April 14--"I Did It My Way" 🎵🎵🎵

Dare to do life your way.  --Louise Tallen

    I'm free! My last day of tax work on Wednesday included some happenings that make me never want to see another person's return as long as I live. I can sum it up in "What do you mean, I can't deduct my Mercedes payments?!?!?!" 

    Now I get back to life my way. That includes golfing, gardening, traveling, Barney walking, possibly some pickleball, and absolutely, positively, daily naps. There will be the occasional trip to see our grandson. No more getting up at 4:00 am to swim before work. Before agreeing to work part-time this tax season, I was feeling concerned about how to use my time during those three mostly-wintery months. This year's experience has made me confident that I can and will figure that out in a satisfying way. Traveling to a warm place in February is a great start. 

    What would make today your "best day yet?"

        Leta

Sunset in Jamaica

April 13--STOP the Madness!

This shouldn’t be normal. Let’s break this cycle and stop normalizing mass shootings. Let’s remind ourselves and our friends and neighbors that this is a fixable problem, and the vast majority of Americans want it fixed. --Amy McGrath

     I grew up in a hunting culture. Some of my relatives depended on hunting for food. My brother was a devoted hunter who took good care of his guns and kept them away from his four children. (I think he went hunting to get away from them.) My dad was not a hunter, and we did not have any guns in our house. This is true today in my current home. I am certainly aware that the vast majority of gun ownership is not a problem.

    There is NO reason on God's green earth for anyone outside the military to have an assault rifle. I'm getting to the point where I hate to open Google News because the first thing that comes up is another shooting. This isn't normal. I'm so frustrated that the NRA and gun-toters, a minority, have more say in this than the vast majority of Americans who want this craziness stopped. I can use our Republican Kansas legislature for example: they are way more concerned about who uses which bathroom than they are about things that truly matter. 

    If you feel your voice matters with your representatives (that term is bullshit--they certainly do NOT represent me), please express yourself. It feels pointless in Kansas, because they know that folks in Kansas would vote for Hitler if you put an "R" after his name. Those times when I have contacted a KS rep, all I got back was a meaningless canned response. I hope you have better results!

        Leta

April 12--Stick a Fork in Me

When we take a little time to remember to look, to marvel, we find that there are sources of joy, of esthetic delight, of quiet happiness on every hand….  
--Beatrice Bruteau

    Frequent looks at my favorite photos of my grandson remind me of this sentiment. He is certainly finding lots of joy and delight, because everything is new to him. Watching him grow, explore and learn is truly a marvelous experience, even from a distance. 

    Today is my 37th wedding anniversary. With any luck at all, it will also be my last day of tax work, FOREVER. I've written before on this blog about the idea that "everything has a lifespan." The lifespan of my tax work has reached its end. The ideal in baseball is to retire after a spectacular season, to "go out with a bang." The reality is that most players fizzle out then quit. Such is my tax-prep career. Last year was a great finale, this year has been a slow torturous fizzle. I'm grateful for the opportunity and the income, and I was useful, but I'm ready for this chapter to reach the end of its lifespan. 

    Tonight we celebrate #37 and no more tax work, woohoo!!!

        Leta

April 11--Grow!

Plant a garden of any size. Our sweet Mother will reward your efforts beautifully. 
--Leta Miller

    I spent some time this past weekend in my garden, doing some much-needed weeding and tidying. I was looking for signs of perennials coming up, and I'm pleased to find many hostas returning from last year's planting. We have had two large trees removed in the past year, so that my shady yard now has sunny spots where I can once again grow tomatoes and peppers. I will also need to move some shade-loving plants that won't appreciate that hot Kansas sun. It's nearly time to freshen the potting soil in my flower pots and get the annuals planted. Having replaced our deck last summer, my husband is excited to get things looking great for backyard jams with his musical friends. I bought some garden ornaments on my Florida trip to go along with several flags for extra color around the yard. 

    I love spring!

        Leta

These guys are ready to go, too! No swimming!

April 10--PPP

I don't have pet peeves like some people. I have whole kennels of irritation. 
--Whoopi Goldberg

    I must write about a personal pet peeve (ppp). While I like music just fine, I do not want to listen to yours. It has become increasingly popular, given the expansion of portable technology, to play music loudly from one's golf cart, either the electric or push variety. I consider this to be extraordinarily rude. I play golf to be out in nature, and hear nature sounds like birds, breeze, quiet, etc., NOT your music. You can't leave it alone for 2-4 hours?!?! Speaking up about this in my leagues will likely get me labeled as "the bitchy golfer who doesn't like music." Here's the deal--you can listen to music without making me listen to it, too. The technology exists--wear earbuds! 

    I'm also greatly annoyed by folks who run red lights, but that's another post.

        Leta

April 9--Enjoy Your Sunday

Kids don’t stay with you if you do it right. It’s the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won’t be needed in the long run. --Barbara Kingsolver

    I've often said about our sons, "We raised them to be independent, and dammit, they are." I refer to my sons as "sonshine," because they are the light of my life. When I have called my new grandson "sonshine," my son always responds--that's HIS name. I guess I will have to use "grandsonshine." 

    Even when the boys were teenagers, after Easter baskets were no longer the thing, we did an Easter egg hunt in our yard. They loved it as a fun brotherly competition. My husband and I had a lot of laughs watching them zoom around the yard with the occasional bout of wrestling. As we became empty-nesters, and lacking any desire for church attendance, Easter has become pretty much a no-thing at our house. I had celebrated it for years, but seeing the behavior of so-called "Christians" in our politics today, I have no desire to participate. One does not need to make a show of Easter in order to be a kind, loving, compassionate person, which I believe is what Jesus was aiming at all along. 

    Enjoy your Sunday!

        Leta

My favorite part of Easter!

April 8--Baseball JOY

There is no crying in baseball. 
--Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) in "A League of Their Own"

    Thursday was our first league play night at Auburn Hills Golf Course. It was a lovely cool evening with calm wind, quite unusual for the beginning of league season. I was treated to riding with a new member, a young woman who plays a lot, and it is quite a joy to watch her swing the golf club. We had the usual "get to know you" chatter. I was wearing my Cubs visor, and she asked if I had been to a game at Wrigley Field. It turns out that she is just as crazed about baseball as I am, only her team is the Boston Red Sox. She said she took off work on March 30 because of Opening Day. She said, "It's like Christmas to me." I feel the same way! We were off and running on "America's pastime." What a treat to meet someone so enthusiastic about golf AND baseball! 

    There IS crying in baseball--I can guarantee it all over Cubs nation after they won the World Series on November 2, 2016. 

    Hope springs eternal every April! Go, Cubs!

        Leta

   

My next baseball adventure, 
Houston in May