January Funk and Shorter Self Improvement Plans

This month feels like we're hemorrhaging money:  we needed to replace the drowned car, which is a big expense.  My spouse spilled a glass of wine that took out a laptop, so he bought a replacement.  He bought a Chromebook because of the price, only to realize that he couldn't save on the desktop or make it work at all for much of anything beyond Internet work--yes, that's the nature of a Chromebook, but he didn't realize what he was buying because he was so attracted to the price.  So he bought another, different laptop because we are modern people who need computers to do our work.

Last night I got home to see a check on the fridge--money coming in?  How novel!

We got $75 as part of a compensation for the loss of a glorious orange tree that we had in our last house.  That tree was cut down at the turn of the century, much to my sorrow.  It was a healthy tree, but the state tried to control citrus canker, a serious disease that threatened the citrus industry, by cutting down any trees that were close to canker outbreaks.

Now I drive north past the ghosts of citrus fields turned into housing complexes, and I feel sad in all sorts of ways.  The check that arrived yesterday won't make me feel better, but I'll cash it anyway.  It's a strange time not just in our personal lives but in the life of the nation.

These are the days when I think about how glad I am not to be a U.S. Senator or House member.  I wouldn't have survived in the current White House administration very long, but I'm glad I'm not there either.  I can't imagine having to pay attention to a task, even one as important as an impeachment trial, for 12 hours at a time.

I feel like I should have more profound insights than that one.  I am realizing how old I am in some ways--my first political memory was Watergate and its fall out, which means I have memories of 3 of the 4 impeachments in the nation's history.  At the time of Nixon's impeachment, I was 9, and I remember feeling aghast at the idea that the president could be impeached.  Clinton's behavior made me feel queasy--sex with an intern????!!!!  Boundaries, people!  And I still feel queasy about the current administration--I have felt queasy about Trump from the beginning, as readers of this blog know.

Do I think that every administration has some high crimes and misdemeanors that we just didn't know about?  There are administrations that seem more prone to illegal/unethical behavior.  But I do think that it's hard to keep this behavior hidden, especially in the decades since the 70's.

I am not sure of how to conclude this post.  Let me address my January funk by recording two ideas for improvement:

--For the last week of January and the first week of Feb, starting on Monday, Jan. 27, let me count calories in a vigorous way.  I'm doing this because those are the last 2 weeks of the additional Tues-Thurs spin classes.  Let me try to eat between 1500 and 2000 calories a day--veggies are free.

--For the month of Feb., let me focus on getting the front bedroom back into some sort of order.  This chaos of paper and possessions makes me want to get in my car and drive far, far away.  I am yearning for the lovely sunroom where I spent so many hours during my time at Southern Seminary.  Let me try to address those yearnings by inviting some of that spirit into this front bedroom where I am currently writing.