Holidays | Mixed Metaphors

Dec 26 2021

Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: Omicron Edition

“The year 2021 has been like a roller coaster. It was supposed to be the year the pandemic fizzled out. Instead, it was a year of intense whiplash.” — Julie Ries

“It’s not over, till it’s over!” — Yogi Bera

This dispatch is part holiday season review, 2021 year-end wrap up, plus a look ahead, and once again, an acceptance of opposing conditions, that things both change and remain the same. It has been a year characterized by both hope and despair, gratitude and grief, and resistance and surrender.

The past year — or 22 months — depending on how you want to count — we’ve been riding the coronacoaster of the COVID pandemic. There have been highs and lows on this ride, whiplash, and screams. We want to get off this ride, yet we can’t until it’s over. Continue reading →

Tagged 2021 Year-in-Review, COVID-19, Death, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Father, Films, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Holiday Season, Holidays, Home, Look Ahead, Loss, Omicron, Pandemic

Dec 12 2021

Posts

The Legacy of Material Things

“We didn’t have much, but we had love.” ― Tyler Perry

“I’ve not always possessed what I’ve wanted, but I always received what I needed, and most days it was simply the love of friends and family, and the ability to live comfortably in my own skin.” ― From Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! Dispatch from the Hideout: Letter to Loved Ones

It’s that time of year when we celebrate the holidays, often the traditions of the generations that preceded us, the food we eat, the rituals we recreate, the stories we tell, and the memories we share. This is our legacy. It’s also that time of year when many of us look back and reflect on the year behind us and grieve our loved ones no longer present in life.

We inherit many things from our family, from our DNA to our shared lived experiences, both nature and nurture. We also inherit material things, bequeaths, mementos, and gifts from family, friends, and loved ones. They also represent a legacy. What creates a person’s legacy? Continue reading →

Tagged Brother, Chosen Family, COVID-19, Death, Family, Father, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Holidays, Legacy of Material Things, Loss, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Sisters

Nov 21 2021

Posts

Thanksgiving: Things Change (Again, Again!)

“The only constant is change.” — Heraclitus

“Things do not change; we change.” — Henry David Thoreau

From November 25, 2020…

As I write, it’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I’ve been rereading Thanksgiving Holiday journal entries from the past 12 years, plus my Thanksgiving blog reminiscences. A theme emerged which I’ve addressed before, yet continues to weave through my life — and the lives of loved ones — things change.

I begin this reminiscence and musing about the Thanksgiving holiday with the same quotes and sentiment from a year ago when COVID-19 was surging and many families and friends had to make the difficult decision of whether or not they would celebrate in-person, and how it might be different from the traditional holidays from the past. The only change in this introduction is I’ve been rereading 13 years of journal entries, and two years of Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! Thanksgiving: Things Change essays. Continue reading →

Tagged Chosen Family, COVID-19, Death, Family, Friends, Gratitude, Holidays, Home, Loss, Love, Memoir, Mother, Movies, Racine, Relationships, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner, Things Change, Traditions

Mar 13 2021

Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: A Shot in the Arm

A Shot in the Arm: A stimulus or booster, something vitalizing or encouraging — Dictionary.com

Like many anniversaries, the date you choose to celebrate, or mark a year, depends on how you count and what date you choose. For romantic relationships, some people will choose the date they met, their first kiss, or when they made love the first time, sometimes it’s when someone declares, “I love you.”

The anniversary of the COVID-19 Pandemic is similar in that there are a number of dates to choose from, depending on what country you live in, the degree of truth or disinformation delivered by the leaders, the weight and influence given to the medical and science community, and the impact of commerce over health concerns. Continue reading →

Tagged A Shot in the Arm, Anniversaries, COVID-19, Death, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Holidays, Hope, Loss, My Pandemic Year, Pandemic, The Road Ahead, Vaccinations

Feb 14 2021

Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: Love In a Pandemic

“I am grateful to have been loved and to be loved now and to be able to love, because that liberates. Love liberates.” — Maya Angelou

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.” — Lucille Ball.

Valentine’s Day is here. As it approached, I drafted this musing about the holiday and romantic love, a look at relationships, dating, and my single status while ‘Home Alone.’ Yes, love in a pandemic. As a single person, it’s a look back at the past, skin hunger in the present, and desire for companionship in the future.

