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A Woman's Journal

The Tortoise

By Maggie Turner

Thursday, March 3, 2000

The Tortoise

March is here and I am slowly fighting my way out of the haze that developed over the month of February. I began the month by organizing the files on my computer. Yesterday I registered my own domain name and rented a place to host it. It was up and running this morning so I created and uploaded a web page and setup an email address for Attila. This will not affect my journal site, which will remain at its present location. There is nothing like "rearranging the furniture" in your personal space to give you a lift.

I am celebrating the day with a cold beer. Feet up, computer on my knee I slowly sip this rare treat. When I was a little girl, I liked the taste of beer. As a young woman, it did not appeal to me at all; liqueurs were more appealing. Now an occasional beer is a pleasant distraction. Having seen the destructive side of substance abuse, I have respect for the down side of inebriation. Overindulgence is tempting but dangerous.

However, I fear I may have erred on the side of caution. An occasional beer can be very relaxing and I definitely needed to relax in my younger years. Tension was a serious problem for me, so I decided to do something about it. My solution to the tension was to make an unusual New Year's Resolution. The plan was to drink one beer a day. I failed.

I would arrive home from work to a house that seemed full to bursting with hungry children. Of course, there were only two children, but perception is everything. Things were chaotic until the children went to bed. At the end of each busy evening there would be time to relax, sit back and enjoy a beer; I slept through this part of the evening. Beer for breakfast just did not seem right. I considered beer at lunch and even experimented with this idea. Apparently beer breath is inappropriate in the workplace and excessive grinning is suspect. There just did not seem to be any time for beer.

It has taken me twenty years to get to this bottle of beer. I have been described as a patient woman.