PERSONAL VICTORIES 2024

In reviewing 2024, I am steering clear of the political events that dominated the news and the focus of the country on a daily basis. For my blog – not a public forum but a subscription group – I will conduct a review of the events of the past year from a purely personal perspective.

In May, my son and my daughter-in-law traveled from Israel, as my son was eager to show his wife of five years where he had grown up. He revisited the house he grew up in, the schools he attended, the beaches along the North Shore, and the day camp he attended as a child and eventually as a senior counselor. Coincidentally, his dad had attended the very same camp in the 1940s as part of a fresh air program out of Boston. And I had the incredible opportunity to bond with my very sweet and loving daughter-in-law.

Another important personal victory related to that necessity of life, the vehicle that is required for survival in the suburbs where there is no convenient public transportation. I inherited my husband’s 2004 Off Road Tundra V-8 pickup, a beauty of a machine that he loved more than any of the other trucks he owned during our marriage: a Toyota rack truck, the Chevy Luv, a Nissan Frontier, a dump truck, and the Dodge Ram. Living in the semi-rural wilds north of Boston, and owning unusual homes (an enormous carriage house and then a flat-roofed cement block Bauhaus style building on ten acres), he needed a truck for utilitarian purposes and never owned a car.

As a practical matter, we needed a truck to haul the trash to the dump as our small town had no residential service. Or, he needed to hitch a flatbed trailer to bring the motorboat to the harbor or the tractor to rototill a neighbor’s garden. For a time, we raised Oxfordshire sheep (yes, our lives were similar to some episodes in All Creatures Great and Small, the story of the veterinarian in the Dales that is now a PBS series) and required sturdy vehicles for transport and other land and farm-related chores.

After Paul passed away (sadly) eleven years ago, the big black truck stood in the driveway for months, but then the transmission on my Honda died too. I decided to use the truck as my own, feeling safe high on the road with powerful acceleration, and four wheel drive for the Northeastern winters. I did feel quite the Macho Girl driving around town, pulling up impressively to my destination. I kept up the service and repair, and the V-8 still hums beautifully, but if I wanted to travel it was totally impractical, guzzling gas at 12 miles to the gallon in the 27 gallon tank.

Even more of a problem, it was hard to parallel park, as I couldn’t see where the truck bed ended and the car behind me began. Renting a vehicle for an occasional trip, I loved the backup screen, the blind spot warning light, the reliability, the fuel economy.

My victory for 2024 was letting go of the truck and buying a brand new car. I thought I would keep the truck forever and didn’t realize for the longest time that it was a good move for me to drive a vehicle that was easier to handle and maintain – and did not have noticeable rust and rot on the rear fender! I hesitated perhaps longer than I should have, as I was not keen on playing the games inherent in the auto dealer experience . . . . but I finally got around to it last summer. Paul’s son took the truck off my hands and is using it at his house in upstate New York. At 120K, it has plenty of strong, useful miles to go, as 2004 was a great year for the iconic Tundra.

In August, all my children and grandchildren, and cousin Donna, traveled from far and wide to celebrate my birthday. They also enjoy the great outdoors and we covered lots of territory in the region (also lots of territory in shopping malls as my four granddaughters love American fashion and products that they can’t find in Israel).

Our most memorable excursion was a canoe and kayaking trip on the Ipswich River with my son and the four girls, all strong and ready for adventure. It turned out to be a five hour event with only one place to stop on dry land for a break; otherwise, it was all waterways through extensive tributaries, and not always clear what direction to take. It was an unexpectedly rigorous and exhausting experience, paddling constantly for hours, navigating fallen tree limbs and a couple of beaver dams too. This gramma did great, nevertheless, not needing the Coast Guard to rescue me!

In September, my daughter and I went on a Women’s Retreat in northern Vermont with a group of ten, led by two athletic women who run several trips a year to national and world venues, all fitness and outdoor-oriented. My daughter and I had not seen each other that much during the pandemic and wanted the opportunity to make up for lost mother-daughter time together, especially for my birthday.

We stayed at a historic lakeside fishing lodge in a mountain valley, with extensive hiking trails, mountain-biking paths, kayaks and canoes, and a fireplace to gather round at the end of each active, challenging day. I upped my hiking skills considerably. I was eventually asked to give a presentation and reading, once the leaders found out I was a haiku poet. There was no Wi-Fi service, even for texting and telephone, an off-the-grid adventure (except for the one landline in case of emergency). The lodge was authentically rustic but very comfortable and charming, with totally updated bathrooms, yay! And, each morning a yoga instructor gave us a one hour class before breakfast.

The victory here was the precious time my daughter and I spent together. enjoying the nourishing meals, bonding with wonderful women from around the country, and sharing active fresh air experiences that refreshed the body, mind, soul – and heart.

The next month, I traveled to Western Massachusetts with my partner David for a traditional leaf-peeping and college town weekend getaway. We are dedicated to streaming a movie every Saturday night from one of several genres: comedy, action/science fiction/adventure, drama, vintage/classics, and indie or foreign films (trying out Russian, French, Italian, and Japanese).

Yes, that means we watch at least 50 movies during the year and are covering the best of actors, directors, and stories since the beginning of modern film-making. One of the best movies of all time: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) with Gregory Peck and the remarkable child actress who plays “Scout”, Mary Badham. Tonight we will watch New York, New York (1977). There is much catching up to do before we get to newly-released movies, with many actors I admit that I do not even recognize. Aside from me writing haiku, and David working on his novel, this is our commitment to broadening our cultural knowledge.

Then, in mid-November, I booked an Amtrak ticket and finally made it back to New York City, after a nearly five year pause. I do love that magnificent city, and the joy of living in the midst of young family life with my six year old granddaughter and nine year old grandson. Alex’s parents were visiting from Israel so it was a great family reunion in all respects, as I had not seen them since 2019. It was a low key visit – no shows or restaurants or museums, as I wanted to wade into New York life at the shallow end to make sure I felt comfortable. And I did!

When I returned home, it was time to plant bulbs – beds of bluebells and white crocus, and more drifts of daffodils – and start the fall cleanup. I had taken over the garden after my husband died, which I have been able to do successfully because I had watched him use garden tools and practices for planting, pruning, composting, mulching, and grooming according to seasonal needs. It is hard work, as you gardeners out there are aware, but to me an obsession, a productive pleasure, and an immersion in nature that provides material for my haiku writing.

I look forward to enjoying the fruits of my labors in 2025, as the new bulbs emerge, and the forsythia, lilacs, peonies, hibiscus, rhododendron, and Siberian iris bloom in seasonal progression. The varied colors and explosive growth of spring deeply refresh the spirit after the long winter slog.

But, since it is still early January, it is not too late to wish you, my readers, a safe, happy, and healthy New Year. I appreciate each and every one of you for following my exploits online and commenting if you are inspired.