Monday musings on a cold winter day

Hi there, Constant Reader. It’s 4:21 p.m. on a chilly Monday afternoon in the Sunshine State. As I write this, it’s 66 degrees Fahrenheit under partly sunny skies. Though it’s not as cold as it was earlier today, the temperature is low enough for it to be a hot-chocolate-with-warm donuts day, at least for me! I’ve lived in (or visited) several cities (Bogota, New York City, and Seville) where it gets awfully cold, and chilly weather tends to make me want to bundle up in bed with a good book.

I was going to write a movie review earlier today, but my eyeglasses broke; I’m nearsighted, and although I can see most of what’s on the big television screen, my eyes get awfully tired without my glasses. Worse, if I want to read the “news ticker” at the bottom of the screen when perusing CNN or the local news channels, I have to mosey up close to the TV to see the lettering. My spectacles are irreparably damaged and I need new ones, so my mission of the day has been to try and call Visionworks to set up an appointment with an optometrist.

Well, I was able to talk to someone on the we’ll-sell-you-the-glasses side of Visionworks, but the optometrists’ office that is listed in the make-an-appointment-for-an-eye-exam department doesn’t pick up the phone. Very frustrating! And it’s not like I called during their lunch hour. I’ve tried to get a hold of the optometrist three times, and…no one picks up the phone!  

 In the meantime, I’ve decided to not spend too much time thinking about my half-sister. I have made my peace with the notion that there’s no way to repair the relationship. She is a narcissist, always has been and always will be. She’s never going to admit she has any mental health issues, much less seek help. Like many narcissists, she’ll continue to play the role of being a “good person” while backstabbing those that she professes to love.

Now, for the record, I tried what I call “peaceful coexistence” with her while Mom was alive, and I even hoped she’d mellow out as she grew older. After Mom died in 2015, though, I realized that reconciling with a capricious and vindictive person is a fool’s errand, so I have broken off all relations with her.

After all, if she’s never going to change, then it’s better to part ways and move on without her. I need peace of mind – and I think I’ve earned it.