Barbara J. Hamby

Random Thoughts

Christmas is just a week away. Sometimes I wish I could recapture the excitement it held for me when I was a child. That’s probably one of the disadvantages of not having grandchildren. On balance, today, the advantages may equal or exceed the downside. So many grandparents are raising grandchildren and, even though they may love doing it, it has to be hard. Possible good points are that my offspring are not contributing to overpopulation, or passing on genes that carry physical or mental health risks.

Another thought about Christmas, that really came up last year when we were snowed in and had to miss a lot of the festivities:  why don’t we change the date to a time when the weather is more likely to be mild? It’s claimed that the birth date of Christ was arbitrarily set a long time ago, anyway. If I were younger and had more energy, I might start a campaign for a better date for Christmas.

After a bleeding ulcer attack a few years ago, I gave up coffee and I sorely missed it. Now that I’m 80 and relatively healthy, I decided to live dangerously and drink one cup a day of the addictive brew. I enjoy every steaming swallow, as well as the warmth of the cup in my arthritic hands. In all my working years, I drank many cups a day and never enjoyed the taste or the aroma the way I do now. Of course, at work, the quality of the coffee may have affected my enjoyment.

To attempt to counteract any ill effects of the coffee, I usually drink at least one cup of green tea mixed with mint tea every day. Because of the prescriptions I take, I’ve totally eliminated alcohol. I also limit carbonated beverages to a very few every once in a while. That’s supposed to help me maintain weight loss. Maintenance seems to be all I can manage right now, even though I’d like to lose a few more pounds.

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