“Well, look at you!” A voice from the past interrupted my thoughts. “Blonde now, huh? Couldn’t face the gray?” I smiled and put a name to the vaguely familiar voice and face. “Debbie! (name changed to protect the villain) How nice to see you.” I unconsciously brought a hand to my hair. “Yes, easier to chase away the gray,” ” I laughed, “than when I was brunette.” “I can’t believe you still bother,” she held her gray head proudly over me and looked down as much as possible. She’s a good four inches taller than I am, so it was a successful put-you-in-your-place moment for her. “You know you’re just allowing society to keep you in bondage,” she said quietly and leaned close conspiratorially. Bondage? What the heck was she talking about? Apparently, as she went on to explain, women my age (63) should be happy to settle on whatever “naturally” happens to women my age. Society has us in bondage, she explained, an we need to set ourselves free. It was hard to keep my mouth shut as she pointed all this out with her manicured nails. Not feeling she was worth the effort of a confrontation, I allowed…
Category: Randomness
Old Dogs
I’ve never gone long in this life without a dog. I’m one of those people. I love snuggling up on the couch with a big ol fur ball, walking for miles with someone who is wiling to keep going for as long as I like, and being loved unconditionally. The perks to dog ownership are innumerable. Yet, losing one is a heartbreak parallel to losing any other family member. Okay, maybe not quite that bad. But close! Our family dogs have died of various causes – weird health ailments, one got hit by a car, all of them sudden deaths between eight and ten years of age. It was always my goal to keep them alive past the ten year mark, yet they all said a crushing farewell just shy of it. Until now that it. After years of purebred big dogs, (two labs and a golden retriever,) we took the advise of our vet and adopted two small mutts from a rescue organization in Yakima. That was fifteen years ago. Maggie and Rita have been our constant companions and dear friends for all these years. The combination of small dog and mixed breed allow for a long life with…
Soldier On!
My goodness! Is it my imagination,or is our country filling up with a bunch of old people? Everywhere I look, there are people over sixty with that goofy look in their eyes that says “I may be sixty three but my mind is still thirty four, my thoughts are twenty six, and my behavior is eighteen. Defiance. We are an ageing country hell bent on defiance. And I’m the queen of the show. Lord knows I’ll never admit to my aches and pains, to the times I’ve gotten in the car and not remembered where I’m going, to showing up at the dentist on the wrong day, to taking a jog only to be unable to climb stairs for a week. Only God knows how long I stare in the mirror and wonder who is that old bat and what is she doing in my reflection. I’m still a mere forty years old. Right? Why can’t the universe and mother nature just acknowledge it? Forty is the new sixty three! Don’t they know? Soldier on my fellow defiant friends. Keep that diet going, ramp up the exercise program, and refuse to accept the truth. It will not, in this case,…
Easing Into It
So, that season is upon us. The one people eagerly look forward to – or not. The season that demands we pay attention to household decor, inside and out, and do it with a flourish. The season that insists we willingly and cheerfully spend lots of money. The season of ho! ho! ho! and bah humbug all in the same breath. What a mess! This year, I skipped the whole Halloween thing. Not that I didn’t want to celebrate a little chocolate fest with the grandkids; it’s just that I was getting through that awful cold and flu going around. I’ve managed to wiggle my way out of doing Thanksgiving by pawning it off on my daughter and son-in-law. So that leaves me with Christmas. Christmas; the biggest mess of the year. Lights, Christmas houses, wreaths, candles, fake snow, nativity scene, stockings hung by the chimney with care, cookies, pies, candy canes, tree, etc. The list goes on and on. All my life I’ve started the whole Christmas process about two or three weeks before the actual holiday. In a manic rush to have everything just so, I blasted through, not enjoying it at all. Consequently, this year, I decided…
Night Life
I woke in the middle of the night, sometime around three a.m., and heard it. The waves softly lapped the shore, a gentle synergy between the moon and the earths gravity. I could almost feel my body in like motion. We are, after all, sixty percent water. That moon. It was shining in my eyes. An enormous orb of light. I’m am grateful we have no need for curtains at our house. I’d hate to block it out. Wind chimes played an uncertain tune, a breeze moved through the trees, leaves tinkled together, a bird called. What bird is out in the middle of the night? I wondered. I only think of owls, but this was certainly not an owl. My eyes closed and sleep began to reclaim me – but that’s when I heard it. That deep swooshing sound like water gushing up from the bottom of a barrel. Would I be able to see it? Would anyone else? I forced myself out of my cozy cocoon an stepped outside. Listen and watch. There! In the moon light – the lumbering beast rose gracefully above the surface of Port Susan and spewed a mighty spray of water high into…
I’ve Been Bewitched!
