2026 Life Logs, Day 95: Easter Now and Then
Date: Sunday, April 5, 2026
Weather: Overcast with Rain; High Temp 53, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

In last night’s log, I promised not to complain about the cool, damp weather, but a rainy Easter Sunday requires one more complaint. It was truly a dreary day. I have often had Heather and family over for dinner on Easter Sunday and I usually hide a few Easter goodies outside for the boys. No matter how old they get, they love an egg hunt that involves candy! Well, not today. And I wondered if it were my imagination or whether it really has not rained on Easter Sunday in in the past few years. So, I looked up each Easter Sunday for the past ten years in my logs and, indeed, it has not rained on Easter Sunday here on the Cape in the past decade. And I think that gives me the right to complain! Here’s the proof.

April 20, 2025: Sunny, Warmer; High 63
March 31, 2024: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 53
April 9, 2023: Sunny (still felt a bit chilly); High 48
April 17, 2022: Sunny & Windy in Boston, Hot in PR (Flew to PR)
April 4, 2021: Sunny, North Winds; High 54
April 12, 2020: Mostly Sunny; High 55
April 22, 2019: Overcast with a Bit of Sun Late Day; High 61
April 1, 2018: Overcast, Windy, A Little Sun Late Day; High 51
April 16, 2017: Foggy AM, Sunny PM; High 72
March 27, 2016: Partly Cloudy; High ~50

This little bit of research was also prompted by a message from Jo. She shared that this morning, while they were opening their baskets, Ziggy and Coco were reminiscing about Easter’s past. Coco asked if someone dressed as the Easter bunny one time because she remembered when she had Easter with granddad and me in 2016 while Mark and I were living temporarily in Lowell, near Boston, and she thought granddad dressed up like the Easter bunny. Justin and family had flown up from Puerto Rico to see granddad, and Ziggy said that he always thinks about that Easter because for him it was the best Easter ever. Actually, they arrived a few days after Easter, but we had the best Easter egg hunt ever as soon as we got home from the airport.

I don’t think there was an Easter bunny, but as I told Jo, we should let that memory remain in Coco’s mind. It would make Mark so happy that she thought maybe it was him. So be it.

I did have Heather, Jed, Jonah, and Ollie over for dinner tonight, but there was no Easter egg hunt in the rain. I had the Easter baskets on the dining room table this year. We had artichokes for dinner, a family favorite, and had a lovely evening together. Ollie is still not 100% yet, but he will be going to school tomorrow. Normally on Easter Sunday, I celebrate by doing a little spring garden preparation, but that didn’t happen today either. I think I’ll wait until Earth Day on the 22nd.

2026 Life Logs, Day 94: Happy Anniversary to Justin and Jo
Date: Saturday, April 4, 2026
Weather: Mix of Clouds and Sunshine, Windy; High Temp 57, Low 49 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

When the sun was shining today, it felt okay, not warm, just okay. And as the wind picked up and the sun was hidden by the clouds, I had to put my winter coat back on. Here was my weather report on this day last year: Mostly Sunny and Warm; High Temp 64, Low 42 degrees F. I want that weather! I made it through the cold winter without complaining. In fact, I really enjoyed it. But this cool, damp spring is not my favorite. However, I must stop complaining about it. There’s nothing to be done about, except to find a way to enjoy it.

I am sure Justin and Jo had a wonderfully warm day to celebrate their anniversary today in Puerto Rico. This anniversary is #19 for them. Next year will be their 20th, and the following year will be Heather and Jed’s 25th. So many years of happiness. I hope Justin and Jo took time today to celebrate what they have built together in their nineteen years. Happy Anniversary!

2026 Life Logs, Day 93: Working AM, Shopping PM, Delayed Seder Evening
Date: Friday, April 3, 2026
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Some Sprinkle; High Temp 51, Low 44 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

My morning was filled with work. I met Leslie Jonas, who will speak to our combined Newcomers/Encore program meeting on Thursday, to make sure all of the tech set up was okay. Leslie is a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and will share with us four mini documentaries that show how earth, wind, fir, and water are central to the Wampanoag culture. Leslie has spent her life helping others understand that our connection to this earth, caring for it, preserving it, is central to our very being. And I certainly don’t want technology to get in the way of her getting her message across on Thursday. So, this run through with her with the microphones and computer and project and Bluetooth connection to the church speaker system was necessary. My next stop was the library to take care of business there. Then to Staples, and, and, and. Then I decided to head north to IKEA to check out some purchases I am thinking of making for Encore for our June reception at the Museums on the Green. If we rent wine glasses, it costs about $1 for each glass. I wanted to see the only wine glass I could find online that I can buy for just a little more than $1, and that glass was at IKEA. And as long as I was there, I stopped next door at Costco, and went to the New Balance Factory Store in the same neighborhood to buy a new pair of shoes.

