“We deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame and without compromise.” — Elliot Page
Love is one of the most fundamental human experiences, yet for too long, LGBTQ+ individuals have been told that their love is something to be hidden, altered, or diminished. Elliot Page’s words remind us that love should be free from fear and compromise. No one should have to justify their identity or fight for the right to love openly and authentically.
This quote speaks to the importance of equality—not just in legal rights, but in the way love is valued and respected in society. It’s a call to reject shame and embrace pride, to push back against narratives that suggest LGBTQ+ love is anything less than beautiful and valid. Whether in relationships, friendships, or self-love, everyone deserves to experience love without barriers. Today, let this quote serve as a reminder to support, uplift, and celebrate each other in our journeys toward full acceptance and joy.
Since it’s Thursday, here’s your Isabella Pic of the Week:
This is about as close as I get to her cuddling. She’s not a cuddly cat, and she also seems to not like her picture being taken.
If I didn’t have a class today, I think I’d call in sick, not really because I am sick, though I probably do need a mental health day, but because I just want to crawl back into bed. Isabella started early this morning trying to wake me. I swear this cat knows when it’s a salmon day. I rotate through salmon, tuna, and chicken. Chicken is her least favorite and some days she turns her nose up at it, but salmon is by far her favorite. She’ll occasionally refuse to eat what I give her, but only once in all these years has she ever refused to eat salmon. It always seems like she’s most persistent to wake me in salmon days. Anyway, whatever the reason for her continued persistence this morning was, I’m awake now and will soon have to start getting ready for work. Thank goodness tomorrow is a work from home day.
Here’s your Isabella pic of the week (sorry that I forgot to post one last week). This picture clearly says, “Why? Why did you wake me? Why are you taking my picture? I’m going back to sleep!” If only she’d let me go back so sleep some mornings.
Today is going to be an ugly weather day. It started out at midnight last night at -4 degrees. The temperature has risen to 2 degrees and temps will climb throughout the day ending at 32 degrees by midnight.When the temperature rises like this, it usually means a nasty weather front is coming in. It’s dry outside right now, but around mid-morning snow and mixed precipitation should begin. According to our local meteorologist, the snow has a chance to turn to freezing rain on my commute home. I hate freezing rain. I can handle snow, sleet, and rain, but not freezing rain. If you’re not familiar with freezing rain, it comes down as supercooled rain that freezes when it contacts any surface, which means it leaves a glaze of ice everywhere. Ugh! I hate freezing snow.
Anyway, I wish I could just stay home and snuggle up with Isabella. She seems to always find a warm place to nap. The other day, she finally discovered a place that I’ve wanted her to try out for years. Several years ago, I bought her a little cat house, which she has always ignored. The most she has ever done is stick her head in and turn around and walk away.I also bought her a nice cozy looking, fluffy cat bed, which she has never even contemplated using. She prefers a fuzzy blanket. The other day, I looked up, and she was in the little house I’d gotten her. With her eyes closed, you could barely notice her, so I made a noise to get her to open her eyes. I took the opportunity to take the picture below. It apparently pissed her off that I saw her in there, and she crawled out and stomped off never to return again. Such a stubborn little girl!
I wish I could go back to bed and just sleep through today. I’m just tired today, but thankfully, tomorrow will be a working from home Friday, and I can sleep late if I want. However, today, I have work that needs to be done, and there’s no rest for the weary. I wish I could be a cat and just sleep the day away like Isabella does. In this Isabella pic of the week, I’m getting the side eye from Isabella for disturbing her even though all I did was take a picture.
