Odds & ends

• I am hopelessly behind on my blog reading. :p But I haven't given up!! ; )
• Saturday was my birthday -- #52. For some reason, the phrase "52 pickup" keeps going through my head. So far as I can tell, though, I am still playing with a full deck. ; ) (For now, anyway...!)
• I had a great birthday weekend -- a LONG weekend. (Yes, I did just get back from vacation too, lol.)  I took Friday off work and (what else?) headed to the spa for some pampering -- dh gave me a gift certificate for Christmas and I decided to use it sooner rather than later. : )  I am glad I did.
• Feb. 1, the countdown begins to Freedom 55. ; ) It's the first day that I'm officially eligible for early retirement. (Edited to add: Feb. 1, 2016, that is... three years to go!! Hence, the countdown...) Whether I actually get to retire then remains to be seen... but it's something to aim for and look forward to!
• I saw this article in yesterday's New York Times, about the parents of the children murdered at Sandy Hook school in Connecticut last month, speaking out and joining forces for change. I was struck in particular by this quote from David Wheeler, whose son, Benjamin, 6, was killed, explaining why he and his wife, Francine, joined the campaign. “What I have recently come to realize is that I am not done being the best parent I can be for Ben. Not by a very long measure," Wheeler said. It says so much about the lifelong relationship bereaved parents continue to have with their children, long after the funeral is over and everyone goes home and assumes you are "moving on" with your life. They will always be your children. You will always be their parents.
• Jody Day at Gateway Women was interviewed last fall for an hour-long podcast called Dream Corner, which profiles inspiring women. Listen in here -- Jody makes some excellent points on behalf of those of us who are living childless/free, for whatever reason. The interviewer admits to being childfree by choice, but I think even she learned a few things from Jody -- demonstrating why it's so important for us to keep speaking and writing about our lives, even to people who are sympathetic to our position.   
• The Globe and Mail has started a weeklong series about the growing numbers of people who are living alone (read the first installment from Saturday, here).  While it's not strictly about childlessness per se, and (obviously) focuses on singles vs couples, life without children is part of the overall picture. There is a lot of food for thought here re: societal assumptions and how and why some of us choose to live outside the established norm.