December 2025
Dear friends,
After much study and a few drinks, I’ve concluded that adults have aging spurts just as kids have growth spurts.
It appears that Bob and I (and our elderly dog Scout) had such a spurt this past year. Bob can no longer see well, and I can’t hear. I must say, though, that conversations are more interesting now that I’m going deaf. Most people say predictable things like, “Wow, is it ever hot!” I hear, “The tower has gone to pot!” and ask if there’s been an earthquake.
This past summer, we had a picnic here with some old friends, and it appears that we’ve all had an aging spurt. Eric had to turn around halfway here to get his hearing aids, which he’d forgotten. Janet’s eyebrows are thinning out, so Eileen used my eyebrow brush on her while we were eating. When Douglas arrived, he had to go indoors to use the bathroom before greeting us on the patio.
Georgeann worried that she’d brought the wrong top for her Tupperware. (Remember there was a time when we worried we might be pregnant?) Sheila and I compared knuckle sizes. Steve couldn’t find his sunglasses, but Jeff helped him out by telling him he was wearing them. Then Steve remembered he was supposed to be looking for Eileen’s sunglasses, not his own.
Later, after they’d all located their cars in our driveway to go home, we discovered that Eileen had left us a note saying, “I accidentally messed up your jigsaw puzzle. Mea culpa!” Scout ate the pieces she’d dropped, perhaps thinking that someone had finally given her a treat. At some point on his way home to Stone Ridge, Eric sent out a text saying, “I just saw a sign for Providence, Rhode Island 6 miles exit 54. Am I going in the right direction?” And Georg called that evening to say she forgot to take home her cole slaw. I still have her mismatched Tupperware.
All that aside, things are great! I think! Although I just got back from standing in the garage for five minutes trying to remember why I went in there. When it comes back to me, I’ll let you know.
Meanwhile, have a very happy holiday and a spurtless 2026!
With love,
from....ummmm....oh right, I got it!...Beth