Friday, Sept. 9

Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. I seemed to drag my feet getting ready this morning, so I was a little later arriving at the pool. Br-r-r, the pool was cold, so I was just as happy not to be in it as long as usual. Only about a dozen of us showed up today, so our leader started the session early.

Funny: one of the women at the pool related a story about a friend from her church. The friend's children threw a big birthday party for her. Part of the big meal was a platter of fried chicken backs.

"Why did you fry chicken backs," the woman asked.

"Because we know how much you like them. They were always the pieces you chose when we were kids."

"I chose chicken backs because that was all that was left after you kids got what you wanted. I hate chicken backs!"

Some of us moms who struggled through lean times during early motherhood can relate to that story.

Back home, Mother came over once I was ready for the day. We spent the rest of the morning planning a menu for next week, as well as planning meals for an upcoming trip. Meal planning is getting to be more and more of a chore each week.

After lunch, Hubbie and I went grocery shopping. Back home, we each engaged in our own activities...Hubbie went outdoors, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and I played on my laptop.

Later, we had omelets and biscuits for supper. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in front of TV. We watched the 1985 movie, "1918," with Matthew Broderick. The story takes place in a Texas community, during the height of World War I, and during the height of a flu pandemic that killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide. This flu was peculiar in that healthy young adults were its primary victims, unlike other flu events that generally target juveniles, elderly, and weakened patients.

The plot of this film revolves around a couple of young men...a 17-year-old young man who is anxious to enlist, and his brother-in-law, who does not want to enlist, but prefers to stay home with his wife and child. The 17-year-old keeps getting in trouble, and his father wants him to enlist. The brother-in-law manages to dodge enlistment when he gets the flu.

This drama reminds me of a stage play, with its limited sets, no background music, etc. It's a pretty good period piece, and we enjoyed it.