Then it was home and to Heather and Jed’s for our delayed Seder. Ollie was too sick on Wednesday for Seder on the first night of Passover. But today his fever was under control, and he was feeling a tad bit better, so tonight was the night. Over the course of the evening, as Heather read the Haggadah, we ate the symbolic foods that include matzah and bitter herbs and drank the required four cups of wine during the 15-step ceremonial feast. Reading the Haggadah took us through the story of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. We feasted on matzah ball soup, brisket with caramelized onions and Brussels sprouts and Jed’s enormous latke. Unfortunately for Ollie, all of this took a while and he was fading. He is better, but not quite over this bout of flu. Hopefully by Monday he will be strong enough to return to school.

2026 Life Logs, Day 92: April Showers
Date: Thursday, April 2, 2026
Weather: Overcast, Light Rain; High Temp 44, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Right now it is 38 degrees F outside, but Weather Underground tells me it feels like 30 degrees. For the past couple of weeks, every time I check, it “feels” about 8 degrees colder than the thermometer says, and I have honestly been colder inside the house than I was in the middle ofo winter. For the last few days I have been wearing a winter sweater, sometimes with long underwear, and a down vest. I know spring here on the Cape is always like this, but for me, it has definitely felt colder this spring. Soon the daffodils and forsythia should be in bloom and if the sun comes out, all of that yellow will make it feel warmer.

This was a one hat day. I worked on Indivisible planning all day. I made room reservations for our monthly meetings for the remainder of this year and spent the day working on ‘What’s Next’ after No Kings. We had a Steering Committee Zoom meeting to de-brief No Kings 3 and made plans for our follow-up community meeting. Then I hoped on the weekly Indivisible national What’s the Plan? Zoom. Basically, what comes next is an economic boycott on May Day and then the intense work of the mid-terms begins. This is always a time of intense political work, but this year, we have to plan not only to get out the vote, but to protect it against election sabotage by the powers that be. Never once in my life did I ever think I would have to work to keep an American election free and fair. I always thought that came automatically with our democratic form of government. No more.

Heather and Jed had to take Ollie to the pediatrician this morning. He has been out of school all week with a persistent 101 plus fever and cold-like symptoms. Today was day #4 with a fever, thus the trip to the doctor. The diagnosis was Flu B. When I looked that up I found it typically lasts 5-7 days and sometimes longer in children. I am hoping tomorrow, day 5, he turns the corner. So far, everyone else in the family is healthy. I sure hope we all stay that way. My sister in North Carolina has also been sick with bad cold symptoms this week and yesterday the doctor put her on an antibiotic. He thinks it is bacterial rather than a virus. I also hope I get better news from her tomorrow as well.

2026 Life Logs, Day 91: April Fool’s
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Weather: Overcast, Intermittent Light Rain; High Temp 48, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Listening to Donald Trump address the nation tonight was an appropriate celebration of April Fool’s Day. It was certainly a joke. If you thought he was going announce an end the war in Iran, he did not. If you thought you were going to learn anything new, April Fool’s. You did not. I almost got whiplash listening to him. He would say something, and my head would whip to one side as I was saying, “What did he just say?” And before I could recover from that outlandish lie, he would say something else and my head would whip in the other direction and I would ask the same question again. I really did just waste however minutes he spoke because he absolutely said nothing he has not already said over and over and over.

I got a photo via a family group text message today of my nieces and nephews all dressed up for Easter Sunday, April 14, 1963.

I was 16 years old and my nieces and nephews were all under 10 years of age. One of my nephews responded to the text pointing out that Easter 1963 was before JFK’s assassination. And that made my mind spiral back in time. That Easter Sunday in 1963 was 63 years ago. And, my oh my, how things have changed. I know things were far from perfect back then, but considering the mess we are in right now, those days look like the age of innocence. The most scandalous thing I had encountered in my life at that point in time was that when I was about 10 years old, Elvis had wiggled his hips too much. What a scandal that was! The next most scandalous thing had not even happened yet. In was another year before the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show wearing their hair too long. Camelot was in the White House and life was good. We’ll get there again, but that photo of my nieces and nephews was a stark reminder of why I work day and night to try and do my part to get this country back on track to some semblance of sanity again. Sixty-three years from now it will be 2089. What kinds of world will my grandchildren be living in then? I saw a young man carrying a sign at No Kings on Saturday that said, “There is no planet B.” Just let that sink in.

2026 Life Logs, Day 90: A Calm Last Day of March
Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Weather: Rain Early, Then Mixed Sun and Clouds; High Temp 52, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

I am not sure about the weather, but my last day of March went out like a lamb. The plan was to spend the morning doing business canvassing for the Falmouth Immigration Rights Coalition. I had hoped it would just take an hour or so. It actually took two and a half hours out in the field plus some preparation time, but I was canvassing with a friend and we took it slow and easy and enjoyed the time. My late afternoon and evening were supposed to be spent with Ollie, as Heather and Jed both had other commitments and Ollie had his saxophone lesson, soccer practice, and a Scout merit badge class. But early this morning Heather sent a text saying Ollie had a fever and would not be doing any of those things, and that I should probably not plan on coming over and exposing myself to whatever he has. So, I had the whole evening to focus on Indivisible planning without being in super pressured by time. Then I attended a No Kings What’s Next? Zoom call. It certainly was a much calmer day than yesterday! I wore only two hats today.

