It’s a strangely warm, rainy, windy day in November–probably the last of its kind this season.  It’s actually warmer outside than in our apartment.

It seems to match the mood in our country right now–uneasy, unstable, even foreboding, with a chill coming on.  I can barely bring myself to follow the news anymore.  E keeps me abreast of the worst of it.  I wish forewarned was forearmed, but I just feel fatalistic and resigned to the disintegration of our most basic values and protections.

All we can do is hang on, plan our move, and try not to panic about a future that hasn’t happened yet.  Who knows, we may look back on this unfortunate chapter as a relatively peaceful, non-eventful period of our lives!  That would suck!!  But I’m learning to “be here now” and extract any good from the moment, however mundane.  Then, if things do get better, it’s a bonus.

The view from our window, some flowers still stubbornly blooming, and a good Oktoberfest lager…