Time Passing Incrementally

For people who are finding this blog for the first time, I normally spend a fair amount of my time writing blogs about being a psychotherapist and my ideas about psychotherapy. For now, I'm on vacation, so the blogs have a strong non-psycotherapy tinge to them!

In the meantime, Dori got tagged by a friend, and I liked the "tag" a lot so I thought I'd copy the questions and answer them. I really love questionnaires, probably because asking questions is my stock in trade. It's fun to have the tables turned on me and be the person who gets to answer the questions for a change! The other thing that is fascinating about this list of questions is that, as a psychotherapist, I'm used to my days being parcelled out in 50 minute session chunks. To think in smaller and larger units of time is interesting, and makes me realize how compartmentalized my life is by these 50 minute units!

1. What were you doing one second ago?
My car broke down when Kathy and I were going to take it on a tour around the Berkshires the other day. Today, having called AAA to come and jump-start it, I drove the car to a Saab dealer in Pittsfield. This is a way of introducing the fact that one second ago I was talking to my "spousal unit" on the phone, who was inquiring how long it would take for Performance Automotive in Pittsfield, MA to repair my car. (My car won't be back until Thursday or Friday so no leisurely touring through the Berkshires with the convertible top down, singing loudly as we like to do!

2. What were you doing an hour ago?
One hour ago, I was sitting outside in Kathy's yard, with Ziggy and Jack playing chase in the long grass, watching Kathy's chickens peck at fruit and vegetable peelings in their covered pen. They are so fun to watch. She has several different kinds. Gigantic Delaware roosters, with white feathers on their body, black speckling on their heads, huge red coombs and wattles and a very proud bearing. She also has Bantams, little white darting things with feather trims on their legs and claws. There are also Red Sussex, a British chicken, with mottled feathers and glossy tail feathers.

3. What were you doing yesterday?
Yesterday, I was writing letters, and reading a book on Growing Local Communities. In the afternoon, I drove into Northampton, while Kathy took a nap and Dan, her husband worked in his home office. I had an amazing massage with a wonderful massage therapist, Valdene Etter. (Today I'm sore. My neck muscles were tight and knotted and she worked them into a pulp!)

4. What were you doing a month ago?
Okay, this is getting harder. How to answer this question? A month ago on this date? That would have been July 15th. This means that I was seeing clients in my office in the morning and early afternoon and evening until 8pm. In between seeing clients, I was probably having lunch at home and playing with Ziggy.

5. What were you doing 1 year ago?
One year ago on July 15th, I was probably doing the same thing as above!

6. What were you doing 5 years ago?
I was working at The Family Center, Inc. in Somerville, MA. Tuesdays were nearly always Parenting Journey days, so I would have been getting ready for an evening group, setting up the room and having a planning session with one of the other co-therapists.

7. What were you doing 10 years ago?
In 1996, I was running a lot of therapy groups, including body image groups for women. My daughter would have been 19 years old and my granddaughter was not even a twinkle in her eye. How strange to think of a time without my beloved granddaughter!