Diary Day
February 13, 2024
This was a busy day, as most days are. I got up at 7:30, got ready for the day and was in the car by 8:30. I drove to Frankton, a town west of Muncie, for my writing group meeting. We meet twice a month in the library and encourage each other to write. Our topics range from daily events to specific poetry formats. We may or may not follow the prompt for the session. The group members include a frazzled nurse, a retired English teacher who takes care of her 90+ mother, a bi-polar veteran with PTSD who surely has had brushes with the law, and me. I’ve often thought one of the most interesting things to write about would be to write about writing group! It’s a very diverse group but we’ve all bonded and, on some level, really like each other. After we shared our recent writings, and the session ended, I drove back to the east side of Muncie for a Valentines Day meeting of my college sorority at the Delaware Country Club. This was quite a juxtaposition from my previous meeting! My alumni group meets four times a year. There are only about 8-12 of us left in the group. We do not attract new members which seems to be a problem for several groups I am in. People do not tend to want to affiliate with groups, so groups do not grow. The groups suffer because fewer people are available to take responsibility and assume leadership positions. Those of us who have held leadership positions, have done so for many years and are ready to pass the baton. I am currently the secretary for three organizations.
While driving to the country club, my “Maintenance Due” light came on in my car. When I arrived at the luncheon, I called the service center for my car and asked if I could bring it in around 2:00pm. I told them I was planning a trip the next day and I would like to have this examined before I left for Detroit. They said I could do this so after the luncheon, I drove to the dealership and had the car serviced. As these things go, they suggested several things be looked at, so my car underwent some standard (expensive) servicing. However, I was glad to get the car in good condition prior to the trip and I was very happy the light didn’t go on while I was on the trip.
Once I got home, I realized it would be nice to get some flowers for my husband for Valentine’s Day. I drove over to Walmart, which is located across from the service area I just left. I bought the flowers and returned home. By this time, I was tired and ready to relax, but it was not to be for long. I had some last-minute packing to do and I loaded things in the car for my trip.
When my husband returned from some errands he was doing, we exchanged Valentine cards because tomorrow I plan to drive to Detroit to visit my daughter and her family. We don’t buy large presents, but I gave him candy and flowers and he gave me a card and candy.
In the evening, we attended a play at Ball State in the University Theater. It was Agatha Christies’ The Uninvited Guest. We were impressed with how much dialog the actors had to learn. It was a well-done production.
When we got home, we let the cat outdoors for a few minutes and a neighborhood cat was visiting him on the patio. This little one is not to be considered “the uninvited guest!” The cats have a relationship we humans enjoy watching. The cats don’t hiss or get upset with one another, but they don’t interact with each other either. Our cat seems to want to go outside so he can ignore the visitor. Maybe they will be friends one day, or maybe we don’t understand cat friendship.
At any rate, I was glad to close out the day and get some rest. It was a full day and included many positive experiences.