January 8, 2022 LET THE MUSIC PLAY

 

I finally gave in. I had NO choice. You see--my second generation NANO finally died. It had a good run--at least 15 years. I'm one of those people--I NEED music--especially if I'm racing. It really MATTERS. Otherwise I'm a self proclaimed LOLLYGAGGER. SO--I finally bit the bullet. Got an Apple Watch. I've never run with a watch before--I've never kept track of my mileage--splits--and all that JAZZ--until now.  I really like the watch  BUT at the same time it's causing me anxiety. It's a little like BIG BROTHER. It sends me notifications EVERY HOUR telling me to BREATHE--MEDITATE--STAND. It's also got this activity button that I refer to as the--RING OF TERROR. If the rings DON'T close by the end of the day then I haven't EXERCISED--MOVED--STOOD-- ENOUGH. I'm telling you--this is A LOT OF PRESSURE. See--I never wanted a gizmo that told me how many steps I took each day because then I would feel obligated to TAKE THE STEPS. NOW THAT I KNOW--it isn't pretty. Last night I was running up and down the steps at midnight to meet my goal of 10,000 steps and flights climbed.  This kind of thing can make a person like me KOOKY.  Pretty sure I was happier when I was IN THE DARK about the numbers. Yet another reason I have to escape into the world of books. I recently finished a wonderful novel by one of my favorite writers--This Must Be The Place by Maggie O'Farrell. First off, O'Farrell is an exquisite writer who has the ability to render characters flawlessly--Characters I miss long after finishing her novels. As this story unfolds, Daniel Sullivan, recently divorced father of two, is in Ireland collecting his grandfather's ashes. While there, he meets Claudette and her son Ari. After learning that Daniel is a linguist, Claudette convinces him to stick around and help her son who has a crippling stutter. Although the story is centered around the marriage of Daniel and Claudette that is just a microcosm of the story which then flashes back and forth between 1944-2016 where multiple narrators--from different time periods and places--help the reader understand why Claudette is a recluse, why Daniel hasn't seen his kids in 10 years and why guilt is crippling his life.  Again, this book is a treasure--and it was on my best books of 2021 list. It's about 400 pages or a 6 mile commitment worth every step.