As usual, I'm a little frightened by the seemingly instant passage of one whole year. Last year at this time, we had just finished dealing with end-of-life preparations for Rick's mom, Annette, after we were told by an over-zealous and incompetent caregiver that Annette was on her deathbed. That was a quick lesson in taking control of the decision-making process in Annette's care, and it was a good test run for the real thing (end-of-life issues for Annette).
Then we went to Cuba.
In between our trip to Cuba and today is a blur, which I find disturbing. I'm going to be 60 friggin' years old this year. This is the year to work on slowing down our pace of life and enhancing the good moments. So, maybe next year at this time I will have less blur.
One suggestion for our family blog: instead of attempting to have a traditional-style book club where books are read and then discussed, maybe it would be more realistic if everyone just shared what books they have read and recommend. So, we'd end up with a "2011 Best Books" list.
On that note, I am currently reading, The Wilderness Warrior by David Brinkley, which is about Theodore Roosevelt's passion for the outdoors and hunting, and his impact on conserving land for national parks and wilderness areas in the U.S. This is not a fast read, however, because it is HUGE and it's going to take me months to finish since I only read a few pages at a time. I do like it a lot though.
I'm also reading, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skoots, which I think a lot of you would enjoy. It's about a woman who died in 1951 from cervical cancer, "but before she died, a surgeon took samples of her tumor and put them in a petri dish. Scientists had been trying to keep human cells alive in culture for decades, but they all eventually died. Henrietta's were different: they reproduced an entire generation every twenty-four hours, and they never stopped." There are probably billions of Henrietta's cells in labs around the world today. That description alone may not motivate you to want to read the book, but it is a very readable book. Her life story is fascinating.
I'm also reading Keith Richards' autobiography, Life. Parts of it are very interesting, mostly his passion for music, but a lot of the book, as you would expect of the life of a famous rock star, is about the drivel of fame: drugs, sex and beautiful people.
Lisa is home for a couple weeks, and she purchased 4 books yesterday at Borders that she has been wanting to read, so I'll see if I can get her to list those on the blog.
I know Craig is planning a cribbage-tournament birthday for himself on January 28th, and I'm hoping Rick and I can make it. Karen is thinking of organizing a Tebay first-of-the-year get-together, so that weekend might work out for that too?
So, hope to see everyone soon! I wish everyone much love and health in the new year!
--Jennifer
