just another Monday

Today is the 2nd day of the 34th week, the 18th day of the 8th month, the  230th day of 2025 [63% of the year is now behind us as only 135 days remain], and:

• Birth Control Pills Day AKA World Contraception Day
• Cupcake Day [Australia]
• Helium Discovery Day
• International Delivery Rider Appreciation Day
• Mail Order Catalog Day
• National Bad Poetry Day
• National Badge Ribbon Day 
• National Fajita Day
• National Ice Cream Pie Day
• Never Give Up Day
• Pinot Noir Day
• Serendipity Day
• Stay Home with Your Kids Day
• the moon is at waning crescent, 25% of full
• and Voyager 1 is ~23h 14m 11s of light travel time from Earth, or 25,078,000,000 km / 15,583,000,000 mi / 167.636 AU

Quote of the day:
"The crime of loving is forgetting."
~ Maurice Chevalier -  French singer, actor, and entertainer 

The Bing wallpaper picture of the day is of the Matterhorn reflected in Stellisee, Switzerland.  

This isn't the highest mountain in the world, nor the most difficult climb, but it wasn't scaled until July 1865 and all of the four faces not climbed until 1962.  It is estimated that over 500 alpinists have died attempting to do so.

How well l remember catalog shopping!  Long before QVC  was on cable, or so many stores had pages on the internet, those magazines were a window into getting products you just couldn't find in local stores - for example, before ALTOIDS were common, I used to have to get them from The Vermont Country Store.   Browsing through them was fun, and I used to get so many in the mail that the Post Office told me I had to get a larger PO Box.  The Wards', Sears', and JCPenny's catalogs were huge books and I used to do a lot of Christmas shopping for the kids from them.  I would order gifts from Santa, my grandmothers,  and my father, get them sent to the store and pick them up there.  Each store had a catalog department with its own entrance to make such pickups easy, and you had to time when you were going to go because the lines were sometimes very long.  

For the family, life goes on, as we struggle with the weight of everything.  I wasn't able to actually help my son and I am not able to help my daughter, but can only stand by and offer support when I can.

For Bryan and Chris, dealing with that empty room is proving very difficult indeed, as we all feared it would.  For all of us, a chance word that invokes a poignant memory, a stray thought, a piece of mail, all still provide a jolt of sorrow.   I've been taking the Wellbutrin [or rather the generic version of it] now for a week.  Is it doing any good?  I don't know - how would I be feeling without it?  I have noticed that I am talking more, but I still tend to retreat into myself unless spoken to.  

In my darkest moments, as I review my life, I sometimes wonder what terrible thing[s] I have done that my children needs must suffer so.  I'm sure if I asked either of my ex's, they would be happy to enlighten me, but I'm not quite that far gone as to give them the opportunity...

This too shall pass.  

Hereabouts the days are becoming noticeably shorter.  It is now once again dark when my alarm goes off, and as always, I grumble about getting up before the sun.  Today the sunset will be at 8 PM - the last time we will see that until Spring.  

Schools are getting ready to start next week - I really don't like that they start before Labor Day!  And Labor Day is as early as it could possibly be as it is September 1st this year.  

One day at a time....