Maintenance

As I’ve previously written, words can ring in you head, then echo, again and again. “Maintenance” is one that won’t go away for me. I not talking car but body, life maybe. I use “maintenance “to describe the daily, routine, repetitive, mundane activities I need to do each day, week, month. It seems since retirement, “maintenance” has become increasingly important and time consuming. I generally get up about 6 a.m. and for several hours I am consumed with “maintenance.”

I have a morning ritual in the bathroom, washing up, dressing, attending to my two stomas. I recently bought a radio for my bedroom so I can listen to NPR or some other dial discovery during the routine. Then to the kitchen where I attend to pills. Thanks to my functionalist doctor, I take five prescription pills, but about 17 different supplements. Some morning, some evening. Coffee is next, unless I’m doing tea. I check email, Facebook, read the Inquirer online. This may lead to some FB posts. I almost always write in a daily journal. Some days I may also write in journals for books read, movies, restaurants, travel, lists and a few others.

It may be close to 8. I’ve tried during two hours to slide in additional “maintenance” as i move from task to task, room to room. There is laundry to do. Some days bedding. The dishwasher needs to be emptied. Trash, recycling and compost garbage taken downstairs. I’ll bring up some wood. General clean up or house organization. Most are these are squeezed in before 9. Some days I’ll decide on a walk. A health imperative, yes “maintenance.” My typical walk along the canal is to Scammel’s bridge about 3/4 mile in 40 minutes. On nice days I sit outside for a while. More wood carried up to the deck.
Approaching 9:30-10:30 I need to decide what’s happening for the rest of the morning. I could decide to read. Nice weather, out on the deck. Or do I have additional “maintenance.”

There are orders I need to place for pills, supplements, ostomey supplies, and C-Pac supplies. I also order a lot of other things from Amazon and other online suppliers — dried mushrooms, garlic, fig preserves, nasal spray, hand lotion, shampoo. You get the idea. Maybe I’m ready to order a few books. I also may take time to respond to other activities online, buying tickets, signing up for a zoom lecture, making a lunch reservation. I read periodicals, Time, Down East, Bucks County, Smithsonian, Historic Preservation, River Towns and Yankee. I usually send digital old photographs to my sisters and friends; post some on FB. Some posts are political in response to what I’ve read; others nostalgia are fell good; some are photographs. It’s probably past 11.

I may have stopped for breakfast. Maybe pancakes or scrambled eggs. Smoothies are a common breakfast. Water pick teeth. Did I need to make yogurt? Depending on the season, morning “maintenance” could involve harvesting and then using or preserving garden produce. From roasting tomatoes, making sauce, freezing peppers, shredding and freezing zucchini, even cooked a froze some eggplants this year. Sometimes I may make biscuits or bread. Less now due to low carb diet. Morning “ maintenance” may continue up to lunch. There is less in the afternoon which finds me reading, writing, napping.

Doctor appointments are longer term maintenance. I see a cardiologist and surgeon at Penn in Philadelphia twice a year. My local GP I see every few months. He does blood work twice a year and regularly I meet with a nutritionist in his office. Dentist is several times a year. One a year for my apnea doc. These are just routine time consuming check ups; more if I have an issue. I remember one of my sisters complaining about all my father’s doctor appointments that didn’t reveal anything new.

Seasonally “maintenance” can involve stacking wood. Planting, weeding, harvesting in the garden. Or maybe doing some prep work for someone doing house projects. I now have Paul who cuts the grass and other yard projects. Pete who does carpentry, major cleaning and paint projects. We’ve had the need for roofers, deck and siding contractors, and masons in the past nine years of retirement. All involve at least organizational work on my part. Amazing that I did much of this on my own. My bottom line is that “maintenance” takes many hours each, day, week and month. I feel fairly satisfied if I don’t let things slide. Of course then I have to decide how to use the rest of my time. There are long term projects and leisure activities. A constant tension. One day at a time.

Good Night Mr. Wodehouse

“Good Night Mr. Wodehouse” (2015) by Faith Sullivan is one of the most unusual books I’ve read in years, maybe decades. Nell, the protagonist, is a HS teacher, volunteer in the local library and a reader.
She sounded like my kind of character. Her presence dominates “Good Night.” Her husband dies and she is left to raise their son Hilliard. She becomes involved with John Flynn, an older man, an up and coming Congressman. She enjoys talking with John about the authors she is reading, even courting. She and John joke about her relationships with the authors she is reading.

One autumn “Nell found another intimate altogether — a soulmate. . . On an October afternoon when the air was extravagant with the scent of bonfires and apples, Hilly joined Nell to walk home from school, stopping at the Water and Power Company on their way. Nell spied a book on a high shelf titled “Love Among the Chickens,” by someone named P.G. Wodehouse — a book left there by Cora, as it turned out.”

I recognized the name Wodehouse but knew nothing about him. I had another nightly read. For many years it was Arthur Conan Doyle’s world of late nineteenth century London, Scotland Yard, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson at 221 Baker Street. During the 70s and 80s, I reread the canon, every short stories, the novels, criticisms and pastiches. Nell collected a shelf full of Wodehouse; I collected my shelf of Sherlock Holmes.

