Mrs. Teabody "Shall Squander Life No More"

How clear, how lovely bright,

How beautiful to sight

    Those beams of morning play;

How heaven laughs out with glee

Where, like a bird set free,

Up from the eastern sea

    Soars the delightful day.

To-day I shall be strong,

No more shall yield to wrong,

    Shall squander life no more;

Days lost, I know not how,

I shall retrieve them now;

Now I shall keep the vow

    I never kept before.

Ensanguining the skies

How heavily it dies

    Into the west away;

Past touch and sight and sound

Not further to be found,

How hopeless under ground

    Falls the remorseful day. - A.E. Housman

Good Morning from our icy-aired, snow-covered mountain--a perfect sendoff weather-wise for  the final day of the year, don't you agree? My advanced years mean a less than perfect memory but photographs spur thoughts and it never hurts to take stock, don't you agree, if for no other reason than to remind oneself to squander life no more? 

I am a lucky person--that I know. Blessed, even. And given that,  I am also a grateful person. Hopeful. Out of all the 365 days just past, I have winnowed out ten highlights--not all of them happy ---, and if you do nothing else that is philosophical today, perhaps you'll jot down some moments from the year past that gave you joy and/or pause as well. Sort the chaff from the grain, if you will. 

1. Tea with Darci at Baccarat

A Fascinator Darci

This beautiful lady is my niece Darci. I write about her often as we have a long and wonderful history of friendship. We are perhaps most noteworthy in our annual black raspberry picking although it has been years since last we suited up in fishing boots and long sleeves to make our assault on the hedgerow. In July we made a trip to New York City where we managed to stuff a lot of hilarity into  a couple days. Saks Fifth Avenue will never be the same. The highlight of this trip was a gussied-up visit to a very posh hotel for afternoon tea. We are going to have such an adventure each year. I shall squander life no more. 

2. Travels with "The Band"

Waterfall at Guiness Factory

In early May, I joined this band. (snort) A clever friend of mine, who actually is and always has been a part of bands, made a comment about the above pose which inexplicably stuck perhaps because there is NOTHING at all band-like about us. Six not-especially-well-aquainted-beforehand women led by a true son of Ireland  set out on a nine-day holiday across the Emerald Isle. It was transcendent. Our faces hurt from laughter. It was discovery and mutual respect and bonhomie. And while it can never be replicated, the band recently made Are Lingus reservations to return to Ireland this May for more merry wanderings. We shall squander life no more.

3. Casino trips with friends 

A win

Gambling. I enjoy it. Many, many of my friends enjoy it. My sisters enjoy it. A dear friend used to say that a bad day at the casino was still better than a day at work. It's true. Infinite possibility. One spin can change everything. Some find gambling wasteful. Evil even. We don't spend much time with such people.  Any loss in material wealth is more than made up for by the company we enjoy and the  fun we have. Perhaps we squander SOME money but we shall squander life no more.


4. Watching a young couple fall in love

We shall not name names but when you really, really like two young people and you think they'd make a great match, it is pretty amazing to sit on the sidelines and watch what comes to pass. Fingers crossed. Everyone deserves to fall in love. To find happiness. No remorse.

5. Travels with Mr. Teabody

New Year's Eve 2016

We have had a wonderful year of adventures and we're always game to try again. In fact the coming year is already well on its way planning-wise. No one could ask for a better travel companion. "MacGyver" can take the bumps out of any road. His ready wit and unfailing sense of humor help enormously. Make plans. Don't squander your life thinking about it. Do it.

6. Walking from Penzance to Mousehole

From June through much of October, I walked every single day in preparation for our trip to Cornwall where we knew we'd be doing lots of walking. On the third day of my visit, J was on his back with a flu and I set out "on me own" wending my way down the hill to the promenade. I threaded my way along Newlyn Harbour, chatted up some locals, visited some purveyors of fresh fish and then struck out on a less populated coastal path arriving five miles later at Mousehole. As I sat enjoying a nice cuppa, some ice water and a brownie, I felt a surge of confidence and well being. This was what I'd trained for and a dream realized. My friend Siobhan is a big advocate of the "Use it or lose it" school of thought. Good health is nothing to squander. Use it.

7. Celebrations with siblings

Once a month - - typically on a Sunday, we gather at our "home place"-- Rural Felicity -- to share a meal and conversation. We are grateful to have a loving family and grateful to have a place to call "home" even after all this time.

8. Henry Farm Named Bicentennial Farm

In August we traveled to Ag-Progress Days  where we joined a very exclusive group in Pennsylvania when our family farm became a Bicentennial Farm. This means it has been owned by the same family and operated as a farm for 200 years. Let me be clear: I play no role in its success and/or its continuity although I did do my part during the 50s and 60s. Cousins and neighbors have also been instrumental in making it to the 200 year mark. Great-great-great-great-grandfather William should be proud.

9. June gardening

If you garden, then you probably had a great June. It was wet enough, mild enough, sunny enough that our plants didn't just survive: they thrived. If you don't garden, you might want to think about starting to. Putting seeds or plants into the earth and watching them grow is so life-affirming and there is nothing better than sorting a garden into orderliness even at the detriment to manicures and backs. Besides how will you ever catch the "ensanguining" of skies if you keep yourself indoors?

10. Turn off the news and better appreciate the people you live with.
Loss is inevitable. In February we said goodbye to our last living aunt, Dorothy, thus closing the book on that "greatest generation" in our family. Those "grown ups" were more than a buffer; they were inspiration and a light in the darkness. At year's end we said goodbye to one of the younger members of our generation with the loss of Ronnie Horne, one whose death reminds us--as if we need reminding! - - that good people SHOULD live a really long time. The Hornes and the Henrys grew up less than a quarter of a mile apart matching child with child. Their loss is our loss, too.

It is our families and/or our siblings who insulate us from the world. And it is the group of people we call our friends that make day to day existence delightful. We travel with them, dine with them, exchange E-mails  and FB messages with them. They regard us and love us and want only the best for us. They do not lie to us nor do they misrepresent us. Appreciate the real people in your real world. There's a new year waiting for you. What happens will depend largely on you. Don't squander it.

What will you write this year?

Here's to 2018! Cheers!