My holidays were great—how about yours? I stayed home alone as much as I could, and it made me feel safe and happy. I’m sure there’s a psychological explanation for that, but honestly, I’ve got other things on my mind.
Okay, I’m not even going to say it. We are all scared. As a child, I used to wonder why nobody stopped Hitler when he first started. That thought is bouncing around my brain again.
On a much happier note, my kids gave me terrific Christmas presents. My daughter, her partner, and her eldest daughter came over and completely spoiled my garden—mulched the flower beds and even installed concrete steps. You know how much I love my garden. I wander out there several times a day to pull fallen leaves, water the plants, and leave food for the squirrels—which we are forbidden to do. Little lawbreaker me. It just makes me happy.
My son bought me four tickets to a Rocket's game. I think my family will be arguing about who has to go with me. 😂 My grandson says he wants to go because he thinks it’s “cute” that I’ve suddenly gotten into basketball after never watching sports on TV in all his 25 years. My poor son follows the basketball headlines but really prefers a Texans football game. My daughter just smiles when I talk basketball, like I am a little kid proudly explaining something I learned in school. It's ok, I am so excited to go.
I think the reason I chose basketball as my sport is tied to my old law firm days. I was in charge of the season tickets. I don’t think we had Texans tickets back then, but we definitely had Astros tickets, which were easy to give away. The Rockets tickets, though, sometimes went unused, so I’d take my son. At the time, I thought it was one of those things a single mother could do for a son growing up with very little male influence.
As corporate tickets tend to be, the seats were great. I slowly got a feel for the game—didn’t know the rules (probably still don’t), but something stuck. That’s why last year, when I decided to add something new to my life—something I knew almost nothing about—I chose basketball.
I still don’t know all the rules, and I only recognize the biggest player names. But for the first time in my life, I understand that moment when people jump out of their chairs during a game. I used to think that was pretty silly. Now I get it.
All of this brings me to my next question: what should my new “thing” be this year? I’ve been rewatching The West Wing, and I’m tempted to learn Latin like Jed Bartlett likes to rattle off. There’s also a Spanish class starting here this month. No matter how much deportation goes on in the US, learning Spanish is just practical if you live in Texas, and since we'll probably invade Mexico and Canada next... Funny, not funny.
I'll close with that ...