P.G. Wodehouse is a humorist writer, with 90 books, 20 film scripts, and 30 plays to his name. He captures the English social scene in his Jeeves and Wooster stories that have been made into a TV series. I’m not sure I would like reading Wodehouse but I’ll start with watching some Jeeves and Wooster. Wodehouse lived in London, New York and France. For years he wrote for Broadway and later Hollywood. During W.W.II he was accused of being a traitor for broadcasts he made while a German prisoner. In “Good Night” when Nell hears this she writes to him vouching that he could never be a collaborator. He writes back, thanking her and sends her a signed copy of his latest book.

Although there were fewer references and details about Wodehouse in “Good Night” than I expected, I enjoyed the read. Nell is a strong interesting character. She does in short passages turn to reading Wodehouse to relieve anxiety and tension. Their relationship grows in her dreams. There are many twists and turns in Nell’s story and we move through the twentieth century following her life. Hilly signs up for the ambulance cops in W.W.I. He returns home mentally and physically crippled. Friends die in the Lusitania. For years she is dedicated to Hilly’s care until his eventual suicide. Finally she becomes engaged to her love John Flynn but before they marry, he dies.

Nell is also involved in the small town life of Harvester. We get to know many of her neighbors, some are close friends. We return again and again to local businesses. There are many get togethers, friendly talk, gossip, lots of tea but also sherry, maybe whiskey or scotch, one or two fingers. One young woman Elvira who cared for Hilly moves away and later it’s a scandal that she was pregnant; a new teacher in town is exposed as homosexual. There is a strict moral code in the town; Nell and a few other women are more open and independent. There are also several young women who become Nell’s close friends replacing Hilly and John. The last quarter of the book follows their growth, relationships, and interaction. Sometimes complex.

Although “Good Night Mr. Wodehouse” wasn’t exactly what I expected, I’m not sorry I ordered it. Maybe I’ll read some of Wodehouse. I’ll watch Wooster and Jeeves. Maybe I’ll dig out Conan Doyle. I do believe reading can be a release to our daily tensions. I like the concept of literary friends.

Stress

The Sick Child 1907 Edvard Munch 1863-1944

Words swirl around, pop in and out of my consciousness. I’ve written about several recently — “transition” and “waiting” come to mind. Recently “stress” has also loomed big. Amy, my dietitian, mentioned that stress could contribute to high blood sugar levels. She mentioned the news; political stress is almost a daily occurrence. This week there is the war in Israel and the House Speaker debate/vote. Of course there is also personal stress. Yesterday, Eli, my grandson, was admitted to CHOP for his first round of treatment for neuroblastoma, the third time around, when he was 4, again at 15. That’s stress. For him, his family, immediate and extended.

A dictionary definition: “stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry or nervous. Stress is your bodies reaction to a challenge or demand. In short bursts stress can be positive, such as when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline.”

Most days I am not aware of any stress. I go through my usual morning maintenance activity. Then I usually engage in some activity, walking, garden work, stacking firewood. I’ll admit, sometimes this is an attempt to escape some nervous tension. I want something to happen. I want movement. See my blog on “waiting.” https://wordpress.com/post/vprofy.wordpress.com/18027

I don’t think my lack of stress awareness means I don’t feel any. There are levels. “Waiting” can cause me minor stress, a bit of annoyance. If the wait is short, it fades quickly. But stress increases the longer the wait. Similarly political news can cause minor stress. I read internet, FB and newspaper news every morning. I usually turn to CNN or WHYY about 4 or 4:30. I try not to watch more than an hour. For one, they repeat stories and second I can get increasingly annoyed depending on what’s happened. I’ve considered ignoring the news as I do when traveling but I feel I have an obligation as a citizen to keep informed. Unfortunately there is so much political nonsense. One release for me is posting an article or responding to a story on FB. Many times it’s in response to the current frightening state of American political discussion. I am familiar with the addiction warnings about social media. But my best judgement is that for me responding acts as a catharsis. I’ve also taken to post positive images or thoughts. Nice news. It does exist.

Some mornings I just feel anxious, stressed. Is it because I didn’t sleep well, the chicken or the egg, which is first, stress or trouble sleeping. My “don’t go away” medical issues can become annoying, eventually stressful. Like morning anxiety I sometimes have a total lack of energy. Is it the result or the cause of stress; I don’t know. Since retirement I’ve realized I need to get rid of stuff — books, records, collections, excess everything. I need to digitize my slides. I need to keep up with house repairs. There may come a day when we need to sell and move. Although I haven’t totally ignored these “projects;” I don’t proceed quickly or consistently. Thinking about all I need to do and how I procrastinate leads to major stress.

Despite admitting to some minor and occasional major stress. I try to manage it; even use it as a call to action. I’ve mentioned walking and other physical activity. Going out to lunch or dinner; going to a museum or theatre. Travel, local or further afield. Contacting friends, calls, email, get together. Escaping through reading, writing, and photography. Simple meditation. Focusing on the basic, the small things, instead of fixating on what’s wrong — with me, with others, with the world.

Bottom line. I believe to overcome the unavoidable and created stresses in our lives, we need to focus on the good, the positive, beauty and joy if you will and use these thoughts and experiences as a springboard for action, movement, life. It’s not always easy, as Eli goes through treatment in the coming months, it’s not easy to stay upbeat — but it’s necessary.

Carpe Diem. (Maybe I’ll rewatch Dead Power’s Society.)