I wish I could stay home this morning, but I have a few things I need to be at the museum to do. If I had my work computer here, I’d call in sick. I left at lunch yesterday because I had a migraine. This morning, it’s not much better, in fact it’s not better at all. I may only go in for a partial day. I need my work computer to do much of what I need to do today. I have a school group coming today, but my boss could handle that. However, I need my computer for the rest of what’s on my agenda. I have some emails to answer; I need to prepare for my classes next week; and I need my computer to be able to work from home tomorrow. I could do all that at home on my personal laptop, but it only has Microsoft Word, not the rest of the Office Suite. I could access it through the online Microsoft 365, but I hate using Office through my browser. It always feels clumsy to me. Anyway, I’ll go in today for whatever length I need to, then, I’ll work from home tomorrow.
Here’s your Isabella pic of the week:
I’d rather be doing this today: laying on my couch with Isabella on my hip. I wish she’d lay in my lap or down my chest and stomach, which she’ll do on rare occasions, but her preference is my hip with me laying on my side. Sometimes, this is how I fall asleep at night, with her on my hip.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
—Mark Twain
The above quote by Mark Twain emphasizes the transformative power of travel in broadening one’s perspective and combating ignorance, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness. Travel exposes people to different cultures, customs, and ways of thinking, which challenges preconceived notions, stereotypes, and biases. It fosters empathy and understanding by showing the diversity and complexity of human experiences.
Twain acknowledges that many individuals remain confined to their limited worldviews because they have not had the opportunity—or the inclination—to step outside their familiar surroundings. He suggests that travel could help these individuals overcome their prejudices. By encountering different perspectives and lifestyles, travelers develop a more inclusive, kind, and generous attitude toward others. This openness leads to a deeper appreciation of humanity’s shared values and differences.
Remaining in a single place or within a single worldview limits personal growth and understanding. Twain suggests that staying in a “bubble” leads to stagnation, whereas exploration brings enlightenment and growth. In essence, Twain is advocating for travel as a means to expand one’s mind, challenge ignorance, and promote a more compassionate and inclusive outlook on life.
I have not had much of a chance to travel recently because I am not counting going back to Alabama for the holidays or traveling to conferences for work. I would love to get away and spend a few days in Montreal or go on another gay retreat like the one I went to a few years ago at Easton Mountain. When the weather gets warmer, I would love to visit Ogunquit, Maine, or Provincetown, Massachusetts, both towns known for LGBTQ+ tourists, with numerous LGBTQ+-owned and -operated hotels, restaurants, and bars. I haven’t taken a gay themed vacation in a while and would love for the chance to do so. Of course, I wish I could take a trip to Europe, but I definitely can’t afford to cross the Atlantic, but a boy can dream.
I have not posted an Isabella picture of the week in a couple of weeks, so here you go:
Thank goodness, I am working from home today. We got more snow last night, and I really don’t want to get out in it. Plus, I went to bed early last night because of a bad migraine. I was actually on the couch watching Jeopardy, and I fell asleep before seeing Final Jeopardy. I love watching Jeopardy, so for me to fall asleep during it, it should be a sign that I was really feeling awful. I still have the same migraine this morning.
I have a few work things I need to do today, but it’s mainly to answer some emails. However, I also need to complete some final preparations for my class that starts next week. I am both excited and anxious about my class. I have taught World History, American History, and Art History, but I have never taught a college class that I have designed myself, and especially one without a textbook. No textbook exists for what I am teaching. I have created classes from scratch for high school classes but not for college and especially not for a mix of undergraduate and graduate students. It’s a subject I know a lot about, and probably one of the few experts today on this particular subject, but it’s all rests on me. It’s a new experience and while I know my subject, I think most of us can agree that a fair amount of anxiety goes with all new experiences.
One last thing, my visit with my doctor went well yesterday. There were several things I wanted to discuss with him, and it all went well. There was a new medicine I was hoping to talk to him about for my sleep apnea, and he actually brought it up first. I have trouble with waking up with a headache due to my CPAP, so I would love to be able to sleep without it. Also, I have had shoulder pain for several months. He told me it was a rotator cuff injury, but not a tear, so it won’t need surgery (this was my biggest fear), just physical therapy and a possible injection if PT is not enough. We also discussed my mother’s dementia. He understood what I was going through because he is going through a similar situation with his own mother. All in all, it was a good visit. My A1C, heart, and lungs are all good. I did not have a comprehensive metabolic panel done, but that will be done at my next visit in four months.
