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12/01/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

December thoughts

Welcome to month number 12. Hard to believe that this year will morph into 2026 very soon. Until then, there is the madness of the holidays to contend with, backed by the daily expectation that 47 and his administration will be desperately trying to change reality as we know it. But I will not let him get under my skin this month.

Weather-wise, it seems that we moved directly from late Summer into full blown Winter. Mollie Dog is not happy about the cold cement meeting her paws. I was pretty happy to see the snow on Saturday, just because the world gets so quiet and peaceful as the flakes fall. But a subsequent rainfall melted a lot of it and now the ice has become boss. More snow expected this afternoon. 

Today is my friend Vicki’s birthday. We have known each other since the late 80’s when we worked together at Saint Mary’s Health Center. As co-workers we labored hard to update the Psychiatric and CD services and succeeded in creating great treatment programs. Our friendship developed beyond the co-worker relationship and has lasted all these many years. We had a period of separation when I moved to Santa Fe and then Florida. I was not the best at keeping up with our friendship, for which I am sorry.

Yesterday we were in church together and had a chance to visit with each other afterwards. I enjoy just being in her presence. I watch her as she schmoozes with other congregants. It seems she never meets a stranger, and is friendly to all she encounters. She has a way of greeting people that makes them feel good. I’ve been a member of our church longer than she has, but she knows more names of people than I do! 

As we were talking, the subject moved to how we had influenced each other at work and in our personal relationship. When she started at Saint Mary’s, I watched her very efficiently bring the auxiliary therapy departments into the 21^stcentury. Her goal was to create a department with competent, positive people who would have a healing presence on our units. She took over the budgets for three departments and managed to clean them up and make them more productive. This was not an easy task, and there were managers under her who resented her every effort to bring about badly needed changes. 

Yesterday she reminded me that, in addition to our work within the hospital, we were instrumental in creating an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for the three hospitals where we worked. 

Now we are both in our 70’s, with a long history of professionalism, fun, and shenanigans between us! I am grateful that we are friends at this stage of life. There is nothing quite as lovely as having cherished people with whom we can discuss just about anything. So, Happy Birthday my dear friend!!

This was also the weekend for Cameron and Xander to meet with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Although it is hard to be so far away from them, Jackie is very good at sending pictures and reports of what’s happening now. The boys are pretty excited because their Aunt Blessing and their two cousins are coming from Nigeria to spend Christmas with them. I can imagine that the Momoh household will be filled with energy and memory-making moments.

Jackie has bought all the ingredients for Chin-chin. It is a West African/Nigerian holiday snack made of a crunchy, fried dough. Chin Chin is sweet, but not overly so, and is brought out at holidays to offer to guests. It’s like eating small morsels of crispy shortbread. Momoh made it one Christmas and I have been a fan ever since. Of course, there will be Christmas cookie baking and decorating. Their tree is already up in the living room.

Jackie sent a video of her playing the flute at a church service yesterday. Seeing her play and listening to the notes took me straight back to when she was a child learning how to handle this bit of silver mystery. She still has the knack for playing melodies, lo these many years later. Jan listened and was quite impressed. We both wish she could find an ensemble group to play with.

So December is starting out sweetly. We will put up our little artificial tree and the candles on the mantel and be quite happy with ourselves. There are Christmas concerts and the Messiah at Powell Hall to attend, and I can legally listen to carols for the next month!