I apologize. I have been taking a long blogging nap. Starting in November, the holidays frankly kicked my ass at work this year. January my butt dragged; I was nearly hysterical with exhaustion the entire month. My last cat became deathly ill. (He's hanging in there, by the way, cozy and happy for the moment, by virtue of three medications four times a day and a nearly all-salmon diet, but we don't know if he'll last the year.) Then I went on vacation for a couple of weeks in February. Then I came back to work, and immediately caught the plague that's been circulating locally -- and that kicked my ass, too (though it really was not so bad once the black pustules cleared up).
Okay, it wasn't really the plague, of course, just some wretched cold/flu thing that's been wracking New England since about January. And there were no black pustules, just a rash and tons and tons of mucous. And there was an up side: Being feverish and high on OTC cold remedies greatly improved my experience of watching the Winter Olympics on TV. Really!
Everything was so beautiful. Sobbing my face off at every beautiful moment -- like when the Italian girl started crying almost before she'd finished her final skate, which was also her last Olympic skate ever, probably, and yet the only one she'd gotten to do in Italy; or when that Russian boy was able to overcome his fear of dropping his partner and, after they completed a beautiful program together, was so grateful to her for trusting him; or when the American girl who'd literally shattered her feet at the last Olympics and was never expected to walk again returned to the insane sport of aerial ski jumping in the company of good friends, even though only one of them actually qualified and none of them ended up winning anything; or when that Canadian girl, in a last little burst of hope and energy toward the end, exceeded her own expectations for herself, won gold in speed skating, got patted congratulatorily on the shoulder by her competitor in that heat (who was from Austria, I think), fell down on the ice gasping and sobbing with exultation and exhaustion, and then, at the medals ceremony, pulled her teammate, who had been the favorite for the gold but instead ended up with bronze, up with her onto the top podium so they could hold each other while crying and singing their national anthem, and the beautiful look of love and joy on the face of the Austrian silver medalist while all this was going on -- oh my God, I nearly drowned in my own tears and snot. It was fantastic!
I love the Olympics. In spite of the asshole ice skating commentators, in spite of the fact that NBC coverage is funky (so much talking, so much manipulation -- better this year, I think, but then I was sick as a dog), in spite of a tendency for some people to take them too seriously in terms of nationalism, in spite of all that, I love them. It is really a pleasure to watch young people at the peak of their beauty and vitality come together from around the world to exhibit skills and talents they've perfected over their whole lives. Now that I'm a grown-up (sort of), I find I seriously don't care who wins, that for me it's all about celebrating other people's striving and achievement, teamwork and individual grace. It is a beautiful thing to watch other people putting so much effort and energy into a festival of feats that are not only breathtaking to watch but harmless and even downright loving. And, oh my goodness, when I think while I watch of how many other people also put tremendous effort and sacrifice into the achievement of each individual athlete -- like, for example, the parents of that beautiful teenaged Turkish skater who moved with her to Canada at great personal cost just so she could have the chance to become a world class ice skater in spite of coming from a country that only has two ice skating rinks in it -- the beauty becomes practically unbearable.
This year especially I was profoundly moved. Torino did a great job. I even think NBC did the best job covering it that it's done in my lifetime. And since I don't know how much of this year's superior experience for me was the result of other people's truly superior efforts or the fact that I was completely wasted the entire time, or some combination of both, I would almost recommend getting desperately sick the next time the Olympics come around just to find out -- except for that part about not being able to breathe much, or that thing about not being able to shift off the couch without Herculean effort and tons of coughing, both of which really did suck.
Oh, and then there's the not being able to write part. That sucked, too. But that's been going on for what, three, four months? The debilitating sinus/throat/lung infection was just icing on my big, multilayered cake of tiredness.
This is a long way to say I'm sorry, and that I haven't abandoned this project. But that's what I meant to say in the first place. I'll be back soon with more information, whining, adventures, insights, and questions.
Meanwhile, I hope you had a better, more productive winter than I. And even if you haven't got a thing to show for it, I hope you've been having fun.
Later... (Really! Honest!)
Welcome back, Sara! Sorry you had such a lousy time. I just came down with something, hopefully just a cold, and I'm flying to Mexico tomorrow - very long day. It should be swell. I'm taking a ton of herbs and vitamins, maybe I'll fight it off. Heh.
Anyway, hope things are looking up for you and you can get back to writing. I've been in a writing slump myself. Hoping vacation will recharge me.
Posted by: leslee | March 13, 2006 at 12:15 PM
Thanks, Leslee. I hope we both get energized in time for spring.
Meanwhile, Mercury is retrograde 'til 3/25, tomorrow is the full moon (and a lunar eclipse), and there's a solar eclipse on 3/29, so I'm not pushing myself. I haven't been pushing myself, of course, but I'm not going to start at this inauspicious juncture! ;) I'll just dip my mental toes in first and trust that the rest will happen at its own rate.
Have a good vacation, and thanks for stopping by. I look forward to reading of your adventures.
Posted by: Sara | March 13, 2006 at 09:54 PM
Sara, you have been missed! I'm so sorry to hear you were feeling so awful (even though you made it sound very funny), and very glad that you are on the mend. May you recoup your energies soon!
Posted by: MB | March 15, 2006 at 03:48 PM
Thanks, MB. My energy is returning. Now it's mainly a matter of organization. And cleaning. Lots of cleaning.
Hopefully there will be less need to clean, as both the boyfriend and I seem to have recovered from our colds and the cat seems for the moment to have ceased vomiting out one end and shooting explosive, bloody diarrhea out the other. We suspect and hope that the cat's latest improvement has more to do with us removing the coconut mat from under the potted tree in the living room than with his probably terminal illness. See, I caught him chewing on that mat obsessively right before this last bout of symptoms. Fiber's supposed to be good for him at this point, but I'm pretty sure you'd be hard pressed to find four out of five veterinarians who'd recommend coconut matting. We'll see. Fingers (and paws) crossed...
Uh...more than you wanted to know, right? Sorry. Life -- as I'm sure you're aware, Ms. Mom -- just ain't all poetry all the time. :)
Cheers!
Posted by: Sara | March 15, 2006 at 04:11 PM
No it ain't, but you do make it funny! Here's to your cat!
Posted by: MB | March 17, 2006 at 05:24 PM
Hooray! You're here!
I am so sorry for a sucky, snotty winter. The flu thing has been around and around the Midwest, too.
I will agree that the Olympics were gorgeous this year. Like I need another flood of reminders from the t.v. about why I need to get my ass to Europe. Gah.
Here, here to a fabulous spring and thereafter!
Welcome back, baby!
Posted by: Melissa | March 20, 2006 at 01:31 AM
Thanks, Melissa. And thanks for keeping me so well entertained with your own blog while I was down. (Other Visitors: Click Melissa's name or the name "Sugared Harpy" in the left sidebar to get there and read of the wild adventures in motherhood, art, and activism by a feminist and professional art historian with flaming ovaries in St. Louis.)
Posted by: Sara | March 22, 2006 at 10:07 PM