I forgot to add this to yesterday’s post, but here’s your Isabella pic of the week:
We were expecting 3-5” of snow last night, but it seemed to have been more of a rain event. It was raining when I went to bed last night and when I woke up this morning, we had less than an inch of snow. I’m hoping that the small amount of snow we’ve received is not hiding a layer of ice. I hate when there is a layer of ice below because it makes it deceptively slippery when walking to my car, and it will make it much more difficult to clean the snow off my car so I can actually drive to work.
I’m only working half a day today. I have an audiology appointment this afternoon. Tomorrow, I will be working from home, so this morning is the last time I have to go to the museum until we return from the holiday break on January 2. I need a break from the museum, but I am not sure that next week, which I will be spending in Alabama, will provide the necessary rest (mentally and physically) that I need right now.
Putting all that aside, I owe y’all some Isabella pics. Yes, I said pics, as in more than one, because here are a few Isabella Christmas pictures. The first two pictures are from her first Christmas, which she spent with a coworker while I was in Alabama. The other two are from a few years ago.
George Eliot is quoted as saying, “It is never too late to be what you might have been,” and I feel like that describes my life in a way. All through high school and most of college, I aspired to be a lawyer; however, after working for a lawyer for a couple of years, I realized that I did not really want to go into law. I eventually decided that I’d rather be a teacher. I had always thought that maybe I could teach adjunct or teach in some way if I became a lawyer, but I finally came to the decision that I’d be happier as a teacher. That decision led me to go to graduate school because I wanted to teach history in college, and while I did teach college classes, that never became a full-time reality. I ended up teaching high school for five years, five stressful and painful years. When I left my job as a teacher, I realized that I wanted to work in museums. I was in my late thirties and decided to make another career change. My job search led me to finding a job in Vermont, somewhere I had never considered living. However, I have found that I love my job, and I love Vermont. I not only get to teach and work in a museum, but I also became a professor, which I never thought would be possible when I abandoned my PhD. I especially never thought I would ever get the chance to teach about my research, but I will be doing just that next semester.
We have the possibility of personal growth and transformation at any stage on our life. We just have to seize the opportunity when it presents itself. The sentiment encourages people to recognize that their past choices or circumstances do not have to define their future. It conveys a message of hope and empowerment, suggesting that individuals always have the opportunity to change, pursue their passions, or fulfill untapped potential. The above quote form George Eliot challenges the idea that there’s a fixed timeline for achieving one’s goals or becoming the person one aspires to be. They imply that the capacity for reinvention and progress is boundless, provided one has the will and determination to take action. This perspective aligns with her broader literary themes of human resilience, moral growth, and the importance of striving for a meaningful life despite difficulties or setbacks.
Alexander Graham Bell is often given credit for the quote, “When one door closes, fortune will usually open another.” The quote actually comes from Fernando de Rojas (c. 1465–1541), a Spanish author best known for writing La Celestina, one of the most significant works of Spanish literature and a precursor to the Spanish Golden Age. It doesn’t really matter who said it first, since it has been said many times, but it’s true. When I had to leave my PhD program because I could not longer afford to continue, I was devastated and thought I’d never be the professor I had aspired to be. When I lost my job teaching high school (I was replaced by a coach), I was devastated and thought my teaching career was over. When I found out my original position at my museum was ending, I didn’t know what I was going to do. However, it eventually led to my current position and my appointment as a professor at my university.
We never know where our lives will lead us or what path our lives will take. Sometimes, it is a bumpy, uneven path, sometimes we may veer off the path and get lost in the woods, but if we allow ourselves to get back on the path, we will eventually reach our destination. When you are feeling lost, know that the path is still there, you just have to find it again.
Since it is Thursday, here is your Isabella pic of the week:
The Closet Professor 