Monthly Archives: August 2020

Day 2790: Time

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Ann Koplow

Yesterday, many people in one of my Coping and Healing groups spent time talking about time.

Do I have time today to tell you more about that discussion of time and/or to list all the times I’ve used the word “time” in previous blog post titles?

Maybe I have time for one of those, before it’s time to start my last work day before my timely vacation time.

Day 82: The Equal Time Rule

Day 179: Wasting Time

Day 224: Reasons why I shouldn’t spend too much time in our hotel room blogging this morning

Day 433: Changes in time

Day 459: Time and Space

Day 460: Time and space continued

Day 552: It’s time to relax

Day 556: Magic Time

Day 576: No Absolute Time

Day 601: Out of time

Day 673: Let’s Move/Time of the Season

Day 684: Down time

Day 712: TIME

Day 863: I haven’t got time for …

Day 939: Time Machines

Day 964: Who has the time?

Day 983: What I Haven’t Got Time For

Day 993: Equal Time

Day 998: Last Time

Day 1048: Time Stops

Day 1130: Time

Day 1326: Perfection is a matter of time

Day 1343: Face Time

Day 1434: Face Time

Day 1526: A Window in Time

Day 1587: All kinds of time

Day 1685: Together again for the first time

Day 1718: Spend time with people you love

Day 1916: Time Matzahs On

Day 2188: I’m very aware of the passage of time

Day 2240: Take time to reflect

Day 2328: Where would you go in a time machine?

Day 2421: Together again for the first time

Day 2456: Time’s a-wastin’

Day 2496: It’s that time of the year

Day 2500: It’s My Least Favorite Time of the Year

Day 2534: What time is it?

Day 2662: One Day at a Time

Day 2663: One Moment at a Time

Day 2772: The same time

Wow! I have spent a lot of time blogging about time, B.C. (Before Covid) and D.C. (During Covid).

If you have time to read only one of those blog posts with “time” in the title, which one would you choose and why? I hope you have time to read and to reply.

Do you see time in the images I’ve captured in recent times?

It’s time to celebrate my husband Michael’s birthday and to reprise Jean-Luc Ponty‘s “No Absolute Time.”

The first time I heard Jean Luc Ponty was in the 1970’s, which was a loooooong time ago.

No matter how much time I have, there is always time for gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these posts every time, including YOU.

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "No Absolute Time", August 21 2020, Coping & Healing groups, Dali mask, Democratic National Convention, Harley is spending time with all of us on the couch!, Jean-Luc Ponty, Mexican lasagna, Michael's birthday, the South Shore of Boston | 22 Comments

Day 2789: Blind spots

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Ann Koplow

A Merriam-Webster definition of “blind spot” would hit the spot:

BLIND SPOT
1a: the small circular area at the back of the retina where the optic nerve enters the eyeball and which is devoid of rods and cones and is not sensitive to light
— called also optic disk

— see EYE ILLUSTRATION
b: a portion of a field that cannot be seen or inspected with available equipment

2: an area in which one fails to exercise judgment or discrimination

Examples of blind spot in a Sentence
When driving on the highway, you need to make sure no one is in your blind spot before changing lanes.
She has a blind spot concerning her son’s behavior.

Do you see any blind spots in that definition or in my images from yesterday?
.

Have you noticed that millions of people in the United States have huge blind spots?

Sometimes I wonder if the format for these blog posts creates blind spots and whether people miss some of the words I put in spots. I try to keep wonder from turning into worry, because worry creates blind spots for me.

Let’s see if there are any blind spots on YouTube.

Blind spots don’t get in the way of my finding gratitude, wherever I look.

Categories: definition, life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "Blind Spots", boat names, gratitude, Marina Bay, Merriam-Webster, Minecraft music, Scream mask, the South Shore of Boston, the United States Presidential election | 30 Comments

Day 2788: Approaching

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Ann Koplow

Here’s what is approaching, for me:

The beginning of my two-week staycation.
My husband Michael’s birthday.
An EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy session to deal with some lingering traumas.
A ZOOM training session to help with my upcoming 50th High School Reunion.
My 50th High School Reunion.
Th U.S. Presidential Election.
Magnificence.

The rest of my recent photos:

Harley hasn’t been as skittish, lately, when I’ve been approaching.

What’s been approaching, for you?

Every day, I encourage myself and others to be approaching what feels left unsaid, so we can be approaching a good enough sense of closure. Why? Because we never know when our last day is approaching.

Today’s music selection — “Something Left Unsaid” by the late, great Lyle Mays — is approaching.

I look forward to any and all comments that might be approaching.

Can you guess what’s approaching, here and now?

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "Something Left Unsaid", 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Blue Q socks, bluefish dish, closure, EMDR, high school reunions, Lyle Mays, Population Connection, The Daily Bitch Calendar | 19 Comments

Day 2787: Wherever it is that we are

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Ann Koplow

Wherever it is that you are, welcome to “Wherever it is that we are.”

Wherever it is that I am, I am wondering what my next blog post is going to be. Initially, I was planning on calling this post “I’m not here” because of this …

… contrasting that with my blog post of almost exactly a year ago “I’m here.”