My grand-kids have cast a spell over me. They walk into any room, anywhere, any time, and I’m completely mesmerized. I am held captive by these mystical magical extremely short people. Their spirits, their smiles, their eyes, the way they smell. I can’t hug them tight enough or take my eyes off their angelic faces. It’s embarrassing. I lose focus on all else around me. My vision narrows and all I see is them. They lock a vice grip on my heart and tighten it till I feel Ill explode, and all else, within a million miles, disappears. Their adorable, lovable, intoxicating little selves are all I have eyes for. What is this strange thing that happens to me? They render me stupid. Yet, it’s a phenomenon that is apparently unexplainable. No one else gets it either.These offspring of our children can have food all over their faces and snot running out their noses and poop in their pants, but as grandparents, we see nothing outside of the miracle they are. It’s downright discombobulating! How did this happen to us? I suspect the paralyzing spell they hold over me will fade as the years go by- as they become middle-school aged and…
Sigh
My lower back is aching, can’t even bend down to pet the dogs. My mind takes an additional cup of coffee to wake up. Focus. Focus. There’s so much to do. Prioritize. I suppose that’s the key. Making a list and checking it twice. Oh, no! The holiday season is upon us. Have I given any thought to what to get, what to do, what to have? Sigh. Just start with a dog walk. Stretch and move on from there. In a bit. Just after this coffee. Then make the list. It’s raining and I don’t want to go out. Walk, pick up, get wet, then dry off all those paws and soggy furry coats. Head downstairs with that laundry. Return all those calls and emails and texts. It’s dreary. It’s cold. Need to find my slippers. The ones from Alaska. Furry and warm like the dogs. I could go back to sleep. Curl up and pretend it’s the middle of the night. Pull the comforter up under my chin and fluff up the pillows. Good old guilt propels me forward.I don’t know what I’d do if it weren’t for being raised Catholic. I was hurrying into Safeway yesterday, in…
Confusion
It’s kind of hard to know where to begin! There is a downright plethora of issues a blogger could run with today. I mean, turn on the news for five or six minutes and there you go! All kinds of issues to disect and attack from every imaginable angle. So, Iv’e decided to take on the whole lot. That’s right. I’ll begin with our ever evolving health insurance coverage. Or lack of coverage. Do you think banning guns in America is a solid answer to sky rocketing medical costs? And if so, do you think the issues in Iran can be related to the cost of housing in Seattle? I personally believe my religious freedoms are the cause of the aging of America. We had to call the police the other day because of an incident out of our control, and the city sent animal control. The animal control person had a taser. We hid our dogs and the bad guy got away. It was a miscommunication, apparently. Someone got their wires crossed. Happens all the time. Not sure what to make of this, but ever since then my dog quit barking.Now she meows. I was confused. I thought the…
Who Are We?
We are a people of free will. We own it. There is an evident problem in our world today in that free will has wandered down the low road. How it ever became unattractive to follow the high road, I will never know. Yet, increasingly, the dark side of human nature is being revealed in all it’s ugliness. We are all responsible for this happening. Not everything is Okay, contrary to popular belief. Not everything is acceptable. Not everything should be tolerated. We have forgotten how to tell the truth, how to love and forgive and cherish. It breaks my heart that Las Vegas had to happen as yet another wake up call. Put down the cell phone, turn off the TV, go outside and take a deep breath. As see. See those around us that are hurting, that need a friend, need someone to talk to and to care about them. If we extend ourselves even a bit outside the comfort zone, we can turn the tide. But it will take all of us and a lot of time. Let’s put that free will to good use.
“You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind”
There is an Irish saying that goes like this; “You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” This is a truism. An absolute. I’ve done so many incredible things in my mind! If only… I am making a list, prioritizing. It’s about purging the clutter, things that no longer get used, items in triplicate taking up space. Like spring cleaning in fall. It could be that the season of outdoors every minute of every day is over. Now that I am in my house I’m noticing what a bunch of unnecessary stuff there is. My office is a disaster! It’s no wonder I’m not getting my writing done. Clutter clutters my mind. And then there’s the closets, particularly the front closet. What is that baby stroller doing in there? Why are his golf clubs crowding the coats? Who’s shoes are those? Who’s coats are those! And so it goes. I won’t even get started on the cupboard under the kitchen sink. I’m scared to go there. But I’m going to because it’s number two on the list, right after the front closet. Send good vibes my way. I’m going to need them!