2026 Life Logs, Day 89: Hats
Date: Monday, March 30, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Windy, Warmer; High Temp 50, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

If I literally wore a hat for every different project I work on in a day, I would have changed hats four times today, and not just once, but two, three, four times. I started out working on preparing for business canvassing for the Falmouth Immigrants Rights Coalition (FIRC) first thing. Then I got an email about the What’s Next after No King’s project for Indivisible, so I changed hats. Next it was my Middle Ground hat that I donned. This is a newly formed group trying to find ways to “better understand differing political perspectives while building skills for listening, sharing viewpoints, and finding common ground.” I offered to work with the public library to see if they would sponsor the trainings for this group. I did that last week, and today I was working with the librarian who is developing the flyer for the first training. I put that hat on and took it off about 4 times during the afternoon. Then I had to prepare for a meeting with the director of the Museums on the Green planning an end of the year reception there for Encore. Encore hat on and off to the Museums on the Green for the meeting.

By mid-afternoon, I was home from that meeting and kept working on all four projects at once—FIRC, Indivisible Falmouth, Middle Ground Falmouth, Encore. But honestly, in ‘real’ life, I hate wearing hats. Jane and Bruce Woodin are back from a few wonderful weeks in Mexico and Jane stopped by this afternoon and suggested we go for a walk. That provided just the right break at the right time. And I was so happy that today it was warm enough to go outside without a hat on!

2026 Life Logs, Day 88: Free and Easy Sunday
Date: Sunday, March 29, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Windy; High Temp 43, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

After days of frenzied activity, today was a free and easy Sunday. I caught up on some email communications and got two tasks done that have been sitting patiently on my desk for two weeks. Then tonight I watched a couple of Masterpiece Theatre episodes. It was a much needed slow moving Sunday.

2026 Life Logs, Day 87: No Kings 3, Soccer Game, and Ollie’s Birthday Party
Date: Saturday, March 28, 2026
Weather: Partly Sunny and COLD; High Temp 38, Low 28 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

No Kings 3 was today and I hope you attended a protest somewhere if at all possible. There were 3,200 registered protests today. There was even one at McMurdo Station in Antarctica putting No Kings on all 7 continents. Justin sent photos and a video of No Kings in Rincon, Puerto Rico. No Kings is no longer just a day of protest; it is a movement. Nationwide, we increased from 7 million people in October to 8 million today. That’s progress. It just doesn’t get us to the 3.5% of the population we need. We will keep trying.

No Kings 3 on the Falmouth Green was great, but it was cold. The temp hovered at 35 degrees F and with 12-15 mph winds, it felt like 30. Yep, that’s freezing. But at least the sun was shining. I wore a sweater I have never worn other than in January and February, plus long underwear. I was fine as long as I didn’t take my gloves off to take photos. Still, when I walked to get my car after being on the Green more than 3 hours, my feet were basically numb.

We had about 650 fewer people than in October, so about 1,750 in total, maybe because of the cold. I was a bit disappointed, but that did not dampen anyone’s spirit, including my own. You could literally feel the sense of community building. A friend shared photos with me taken from his drone. Now we can see that there is space to grow our numbers and still fit on the Green. It is hard to tell that from ground level. My goal is to have so many people that the Freen is bursting at her seams when the drone photo is taken. That will be a problem logistically, but what a wonderful problem to have.

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After leaving the protest, I drove home to let Shadow out, and then headed directly to a soccer game. Ollie’s team was playing. He still cannot play, only practice, but in two weeks he will be on the field again. When I got home from that, I realized just how cold I was. Now I had been outside, standing up for five and a half hours. It took me until 6:00 this evening to get up the nerve to take Shadow out to play ball. I had finally thawed but I only stayed out with him for 15 minutes.

Heather, Jed, and Ollie came to No Kings, then went to the soccer game, and right now at 11 pm, they are still up near Gillette Stadium at Supercharged Entertainment with 6 boys for Ollie’s birthday party with friends. There was no way to make reservations for the go-karting, so they had one time on the track around 8 pm and are just now getting the other. They have played laser tag and arcade games while waiting, but Heather says the boys are running out of steam. They will probably sleep all the way home, and then wake up and be ‘supercharged’ all night. All nighters are fun when you are 14. I just hope Heather and Jed survive!

2026 Life Logs, Day 86: Anticipation
Date: Friday, March 27, 2026
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 48, Low 29 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Tomorrow is NO KINGS 3 and here in Falmouth the temperature is forecast to be much cooler than today with a high of 36 degrees F. There is no way to know how the cold will affect the turn out in Falmouth, but we know that nationwide there are more than 3,000 scheduled protests all around the country and some around the world and millions are expected to participate. The anticipation level is high.

I spent my morning making arrangements for tomorrow and my afternoon hosting a gathering of the safety team for tomorrow. My friend Karen Baranowski solicited three other nurses to join us tomorrow as medical marshals. And Jim Newman solicited two doctors. And we had a one-hour training session in my living this afternoon. The experience of those volunteering is impressive, and I think we are ready to go.

I got myself invited to the Baranowski’s for a lobster roll dinner and time with friends tonight. I haven’t had a lot of friend time recently, so that was great. Now to bed and on to tomorrow.