But apparently that was neither here nor there, because then I found today’s title in this captured image from The New York Times online:

Wherever it is that we are, as expressed during the first night of the U.S. Democratic National Convention, is a place that is

desperate,
hopeful,
united,
determined,
grieving, and
laser focused on November 3, 2020.

Wherever it is that I am, I know that election day in the United States is November 3, 2020.

Wherever it is that I am, I am taking photos for this blog.

Wherever it is that I am, I see astonishing things, like somebody seeming to walk on water, people celebrating important events like graduations, family members cooking with love, somebody exercising their right to vote (in an early local election), and creatures being wherever it is that they are.

To quote Michelle Obama quoting Donald Trump, it is what it is.

This is what I was listening to wherever it was that I was yesterday:

Wherever it is that you are, please consider leaving a comment about that.

Wherever it is that we are, I am always grateful to be here with YOU.

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "Lovely Day", coping and healing groups, Donald Trump, Michelle Obama, salmon with cous cous and brussels sprouts, South Shore of Boston, Take 6, The Daily Bitch Calendar, The Democratic National Convention, voting by mail | 18 Comments

Day 2786: Passive Aggressive

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Ann Koplow

I hope this doesn’t sound passive aggressive, but passive aggressive people drive me nuts. If you don’t know what passive aggressive means, why don’t you say so?

pas·sive-ag·gres·sive
adjective
of or denoting a type of behavior or personality characterized by indirect resistance to the demands of others and an avoidance of direct confrontation, as in procrastinating, pouting, or misplacing important materials.

Hmmmm. According to that passive aggressive definition, perhaps I am passive aggressive, since I’ve been known to

indirectly resist the demands of others,
avoid direct confrontation (especially with passive aggressive people),
procrastinate,
pout,
and misplace important materials to the extent that I spend much of time looking for them, while pouting. For example, this weekend I misplaced my laptop, my phone, my water bottle, my pen, my purse, my mug, a mask, and a letter I had resisted mailing for days.

Well, if I am passive aggressive, at least I know I’m not alone, as you can tell from these passive aggressive images which I found at this passive aggressive website.

That passive aggressive goodbye cake reminds me that this Friday is my husband Michael’s birthday and I need to find an ice cream cake for him. This is the first time my son Aaron and I will be around to celebrate that with him since every other year we’ve passive aggressively left him to aggressively and passively enjoy the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which passive aggressively is not taking place this year because of the aggressive coronavirus, which the United States President has been aggressively passive about.

Is it passive aggressive for me to share these photos I took yesterday, especially if I resist telling you to look for passive aggressiveness in them?

Some of those photos were taken at our local CVS pharmacy, which I sometimes passively aggressively call the “Coronavirus Store.” Also, for the first time ever, Harley made the passive or aggressive or passive aggressive move yesterday of quietly infiltrating our late cat Oscar’s territory.

If you don’t notice how much time and effort I am already putting into creating this “Passive Aggressive” post, I just might sulk, but who would care about that?

Here‘s a song about a passive aggressive person, which I heard when I was taking my passive aggressive walk yesterday.

Here‘s a live version of “No One Knows My Plan” by They Might be Giants:

Before I end this post, I’m going to check out the usually passively aggressive Daily Bitch Calendar and see what today’s Daily Bitch is.

I might argue with that Daily Bitch, but I don’t like confrontation.

At this point, I’m just going to mention that if you don’t comment, I hope you realize that might be construed by some people (whom I won’t name) as being sort of passive aggressive.

Is it possible to be passively aggressively grateful for everybody who helps me create these daily posts, including YOU?

Categories: definition, life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "No One Knows My Plan", August 21 2020, cat behaviors, CVS, myhealthgazette.com, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, The U.S. President, They Might Be Giants | 28 Comments

Day 2785: Alone

Posted on August 16, 2020 by Ann Koplow

For years, my excuse for not writing more was that I did not like doing things alone. Writing, I was not alone in realizing, is what most people do alone, and I thought I would only enjoy writing if I collaborated with other people.

However, for seven-and-a-half years (which I, alone, am counting), I have been writing this daily blog alone. Actually the lone exception to that is when my then-boyfriend, now-husband Michael wrote two blog posts alone when I was having open heart surgery four years ago (here and here). In the past, when I had heart-related surgery I felt very alone, but that time I did not feel alone at all.

Which leads me to why writing this blog alone comes easily to me: it’s because I don’t feel alone while writing these daily posts. How could I feel alone when I know that all of you are out there?

If you see the theme of alone in these images from yesterday, you are not alone.

That’s my only son, Aaron, waving hello yesterday to my beloved friend Marcia in California who, like the rest of us, sometimes feels alone. That photo reminds me of the one I alone took exactly two years ago when I got off the plane in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Aaron alone knows how much I dislike having my name misspelled and I loved how he and his friend Camilla greeted me there. I hope I am not alone in appreciating Aaron’s sense of humor.

By the way, I am worried about the U.S. Presidential election in November amidst the pandemic and troubling developments with the U.S. Postal Service, and I know I am not alone in that.

