Irony

I saw this in a letter to the editor last week after President Ford passed away, but I haven't seen it acknowledged at all in the media. Does anyone else see any irony in the fact that Gerald Ford died on the same day, December 26th, as Harry Truman? Both men who's presidencies were forced upon them at times of great national distress. I think it's pretty ironic.

I'm no expert in the Ford presidency (though I know Truman's pretty well, he's my favorite). Any other similarities out there?

2006: A Year in Review

And now, for the annual Year in Review. Last year, it was blatantly stolen from Yo Ambro!

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Went on an all-day biking trip, visited Detroit, got engaged. :)

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
There's always room for improvement!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
One close to me, then a whole lot of people in my community. The one close to me, being the most important- my sister-in-law gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, my nephew Aiden, in February.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully, no.

5. What countries did you visit?
Aruba!

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
A new, clean, beautiful apartment, a bit more health, and less spending time at doctors for unknown ailments.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 1 – the official first date anniversary, the second time around.
July 15- the night we got engaged.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Finding my true love and learning to enjoy my job.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting things fester for too long instead of just nipping them in the bud before they became big issues. (Same as last year, apparently I haven't figured out how to overcome this one yet.)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yup, had some stones rolling around my head, which caused crazy nausea and vomiting. Not fun at all. Two major incidents on Super Bowl Sunday (two days after my nephew was born) and in May. See more here and here.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My new laptop, more West Wing dvds, a bike.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Mom's and Dad’s, always. The voting constituency.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
- President Bush (still)
- someone close to me; still trying to figure out how to deal with it.


14. Where did most of your money go?
- New York Mets
- Food and gas
- My bridesmaids (but they won't know that for another couple of days unless of course they are reading this now)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
- me and Andrew
- New York Mets
- Aiden
- A Democratic majority

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
Got no clue...

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? – much happier
b) thinner or fatter? – I believe a teeny weeny bit heavier
c) richer or poorer? – richer, thanks to GT.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Read, bike, and exercise.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Get into arguments with Matt. But I feel things are getting better. I'm trying.

20. How will you be spending (did you spend) Hanukah?
With my friends

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
Hell yes!

22. How many one-night stands?
None.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
The West Wing, even though it's cancelled, I watch the DVD's all the time.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I think there are times when I dislike one or two people more than others and I wish I didn't do that. Sometimes I just get this viceral reaction and then other times things are fine. But tate is such a strong emotion. Don’t think I really hate anyone.

And that one person I wrote about last year under this question: well, I put the ball in his court and instead of stepping up to the plate and doing the honorable thing, he cowered away and decided not to deal with things. (Yes, I'm being blatantly vague, but it's something too personal to write about at this point.)

25. What was the best book you read?
"The Flanders Panel" by Arturo Perez-Reverte.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
None. But I still love Barrage. :)

27. What did you want and get?
- True love. So corny, but what did you really expect from a woman who's getting married in 2 days?
- To enjoy my job

28. What did you want and not get?
True reconciliation with someone close to me.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Stranger than Fiction. Absolutely terrific, fabulous movie. Totally under the radar but definitely worth it.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 27 and a good friend conspired with Andrew to throw me a really nice dessert party on the Friday night before my birthday. The weekend after my birthday, Andrew and I spent with his mom and sisters and they made me a cake, bought me some balloons, and treated me to a $50 iTunes gift card. It was a nice way to be re-introduced to his family.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less drama, though at times, friendships became stronger because of it and in spite of it. But at other times, the links became cracked. (Yes, same as last year. Some things just never change.)

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Nothing really special.

33. What kept you sane?
My family, friends, and Andrew.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
David Wright of the New York Mets. Gotta love the boy.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
- The midterm elections

36. Who did you miss?
- Julia and Selim
- Omi and Opi
- Saba

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Tom

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
Just how much people change in the span of year.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

At Last
Etta James

At last
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song.

At last
The skies above are blue
And my heard was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you.

I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known!

