who will help you when you need it?"

Feeling - introspective.  I am by nature a rather introspective person, but especially as the years go by and I reach another birthday.  Are there things that I wish I could have done?  You bet!  Do I wish I had done some things differently?  Of course.  But you know what?  At my age, my father had already been dead for 11 years, and my mother was in the throes of her decline in health and ability.  I need to remember that living a good life is an accomplishment, whether anyone else knows or cares.  

Here's hoping you have a lovely weekend.  Ours will involve CAKE (I can never convince The Tim that I should have a birthday cake and a birthday pie for Pi Day), wine, kitty cuddles, and probably lots of laughter.  Even when things are bad, life can be good.

Take care, everyone.