Continue reading →

Tagged Chapbooks, Companionship, Conversations with My Next Girlfriend, Crushes, Dating, Dispatch from the Hideout, Exes, Family, Friends, Holidays, LGBTQ, Love, Love Poetry, Lovers, Memories, Next Girlfriends, Pandemic, Relationships, Single, Skin Hunger, Valentine's Day

Jan 18 2021

1 Comment

Posts

Mouse Turd Cake & Other Birthday Memories

“Auntie Linda, it’s okay that you’re old. It means you’re not dead!” — Four-year-old niece, Gemma

The Backstory: When Gemma was four years old, I was bending over her car seat buckling her in, she saw my face up close, let’s be precise, the wrinkles of my face up close. In that observational, yet nonjudgmental matter-of-fact manner that children possess, she commented, “Auntie Linda, you’re old!!!” My old, wrinkled face couldn’t hide my hurt feelings. My niece Gemma loves me wholeheartedly and clearly didn’t want me to feel bad, so she replied in a cheery voice with a smile on her face, “Auntie Linda, it’s okay that you’re old, it means you’re not dead!” And you know, she’s right, I’m not dead, and I’m grateful for that. Gemma is now 16-years-old and I remain older and above ground. Continue reading →

Tagged Birthday Cakes, Birthday Parties, Birthdays, Childhood Memories, COVID-19, Death, Exes, Family, Father, Friends, Gratitude, Holidays, January, Loss, Love, Memories, Mother, Reminiscences, Sister, Stories

Dec 26 2020

Posts

Random Topics VI

Doomscrolling, Flight Diapers, & Zoom Face

Dateline – Christmas Day, 2020

As I write, I’m celebrating a ‘Home Alone’ holiday this year due to the pandemic. This morning after 6 a.m., just as I made coffee and logged onto my laptop, I turned on CNN, which is part of my routine during my safer-at-home, semi-lockdown, life.

A bomb exploded in an historic district in downtown Nashville. As the day unfolded, so did the investigation and developing story. An RV arrived overnight, parked, and in the morning, in what was described as a female voice, broadcast an announcement of an impending blast including a countdown. Earlier, witnesses heard shots being fired and called 911 which is why first responders arrived at the scene and heard the bomb warning. The area was evacuated and at 6:30 a.m., the RV exploded, injuring three people. It’s suspected the explosion was intentional, yet suspects or motive for the blast are unknown at this time. Continue reading →

Tagged 2020, Christmas 2020, COVID-19, COVID-19 Relief Bill, Doomscrolling, Flight Diapers, Holidays, Nashville Explosion, Pandemic, Random Topics, Trump, Zoom Face

Dec 12 2020

1 Comment

Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: Riding the Coronacoaster

Coronacoaster (noun): the ups and downs of a person’s mood, or life generally, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Some people experience motion sickness and avoid amusement park thrill rides. I’m one of those people. I’m also a person who has a reoccurring dream when I wrestle control of vehicles headed in a dangerous trajectory to avoid catastrophe or death. Those began as a child, when from the backseat of the car, I leaped to the front seat to grab the steering wheel from my parents. Oh, My!

Yes, I’m on the coronacoaster and I want to get off — or seize control! Continue reading →

Tagged Control, Coronacoaster, COVID-19, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Holidays, Home, New Year, Pandemic, Recovery, Reoccurring Dreams, Social Distancing, Solitude, Winter

Nov 25 2020

4 Comments

Posts

Thanksgiving: Things Change (Again!)

“The only constant is change.” — Heraclitus

“Things do not change; we change.” — Henry David Thoreau

Thanksgiving is traditionally a family holiday, whether you celebrate it with your bio or chosen family. I’ve done both. Another theme became apparent as I reread what I’ve written in the past, grief and gratitude go hand-in-hand. Continue reading →

Tagged COVID-19, Family, Father, Friends, Future, Gratitude, Grief, Holidays, Home, Memoir, Mother, Past, Pie, Present, Racine, Reminiscence, Sisters, Stories, Thanksgiving, Things Change, Turkey, Zoom

Jul 04 2020

Posts

A Solitary Life: Living Independently

“What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.” ― Gabriel García Márquez

“Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” — Oscar Wilde

Today is the 4th of July, the Independence Day Holiday. Yesterday, I began reflecting on the meaning of the day, which celebrates the independence of a nation following a revolution and the freedom of its people from an oppressive government. Of dire concern — we are living through what may be judged as another oppressive government — our own — as our elected leaders dismantle democracy and favor the corporate aristocracy and dominant white culture. We are not truly free and independent until we are all free and equal under the law. Continue reading →

Tagged AA, Blogging, Childhood Memories, COVID-19, Family, Fireworks, Fourth of July, Friends, Holidays, Home, Journals, Memoir, Memories, Parades, Racine, Recovery, Relationships, Reminiscence, Safer-at-Home, Solitary Life, The Orphan Holidays, Wisconsin

Mixed Metaphors

Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! – A place where words, this writer, and readers play together.

Tag Archives: Holidays

Dispatch from the Hideout: Omicron Edition

The Legacy of Material Things

Thanksgiving: Things Change (Again, Again!)

Dispatch from the Hideout: A Shot in the Arm

Dispatch from the Hideout: Love In a Pandemic

Mouse Turd Cake & Other Birthday Memories

Random Topics VI

Thanksgiving: Things Change (Again!)

A Solitary Life: Living Independently