Saturday, November 28, 2009

Mess, Madness, and Music


Sitting in the middle of the lounge room floor, the warm breeze wafting through the house, contemplating the arrival of Christmas 2009………wait! Was I not there just a few short weeks ago? No, my friends, it’s been a whole year since I have put pen to paper, or rather, fingers to keyboard to continue my saga, memories of my childhood, and how three magical countries have influenced my life. Lest you think I have been lazy and done nothing but eat bon bons and watch television, fear not, it has been a very busy and fulfilling year. History was made last November in the United States and we have our first black president but as to change from that event, politics moves slowly even when it is perceived as fast. On the Latvian front we were exited and hopeful that Latvia’s past president Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga would become the first woman president of the European Union. Even I was so exited I started drafting my curriculum vitae to send to her. Surely she needed me to translate the trivia she would have no time for, run and do all her odd jobs, fetch her coffee. With my languages and passports, surely she would see what an indispensable and valuable asset I would be to her and beg me to move to Brusells, Belgium with her so that I could cater to her every whim. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful in her bid, and therefore I too, couldn’t realize my dream of being her aide. Ah, life’s disappointments are so unjust.



Instead, I seem to have meandered into a bunch of un-wieldable, uncomfortable and, at times, humorous M’s. Menopause, malfunction, maladies, misunderstandings, memory loss, melancholy, myopia, muscle aches, manners (or lack thereof), memories, medicine, Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays. Picasso had his Blue Period and I am choosing to have “The M part of My Life”. Menopause, well, the less said about that the better. No one, and nothing, prepares a woman for that wonderful adventure which is much like spending 10 years on a stiflingly hot tropical island, surrounded by shark infested waters and a companion, who, no matter how hard he/she tries to be supportive, manages to always say and do the wrong thing and that just makes you so mad, hot and bothered that you can’t even remember what you originally started to do, and there is always so much to do even on an island, wood to chop, water to haul, meals to prepare and………... where was I???

Mess is a big one, especially after Thanksgiving. This is truly a wonderful American tradition that doesn’t involve all the hoopla of the holidays and yet the messiest to clean up after a meal that was way too rich and filling, but somehow also so very worth it. Of course the mess continues as the closet spews forth all its’ contents for Christmas. No longer the sickly looking tree with maybe a dozen ornaments and a few candles. No, no, we decorate the whole house now, even the bathrooms, hallways and especially outside. Many matrimonial misunderstandings about why we really need all those dishes, glasses, towels, Santas, snowmen, lights and decorations in general. There are no small children, no big parties planned in the house this year, so why all this for two people? It is all part of the madness we inflict on ourselves to have a Merry Christmas, mellow music, mouth-watering meals and gaily await what the coming year will hold in store for us.



2010 - just a few short weeks away, what will it bring for us, the Baby Boomers who changed the world? My parents wouldn’t understand the world today with its’ texting, Googling, and Facebook social networking. Personally, I think the Baby Boomers and the X, Y, Z generations who have followed have done a great job, perhaps only losing manners and a modicum of understanding what really matters along the way. Raised as a small “Latvian princess” who curtsied and respected my elders no matter what they did or said, I sometimes shudder with melancholia at “those young people today”. But then, invariably, a young person will surprise me pleasantly, having charming old world manners, respect for one’s elders, totally correct grammatical speech, a wonderful, happy, smiling face and I know that all will be well with the world. We did a good job and now it is time to relax and decorate our huge homes, entertain our many friends, laugh, reminisce, take extra medication to cope with all the eggnog, turkey and rich foods in general, and cruise. The Boomers really love to cruise, not me, I like Terra Firma, but cruising does seem to be the pastime the Boomers revel in, and they are doing it par excellence.

Whatever 2010 may have in store for us, I believe it will be busy, fun and very fruitful. No bored days on the couch knitting and waiting to move to the retirement village, then God’s Waiting Room for us. That will possibly come later down the road, but not for a while yet, too many things to see and do, Bucket’s Lists to fulfill, mountains to climb, cruises to cruise and new people to meet and countries to see. In my mental madness, this magical moment of M, I feel that the world can still be conquered, that Don Quixote and Sancho Panza will escort me to the windmills and back to Mancha, there to dream the impossible dream and beat the unbeatable foe. Let’s roll!

5 comments:

Kate said...

I have always wanted to visit Lartia! Is it "the impossible dream"? I hope not. Thank you Anta for this invaluable insight.

Kate said...

I meant Latvia!

Assepoester said...

Another soulful and thoughtprovoking memoir, Anta! The M-phase is a troublesome one alright, but coming out the other end one regains the mindset of youth. Responsibilities dwindle, and enjoyment of simple pleasures grows in correlation to increasing decrepitude. Bon ton rouler!

Ilze Dickson said...

Fantastic Anta.Thankyou so much for sharing with us all.

Unknown said...

I love it. M-phase long gone but not forgotten.