You smiled,
And then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
And you are mine at last!

Mortality

If you live a normal childhood, it's rare that you spend your time thinking about who will die next. Growing up, we hear about older relatives, perhaps older grandparents passing on, but this doesn't really have much of an impact on your young life.

I always thought myself to be lucky to grow up with both sets of grandparents. Not only were they alive during my childhood and most of my young adult life, but I saw them literally every single week until I was 18. Friday nights we spent in Queens with my mother's parents and either Saturday or Sunday was spent in Washington Heights (later they moved to the Upper West Side) with my father's parents. At times I thought it was a bit much, but then when I realized how close the bonds were with my grandparents, as opposed to my friend's bonds with theirs, and recognized how priceless it was.

I never experienced a close relative's death until the summer of 2001, when my father's father passed away. I can say that I was genuinely shocked, since it was my grandmother, his wife, who was sick all the time. She suffered from osteoporosis, lupus, and a bunch of other things that made her body brittle and ache all of the time. My grandfather wasn't 100% healthy himself, but was doing pretty well for a guy his age. Then one year his heart just decided to slowly fail him, but compared to his health beforehand, his deterioration happened rather quickly. And, as is quite common with older couples, my grandmother passed away 13 months later.

My mother's parents were pretty healthy, given their age, most of my life too. I remember when I was little, watching my grandmother prepare her insulin injections on Saturday mornings, whenever I would sleep over. To me, that was just a fact of life-- Savta had diabetes, but she handled it quite well and kept it in check. Then one day, Saba was told he had prostate cancer. The cancer was removed, he had some radiation treatments, and all was fine. Until he started forgetting his keys. Then forgetting where he parked the car. Then forgetting the days. And then forgetting our names. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the mid-1990's (I don't remember when anymore, we've been living with it for so long it's just become another fact of life). That hit the family real hard. My father always called my grandfather an ox, because of how big and strong he was. Running into him was like running into a defensive end-- you just bounced right off and fell hard to the ground. So it was difficult seeing our grandfather struggle and watching his mind and body deteriorate before our very eyes. So slowly...

But my grandmother, the true matriarch of the family, always kept everything together. Despite my grandfather's illness, she made sure our family traditions continued like nothing ever changed. And I dare say that my family-- all of us, from parents, children, aunts, and uncles-- grew closer as the years went by and as we were called into duty to help take care of our Saba.

But time passes so quickly and the donimos eventually fall. And my grandfather is still at home, lying in the hospital bed we bought for him, with a nurse taking care of him everyday. And my grandmother, who once was so strong despite everything, is struggling with other ailments that we thought were nipped in the bud.

This morning my mom told me that my grandmother wasn't doing too well. My cousin was supposed to walk her down the aisle at my wedding; my mom said not to plan on it. If she comes (and we pray and hope to God that she will), she will most likely be in a wheelchair, because her back is just too weak.

Hearing all this today made me realize that I'm not 18 anymore. And while I'm at the stage in my life where my friends are getting married and having kids, I'm also at the stage where more people I know start to die. I can't even begin to count how many of parent's friends are sick to varying degrees with all different types of cancer. When asked if she would be coming to the wedding, one of my mom's really good friends said, "I don't know. January 14th is still so far away." So far away? It's in less than 3 weeks! To me, that's right around the corner! But to her, a woman who's been battling cancer for many years now, 3 weeks is a lifetime.

I know, you'll tell me that's just the way life is. People die and life goes on. But sometimes it just happens so damn quickly and you ask yourself, "where did all the time go?" We take for granted that our loved ones will always be there and by the time you realize that at any moment they could be gone, it's too late.

I'm getting married in less than 3 weeks and it should be an exciting time for me. It is exciting and I know I'm on the cusp of something new, something special, and something terrific, but today I just can't help but notice the shadow that hangs over this time. In the matter of an instant my happiness can turn bittersweet and there's really not much I can do about it. It's real, real now more than ever, and I'm not quite sure I'm prepared to deal with it.