The Week in Review

Merry Christmas.
Happy Channukah.
Happy Kwanzaa.
Happy New Year.

The diet.
I've heard that the average American gains 10 pounds between Thanksgivng and New Year's. I'm not quite the average American -- but I came within a pound or two of it. Since my parents' anniversary party in mid-November and this morning when I finally got the guts to get on a scale, I've gained nine pounds. Fat and happy time is over. Tomorrow (not Sunday) begins the new year.

I've never liked starting new things on the 1st of the year -- or a Monday for that matter. So it's either wait until Tuesday or just bite the bullet and start tomorrow. Given the numbers on the scale, I vote tomorrow.

The job.
Still no word on the job. The neurotic part of me (even though I promised myself that I wouldn't freak out if I didn't get a call) is starting to think that I didn't get it and he just didn't want to ruin my holiday so he's waiting until next week to tell me. The practical side is telling me that he couldn't have possibly made reference checks around the holiday -- I know that all three of my references would have been tough to get a hold of the last week. And I heard from B before I left for Virginia last Wednesday that he hadn't gotten a call yet.

I'm starting to dread going back to word on Tuesday. I just don't want to. I'm thinking of this project and that project and just have no motivation for them. I've got three days to think of something else and then can psyche myself up to go back to work. I guess.

The other Ellie.
He was the sweetest man to put on a Baltimore Orioles uniform. And I heard two weeks ago from my former boss that the Orioles were treating him like shit. That they had taken his position of bullpen coach away from him, citing health reasons, without talking to him or his doctors. And now they weren't returning his calls. Elrod Hendricks wore that uniform longer than anyone -- first as a player, including as a member of the 1970 championship team; then as a coach -- and Flanagan, Perlozzo and "Uncle" Pete weren't returning his calls.

Maybe they were right to relieve him of his coaching duties -- but they could have gone about it better. He deserved better. Last week -- just a few days before Christmas, he died of a heart attack. Sweet Elrod, who always had a smile and wave from the field for me, who always have a hug, a kiss and a "hey baby girl" for me when I saw him. I'll miss his laugh. And I'll miss him telling me that I was too good for Sidney, "that fool."

Christmas in Virignia.
Lots of eating, lots of resting (did you read the first paragraph of this post?!), and lots of fun. I arrived a day early, surprised Tiffany at Panera. We shopped, we ate, we went to the movies. We never got out of our pajamas on Christmas day. And I didn't want to leave. And more than once, thought about turning around as I was headed north to Baltimore.

Aunt Marion.
My mother's aunt passed away on Wednesday morning, after a lot of health issues and a recent minor stroke. She was 86, never married and only came into our life in the past 10 years. (I'll post something specific I have about that.) I'm sorry that I didn't get up to Syracuse to see her before I left for Virginia, though I hear that I wouldn't have wanted to see her that weak.

I'll remember her as feisty, as a "ball breaker." I'll remember her yelling at my mother for eating too much cheese cake and telling me that I was getting up there in years and needed to stop looking for love and just find someone for security. I was sorting through a bag of pictures from the anniversary party (yes, I know it was six weeks ago!) and found a picture of her -- round and healthy looking, no oxygen tank. That's how I'll remember her.

Swing and a miss. Strike 2.
I stopped in Baltimore on Wednesday night. I had dinner with my god-daughter and her family, exchanged presents with them. It was too short, but it's so hard to try to fit everyone so I have to economize my time. After dinner, I spent the night with Bubbles in her spankin' new apartment. She got me sucked into "Project Runway," and I immediately set my DVR to record all new episodes when I returned to Ithaca. And because Elrod's memorial service was Thursday morning -- and J used to work for the Orioles -- I didn't get to see J.

De-Christmasing.
I got home about 1:30 yesterday afternoon and immediately after unpacking my car (three baskets of clean laundry, and more Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl's bags than I care to count), I started to de-Christmas my house. Exactly four hours later, I was putting the vacuum cleaner away. Tree, ornaments, bins, candles, etc...all packed away for another year. I'm not sure how I accumulate all of this stuff -- it may have something to do with my love for shopping the day after Christmas. And this year was no different. Between the two of us, my sister-in-law and I spent about $600 before noon on the 26th. I got lots of birthday presents done and started Christmas for next year.

The big finish.
Yesterday I packed away Christmas. Tonight, after getting back from the funeral in Syracuse, I unpacked all the big buys on the 26th -- sorted them, made lists and packed them away. I still need to put away my clothes, some of my Christmas presents and sort through my Christmas wrapping paper. But in the words of Katie Scarlett O'Hara, "tomorrow is another day."