Weekend Coffee Share November 22, 2019

Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!Grab a cup of coffee and share with us!  What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans?  Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about? Join in.

Happy Friday, Everyone. It is a few days early from my usual coffee visit, but I have volunteered to fill in as Weekend Coffee Share’s host while Eclectic Alli takes on new ventures and pursues new goals. There will be others pitching in hosting. No one is alone in this endeavor. I am happy to help and am up to learning new skills in this blogging world. I have come to value the Weekend Coffee Share as a writer and regular human being. Deadline pressure gets the ideas and writer juices flowing. It also allows me to review my journal. What did I do this week? I enjoy the weekly exercise of sharing the week, and I look forward to reading my fellow writers’ muses and ventures. And, okay, I know I should not be so needy, but I really do savor the likes and reply affirmations.

So grab your coffee. Let’s recap. 

 If we were sipping coffee this November morning, I have to tell you that my husband, Matt, had his right knee replaced last Friday. He came home on Sunday afternoon. As one nurse put it, you can be in pain at home just as well as in the hospital. Home is more comfortable even though furniture and the bathroom need temporary adaptions, and we have learned to do a quick and thorough washcloth bath at the kitchen sink before the physical therapist arrives. Pain exhaust him, but he’s a trooper doing his exercises and navigating around the house. I stepped up my fetch-and-follow role, but I am no longer too anxious watching him get up from the couch or walking across the room. This week we have been cooped up, but every day Matt improves, and the pain decreases. He will start clinical PT after Thanksgiving, which is next week already! We hope the new joint will not only help Matt walk but also improve the disappointing progress from the back fusion last winter.

If we were chatting over coffee together, I would proudly say that during this pre, peri, and post-surgery time, my writing momentum for Daily Bread (my middle-grade novel) has taken off. I attribute this burst of productivity to regularly meeting with a friend who has been wanting to write her story. We meet at the local coffee shop, set small goals, discuss our progress and writing, and bring clarity and flow to our work. We also make sure we have the next meeting’s date penned in our calendars. It feels so good and satisfying to talk writing with someone. I had tried other groups, but it was hard to develop camaraderie with an established group and to get to know new people and their writing ambitions. Now that my friend and I constitute a writers group, I have deadlines and focus. Hurray for self-inflicted pressure! 

If we were having coffee together, I would report that there was a break in the frigid weather. I was able to put the vegetable garden to bed, stow away soaker hoses, and finished pulling out frostbitten annuals. We had a few nights of frost, but, thankfully, no snow accumulation. 

If we were pouring another cup of coffee together, I would reflect that the weekend awaits. Cleaning, taking care of my big guy, and planning Thanksgiving will be the highlight this weekend. My daughter, Sara, who lives in Brooklyn, will come out on Wednesday to help prep. I love Thanksgiving. It is all about cooking together, eating at the table together, and reminiscing, planning, and laughing about our times together. My parents will host at their home, where there is plenty of room for 20-plus relations to sit around a table made from several tables. There are a few small children who make up an official kid’s table. Everyone pitches in with favorite dishes and a few new tastes. My two long-distance daughters will share a Friendsgiving with their friends. I plan to at least do a Facetime visit with them. Did I mention that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday? 

Wishing My Everyone out there a blessed Thanksgiving holiday. I’m looking forward to hearing all about it. 

Have a good weekend and upcoming week, Everyone. 

Make it great.