Ever since the election and as each new and horrific policy/cabinet pick is announced, I find myself striving for normalcy and indulging in self-care.Getting ready for Thanksgiving feels normal right down to my grandmother's gelatin salad. And of course there's all the everyday stuff--laundry, cooking, picking up Josie from school--that's blessedly normal.What isn't normal is my inability to read new stuff. I always have a book or two going as well as one on audio that I listen to before I fall asleep. And though I have a pile of interesting and unread books, I find myself reaching for old favorites--Calvin Trillin's Let's Eat, or Clementine in the Kitchen by Phineas Beck --both foodie books. Coincidently, I've been doing a lot of comfort food cooking--whatever it takes, hey?As for my audio listens, I went to Jane Austen--Emma and then Pride and Prejudice, along with hours and hours of P.G. Wodehouse--a favorite since I was in my teens. Currently I'm listening to an excellent audio read of James, by Perceval Everett. I read it some time ago but decided I'd like to hear how the narrator dealt with the various dialects --very well, in my opinion.Continuing with the self-care, I'm reading headlines but often skipping the articles. And trying to concentrate on the good things in life.I want to figure out what I can do to oppose the disaster on the horizon--but for the life of me I don't know what I, at my age, can do. It may be that maintaining a bit of normalcy is it.
