RECORD STORE TALES #1064: Losing California (and Hair)

2023 has been a very hard year.  It was a brutal winter, as I’ve said many times, like a broken record.  It has been a year of loss, and it’s not even half over yet.

What have I lost so far?

In January, I said goodbye to one of my oldest friends.  It was my choice to say goodbye, and I have no one else to lay responsibility on.  The relationship had changed and suffered some serious fractures over the previous year.  I felt that it was best to say goodbye before it got even worse for me.  I still feel that was the right decision, though I regret how it ultimately went down.   In May, I took a break from one of my newest friends, in the hope that time can heal deep wounds on both sides.  I feel a huge loss.  I will have to spend some time writing and reflecting on this loss down the road.

I’ve even lost my hair.  Last year it didn’t look like this.  That’s how hard 2023 has been.  I have really aged in the last few months.  I look 10 years older than I am.

I have a grandma who has lost her ability to live at home.  She’s now lost her home of over 50 years, and is adjusting to a new life.   Her first new home found her with a roommate that made her cry.  Who makes a 98 year old woman cry?  My heart was broken that day.  She is in a better home now, though further away.

I have an uncle who is no longer taking care of himself and can’t remember yesterday thanks to Alzheimer’s.  Talk about loss.  Unfathomable loss.

But we keep on keeping on.

I’m drinking less soda.

I’m walking every day.

I’m losing weight, which is one loss that I don’t mind.

One thing I would like to lose in my life:  lies – both to, and from me.

The summer will continue, and nothing will stand in my way.  I will absorb these losses and move on.  As I always have.

LOSING CALIFORNIA