Here is “We Are All Alone” by the late Lyle Mays, which I was listening to yesterday as I was taking my walk alone.

If you leave a comment below, I doubt you will be alone.

I alone know how grateful I am to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU.

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "We Are All Alone", Amelia Earhart books, Doctor suicides, fish cake sandwich, Lyle Mays, open heart surgery, The November 2020 U.S. Presidential election, the South Shore of Boston, U.S. Postal Service, Whole Foods Market | 17 Comments

Day 2784: Antidepressants

Posted on August 15, 2020 by Ann Koplow

As a clinical social worker, I cannot prescribe antidepressants, so I talk to people about other types of antidepressants, which I like to call “personal medicine.”

Do you see any antidepressants here?

For me, all those images are antidepressants, including that homemade, well-worn window sign that says “THANK YOU HEALTH CARE WORKERS.”

What are your antidepressants, these days?

Music is an antidepressant for many. Here are Blood, Sweat & Tears performing “Manic Depression” in 1980:

Comments are also antidepressants for me, so I look forward to taking that personal medicine later today.

As always, gratitude is an antidepressant, so thanks to all (including YOU) who help me combat depression with this daily blog!

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "Manic Depression", antidepressants, Black Lives Matter, Blood Sweat & Tears, fish cakes, Kamala Harris, Magnum ice cream, New Yorker cartoon, personal medicine, the South Shore of Boston | 21 Comments

Day 2783: Details

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Ann Koplow

When you’ve written as many blog posts as I have about so many different types of details, it’s inevitable that some details repeat.

In case you want details about why details are appearing again in The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally, check out the details in this photo:

Here are more details from my walk last night:

The details look different at night, don’t they? Here are some details from earlier in the day:

Here’s a detail I should have included in yesterday’s post, More Smiles:

Here’s “Details” by Maisie Peters, with lyric details.

This song by Maisie Peters belonged in yesterday’s post, too:

I look forward to the details in your comments, below.

No matter what the details, I’m grateful for another day with you!

I published this post forgetting to share the details of today’s Daily Bitch Calendar:

Details, details.

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "Smile", Baked Ziti on Steel Plate, details, gratitude, Maisie Peters, Police Detail, The Daily Bitch Calendar, The First Church of Squantum (Congregational), the South Shore of Boston, Yogi Tea | 20 Comments

Day 2782: More smiles

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Ann Koplow

I’m writing yet another blog post about smiles because of this description of Kamala Harris from today’s news …

Gliding past President Donald Trump’s sexist depictions of her as “mean” and “nasty,” the senator from California shredded Trump’s White House record with the agility that comes from her years as a courtroom prosecutor. Yet she delivered those critiques with bright notes of hope and optimism — accentuated by the smiles that are expected from female politicians.

… and because of this mask:

I’m also thinking of the smiles (and other facial expressions) I’ve been having about “We Have Her Back” , a memo sent by a coalition of powerful women to the news media calling for anti-sexist and anti-racist reporting, which includes this:

“Women have been subject to stereotypes and tropes about qualifications, leadership, looks, relationships and experience. Those stereotypes are often amplified and weaponized for Black and Brown women.”

I smile thinking how often the current President of my group therapy organization and I tell each other that we’ve got each others backs. I also smile thinking about this bag I gave her last year:

Now, my smiles are related to all the pre-pandemic photos I went through in order to find that one.

Can we find more smiles in these recent photos?

Which photos made more smiles for you?

Here‘s “More Smiles” by The Jump Ups:

There are more smiles in this video of these twin brothers hearing Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” for the first time:

And more smiles as I watch the twins listen for the first time to Whitney Houston, singing another Dolly Parton-written song:

I’m looking forward to more smiles when I read the comments on this “More Smiles” post.

More smiles and thanks for all who help me smile as I create this daily blog, including YOU.

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "I Got Your Back" bag, "More Smiles" by The Jump Ups, "We Have Her Back", anti-sexist and anti-racist reporting, Dolly Parton, Kamala Harris, Mona Lisa mask, NSGP, TwinsthenewTrend, Whitney Houston | 23 Comments

Day 2781: It’s going to be a really ____ day

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Ann Koplow

Hello, my really wonderful readers!

On this really ____ day, how would you fill in the blank in today’s title?

Yesterday, I woke up thinking it was going to be a really difficult, depressing, demoralizing, down, distressing, disheartening, discouraging, and dismal day (and those were just the d-words I had in my mind). After I wrote yesterday’s blog post, I felt better, but I still thought it was going to be a really difficult, etc. day. And my day became less disheartening but still difficult as I worked with people in individual and group therapy.

Then, when it was announced that Joe Biden‘s running mate would be Kamala Harris, the whole day really changed for me and I really believed this mug I’d been using during that previously really down day:

For me, trust turns a really bad day into a really good one. What about you?

It’s going to be a really ____ day, according to my other photos:

It’s going to be a really distant day when I go to a mall again.

It’s going to be a really weird day when I forget to share music with you. Here‘s “Good Day” written by Nik Day, sung by Liahona Olayan, and featured in the 2020 Youth Music Festival …