A Tale Of Two Holidays And A Tulip

In between New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day of this almost-post-pandemic year of 2023, I went vegan and eliminated wine from my diet at the same time. No one ever warned me that mixing veganism while quitting wine can cause a kind of Tourrette’s syndrome where women are suddenly emboldened to blurt out words like “patriarchy” and “feminism” during a mixed-gender Sunday brunch. I’ve named this condition “Tourreganoholic Syndrome” and added it to my list of other syndromes. So be warned…this rambling story, which does indeed include the words “patriarchy” and “feminism,” may expose you to disclosures about my past and outspoken opinions that some may find disturbing. I’m sure that on my end, I’ll regret sharing them within 30 seconds of hitting “send.” Anyhoo, I never liked New Year’s Day with its pointless resolutions because all it meant to me was no cupcakes or wine for two weeks. With each year’s resolution, those essential life pleasures were replaced with Costco-sized bags of kal