Still Polly

“Quick! Mute it! Mute it now!” Bob and I both scrambled for the remote, and he managed to hit the mute button just before my seething rant could start up again. “I can’t stand that commercial,” I said for the bo-billionth time. And he agrees with me. There are no good TV commercials anymore. One could argue that there never were any good TV commercials. But I think we can all agree that there was a time when television commercials were effective—sometimes even funny—and possibly even worth the money the brand spent on their creation and placement. Not anymore. David Ogilvy, where are you when we need you?

 Some days it is like Jesus is taking a nap on a cushion in the back of my boat while it is filling up with water and I’m sinking fast. Or it’s just the laundry room floor filling up with water and my hopes are sinking fast. Which happens like clockwork every winter for the last eight years. A frozen drain pipe. Sometimes frozen water pipes. But either way, it ends the same. I’m in tears, knee-deep in wet clothes, and trying to figure out when I will be able to make it to the laundromat. Over the years we developed a strategy for coping with the annual drain pipe freeze. If the weather predicts anything below 20 degrees for more than a day, we shift into Emergency Laundry Mode. That means I do as much laundry as possible in as little time as possible. A completely empty hamper is the goal. If I can get the clothes off our backs into the machine before the cold hits, I do that. When it’s all clean, dry, folded, and put away. I high-five myself. That is until one article of clothing ...

By a show of hands, how many times have you used these phrases, in conversation, on social media, in email communications, or in chocolate syrup on a pancake? Don’t Judge Right? You Need To Friends, my hand is way up there. Don’t judge me for pointing this out. These are common phrases, and we’ve all used them, right? You need to read on to see why these words have become a problem. Now that I have gotten that out of my system, let me say that I am working hard to eliminate all these very common and seemingly well-meaning words and phrases from my vocabulary. I’m not usually one to wave the banner and try and get people to join me, but this time I think I am. Lately, it feels like we have become very lazy in how we express ourselves. It’s like the shortcut version of actual communication. Verbal texting. But, there is more about these five phrases that has been sticking in my craw. I’ve been binge-watching movie adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. His words demand attention—every l...

Most Januarys I spend a little time thinking about how I do things, what products I use, and what I might want to change. It’s not exactly about making “resolutions” because I know some of these changes will stick and some won’t—and that’s okay. I think it’s more a matter of long, cold, dark winter days giving my mind too much time to wander. In the grayest corners of my brain, ideas come and go, and I start experimenting with little things that catch my interest. Most of these experiments are so mundane I don’t even mention them to Bob anymore. I’ve seen that glazed-over look enough to know better. But once in a while, I think maybe some of these things are worth sharing—or at least good for a laugh. So here’s a non-recurring, possibly non-useful list of things I’m trying this year. Mood and Energy Tracker I’ve been thinking about health and wellness lately—hardly surprising in January with all the “New Year New You” messaging out there. It’s like annual mind control. This year I dec...

 “Want to hook up the Wii and bowl?” I texted Bob. “Or snowboard?” The response: crickets. I can only assume that the answer was “no” but that didn’t stop me from starting to round up all the components of the Wii. I was excited to set it up again—it had been years, but I used to love it. I played a lot of the fitness games, and even had my own little workout routine all set up. This was going to be fun. I gathered everything together, cleaned it all off, and replaced batteries. I had my two favorite games standing ready and I could not wait to get going. So there I was, standing in front of the TV, ready to watch a setup video and dive into my Wii revival when it hit me: I’m missing the console. I still searched every nook of the house, but I already knew the sad truth: my Wii empire had fallen—its heart, the console, was lost in the Great Decluttering of 2024. Yep. I death-cleaned the Wii right out the door. A box of gaming consoles, cables, and controllers went to Goodwill. At t...

On any given morning, it is my habit to go for about a 10-minute pre-dawn walk outside, starting my day in prayer or at least in gratitude for having woken up. It is usually “rain or dark,” but there are times, like yesterday morning, when it’s coming down in sheets, and I just don’t do it. But since I think it helps me physically and spiritually to move my body and pray before I really start my day, I have an alternate routine that involves my rosary and a mini-trampoline. So that was my choice on December 31, the last day of 2024. When I got to the intentions of my rosary, I mentally went through the list of things I’ve been praying for off and on for a few months now, but stopped short and thought, since this is the last day of 2024, maybe I should consider something new for 2025. And what came to me was to pray for an increase in the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. I have asked God to help me increase in these virtues off and on in ‘24, and it was fruitful (rimshot). But life happens an...