 Last year at this time we were in this same Palm Springs house as we are now but for different reasons.
1n 2018 we had a fire, a mud slide , many injuries and tragedies in our town of Montecito with evacuations, in many cases for at least a month . That, believe me, is the simplified version. This year, my new neighbor’s pipe burst and went down two floors, through the walls, into our bathroom and completely took it out, down to the studs!! We are talking walls, ceiling, tiles, floors, everything gone!! Quik Response (that great company} was called right away to make sure there would not be a drop of moisture anywhere. Huge funs were set up everywhere, immediately. My entire condo in one hour was turned into what looked like, a war zone. So there you have it. No master bath. Everything out of my closet All meds and beauty stuff from my bathroom in boxes all over. The house looks like we moved in yesterday, except with plastic taped all over everything because of the dust. I have no idea where anything is. Oh, I’ll just reach for that new cream I bought. Nope, don’t know what box it is in or what room, for that matter. Meanwhile, having no idea this was going to happen to us , and because we liked this house so much last year in Palm Springs, when we were evacuated ,we had rented it for a few weeks , in January and beginning of Feb. anyway, for this year. So, here we are, back in Palm Springs, in the house we love. Thankfully , we had a place to go to.This time the rest of Montecito is wet but fine , thank God, although they were evacuated a couple of times from heavy rains . It’s a weird bit of a déjà vu trip, I must admit! We are not waiting for the evacuation to lift, we are waiting for the walls, floors tiles , sinks and shower to all come together again. Everything is picked out. Now it’s the waiting game and a lot of texts back and forth between, contractor, insurance adjusters , designer, and me. Thank God for AIG and Hoffman Brown. No, this is not a commercial. I mean it ! I think you would call this” an almost vacation”. A little sunshine between rain drops, a little fun between texts. I have managed to take wonderful walks, great hikes and even a third of a round of golf with Bob. BTW, we both did very well. I’m afraid to play again. It went so smoothly. I’m a bad sport golfer . When I play well, I love it and when I can’t hit the ball , I hate it! I’ve seen Maureen Dowd interview ex Governor Brown at the Literary Conference and gone on a bus tour to see midcentury homes. Now it’s raining cats and dogs here like it is in the rest of California. The good news is that I’m working on my new book called “As we Grow Older ” so I don’t mind the record rain and cold. I have been thinking a lot about how we feel about things as we grow older and have been writing thoughts down as I think of them for about a year.. Here are a few examples. For instance: As I Grow older; “ Because I am thin on patience, I need to fatten up on compassion and empathy”. Or, As I grow older; “I disappoint myself less and forgive myself more”. “I’m getting quotes from everyone I talk to. One friend says, As I grow Older; “I feel younger”. Another says, As I grow Older; “I don’t look in the mirror unless I have to”. You get the idea. Let me hear from you and give me your version of that sentence. Meanwhile, Bob, Sophia and I are living in the desert, grateful for this great house, feeling a little displaced, but seeing old good friends, We have Montecitans come visit and we are finding our way around new favorite places to eat and hanging out in a town that is an old friend itself. It’s an interesting interlude in our lives.
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 This is how I would like to picture us; happy, on the water, in Capri.
I wish that for all of us! Every day I hope we can go to the place that makes us happy in our minds eye. This year was not always kind or easy but if we can picture that scene that makes us happy, than we are partly there. We wish you a healthy, happy, joyful holiday and may you always be able to go to your own favorite place. With much love, gratitude, and good wishes for the New Year, Beverlye and Bob I went to LA for my daughter’s birthday and after much discussion it was decided I should sleep at my son & daughter-in-law's house because it was closer to the freeway and I had to be back in Santa Barbara by 11. I had a luncheon to go to in Santa Barbara that was honoring my friend. She’s done such good work , I definitely wanted to go. So, I brought my dressy clothes and set the alarm for 8. Those of you who do not know me, don’t know how difficult it is for me to get up at that hour because I don’t sleep well at night, I love to sleep in the morning hours. But set it at 8:00 I did. I had to wake up, get dressed, put makeup on. Put on tennis shoes, with high heels sitting next to me for a quick change once I get there. I was only 15 minutes late so I was very happy, thinking people would still be piling in. I pulled in the front of the hotel and there were no people piling in. Oh oh! I got that sinking feeling that I have had before, but I soldiered forward anyway, “Excuse me, I asked, Where is the luncheon today?” Knowing full well as I was asking, what he was going to answer. “We have no luncheon here today, he said, and of course, I knew he was right. So, I drove in from LA and here I was all dressed up at 11:00. I called Bob and asked if he wanted to have lunch with me, fortunately, he said yes. Thank god for husbands! Want to hear the kicker??? It was for the Alstheimer’s Luncheon. It’s in two weeks. Well, at least I didn’t miss it! Guess I’m not 60 anymore!! This one is for you, Gerd!    Traveling with your mate is really nice too. Different in so many ways, but still nice. We went to New York, barely four days after I returned from Mexico with my girlfriends. I put away my bathing suit, took out my turtle necks, gloves, and coat. My husband had to be there for a board meeting and coincidentally, it was our anniversary. This time, no lounging by a pool or walking on a beach, but instead, walking up and down Madison avenue, meeting with friends for lunch and dinners, and having champagne in the room on the night of our anniversary. We saw plays, went to La Galue, (we like it so much, we went there twice), and brunch at Fred's. We shopped from Bergdorfs to Zara's on 59th. We took taxis, Uber's, napped, had breakfast sent up, and read the Sunday paper. It was an easy New York trip. We didn't rush to museums or run down to the village, we walked mostly everywhere, and it all felt very familiar. We stayed at the Regency Hotel where we had been married 28 years ago (we think). Could that much time have passed by? The answer is yes. In a trip with a man, you don't get to pour your souls out but you do get to hold hands. It was nice, and comfortable, and sweet.
I'm lucky I got to do both. I'll take it. |
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