A New Era

 Yesterday was the Inauguration of President Biden and Vice-president Harris.  It was held on the Capitol steps where two weeks earlier a mob had invaded the "people's house" and threatened the legislators who were affirming the electoral college vote.  When speakers referenced the fact that democracy prevailed, it didn't seem like a cliche.  It was for real and something to be thankful for.  

Passwords and Pin Numbers

 By.11:30 am today,  I had been asked for my password or pin number three times.  

Early this morning,  while "doomscrolling," I was reading an article from the Wall Street Journal and it went behind the paywall.  We subscribe to the electronic version but when I tried to put in my password, I was told it was wrong.  I connected via Facebook (not sure if that is a bad idea!) and that password worked.  I finished reading the article.

Later I accessed my patient portal at the Women's Health Center to request a prescription refill.  Fortunately, the site remembered my password and I made my request.  

Then we went to the local PNC bank with a few issues for which we needed help.  Jim needed his PNC app downloaded after deleting it when we thought he might have been hacked.  I wanted to have my email added to our banking information in case something happened to Jim. And I didn't know what my debit card pin number was and couldn't find a record of it.  The assistant was very patient and helpful and I now have a new pin number.  I better write it down somewhere before I forget this one too.

I feel as if my life is too full of passwords and pin numbers.  I don't know how a password manager works but am not sure I trust that option.  I have a password that I probably use too often--but it always comes up as a "strong" one.  And I can remember it!  

Our parents never had this problem but also did not have the convenience of technology--requesting a prescription online, depositing checks with a phone app, and reading the news from anything but a local paper delivered at the door.  Sometimes I feel concerned about the need to keep our wits about us and not suffer from dementia.  Or are we already a bit at a loss from where we should be in 2021?  

I give credit to the assistant at PNC who was very patient with our requests and did not make us feel as if we were wasting her time at all.  And now I shall read a book  ordered from Amazon and downloaded on my Kindle app on my iphone.  

An "Unprecedented" Week

 I wrote the last post on January 6 before the "unprecedented" events of January 6 took place. President Trump held a rally in Washington DC to protest the meeting in Congress which was scheduled to ratify the electoral college's vote to say that Biden won.  Whether Trump actually and literally incited his supporters to do so or not, the crowd marched to the Capitol Building and got in.  The legislators were evacuated to safe locations where they spent hours until the building could be cleared.  Five people died--one a woman shot by the police and one an officer clubbed by a fire extinguisher.  Photos were taken of a man in the dais where Pence had been presiding; another one of a man with his feet up on Pelosi's desk in her office.  There were Confederate flags, a noose, handcuffs, and lots of MAGA hats.  The capitol police were overwhelmed.

2021--the Great Unknown

 The "word" for the year 2020 is "unprecedented" and that does summarize the year.  A year ago I wrote in my spiritual journal that I objected to a 12Blog writer posting with optimism about the blank page of 2020.  I was apprehensive about the year ahead knowing that Jim would be facing treatment for prostate cancer and couldn't think of a blank page with eagerness.   Little did I know that we would all be facing a pandemic that killed over 350,000 in the USA.  That we would be wearing masks if we went into any stores or met with others--even our own family in their homes.   And that we would still on January 5, 2021 be concerned about the presidential transition with President Trump continuing to refuse to concede and over this past weekend asking the Secretary of State in Georgia to "find" enough votes to overturn Georgia's handing Joe Biden a win.  Maybe he will be indicted for that illegal phone call but probably not.  

Christmas Foods

Dan asked what was our traditional Christmas dinner? Was it ham? Then he asked about any other traditional foods for Christmas. Jeff asked why we always did pigs-in-a-blanket for Christmas Eve? He said his family continues the tradition. When I asked, Aunt Lois said her family does too. This year with our Covid19 prescribed isolation, many traditions have taken a blow.But we have kept some of them. Pigs-in-a-blanket--My family of origin always had them on Christmas Eve so I guess I just continued that tradition. My sister and I used to compete to see who could eat the most! My mother told of checking to see which ones had the most meat--and then going for those. So the tradition must go back one more generation. The recipe is simple. I use Bisquick dough for the pastry and a combination of ground sausage and hamburger for the meat. The tricky part is coming out even with no meat or dough left over. They were delicious again this year--although we ate them on Christmas Day--so I guess we broke tradition a bit. Our Christmas Eve diinner was takeout from Olive Garden.

Christmas Music

My friend Sue texted me the other day telling me to listen to a broadcast from the Cathedral Choral Society in Washington,DC. I was happy she sent me the idea because the music lightened my mood and lifted my spirits. It also brought back memories of Christmases past when music was such a big part of celebration. 

A Wedding

Last Saturday, December 12, Dan and Alex were married in a 2020 ceremony via Google Meets. They were in their Catskills cabin next to their Christmas tree. Their witnesses, neighbors Jan and Fran, were on their porch with a computer. I don't know where the very capable wedding officient Alice was. We were on Jeff and Susan's deck where they had a TV set up surrounded by festive poinsettias. Laura and her gang were in Gladwyne. Alex's family were in Queens. It was lovely. The officient spoke about the permanence of their vows and of their love lasing through the years. They exchanged rings--improvised twine because they didn't yet have their gold bands. We had champagne and cupcakes. Jim and I both gave short toasts.

And then we went to buy groceries and went home to reheated turkey chili as if it were an ordinary Saturday! Dan and Alex can look forward to the closing on their house on December 21--and maybe a celebration there in 2021 when this pandemic is under control.

I took great delight in one little vignette. Alex's mom Martha asked who proposed--Dan or Alex? They said that it was a conversation. Alex and Dan said that I had asked in an email when they said they were buying a house if they were secretly married. I had said that we were happy they were committed to each other in buying a house together. After I had done that, I had regrets for my boldness! But at the time, Alex responded with a happy face saying that they were committed to each other but not secretly married. They said that got the conversation going! So I have no regrets for my outspokenness.