Mother is eighty-three now. She has spent the past thirteen years in a wheelchair, unable to read a book or speak her mind. Unable to be the girl she used to be. Jackie was a trouper when us kids were growing up. The mother of seven, a wife forever, an old fashioned homemaker. She loved to play a little golf and walk a few miles every day. She read every novel she could get her hands on and then passed her favorites on to us. As we got older and she had a little more time, she became a wonderful quilter. She made a quilt for each of us, even the grand-kids, until the stroke happened, that is. Her quilts are full of beauty and love, a valuable reminder that she hasn’t always been like this. There was a young girl quality about Mom, as if the child within refused to be discouraged by the body aging. I claimed “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” by Cindi Loper, as her theme song, years ago. She was a good time waiting to happen. Jackie was thin and petite, still is, which allowed her the luxury of wearing just about anything she wanted.…
Category: Randomness
Scouting For Buttercups
There seems to be a promise of spring in the air lately. Cherry trees are blooming, tulips are popping up, and temperatures are mild. Yet, I hold out for Buttercups. Nothing says spring like those brightly painted, happy little wild flowers, picked by the fist-fulls as kids. They are the official stamp of spring in my book. I’ve been keeping an eye out for them, maybe I’ll spot an early bloomer here or there. But so far, I haven’t seen any. Buttercups prefer warmer weather and sunshine, kind of like I do. The longer the days are, the more likely we’ll start hearing reports of Buttercup sightings. They are almost as important as whale sightings this time of year. When the whales come through, we know summer is just around the corner. When the Buttercups bloom, it’s even closer. I think they’re under-appreciated. Have you ever seen a happier flower? Do you know of any other color that smiles the way Buttercup yellow does? And Buttercups demand nothing of us. Everything they need is provided by Mother Nature. No soil preparation or fertilizer required. No weeding or hoeing. They get to be wild and free, the way we’d all like…
Quiet, Please…
There is a lot of talk about cleansing these days. It’s supposed to help prevent cancer and all kinds of medical issues. But cleansing is just as important for the mind as it is for the body, most specifically, noise cleansing. There was a time when the sounds of the city were woven into the fabric of my life. It didn’t matter what time it was or weather it was night or day, the background sounds were always there, filling every possible nook and cranny of my brain. Constant traffic noise, the activities of neighbors, voices, lawn mowers, a drill, a saw, music blasting, door bell ringing, dogs barking, airplanes overhead, even the static of electricity charging through the electrical lines hanging above our house. There was a time when I was so accustomed to an abundance of sound, that most days it went unnoticed. Anyone been there? An astonishing amount of noise passes through us on a daily basis, yet I find it most noticeable when I am removed from it. The noise seems to stand out in total silence as if it takes time for all the sounds to fade away. When it finally does, we are left…
Supplement This!
As I nestle into the 50’s, I’ve noticed some rather disturbing likenesses between my parents and myself. Now, they are in their 80’s and are therefore expected to have less than reliable memories and knees and hips requiring repairs. It’s also normal to see them throw ten or twenty pills down in a twenty four hour span. I’ve spent many years shaking my head and vowing to be as different from them as night and day. I will not be a slave to prescription drugs nor will I take a suppliment for every little thing that comes along. Right? I was doing quite well on my no pill diet until my cholestrol showed up in digits high enough to stop an elephants heart mid beat. That was the beginning. A little Lipitor for that along with something herbal. Well, two or three herbal things, actually. Need to get that under control. Then came the “change”! Oh, yes, I am in the midst of the ever so dreaded change. Go crazy or break down and take some flax, nighttime rose hips, femal, soy, etc. There now. That’s not so bad. Just a few suppliments here and there. I’m no spring chicken after all. Oh, the…
Be Mine, Valentine!
There was a time when Valentine’s Day meant slipping coyly between the sheets wearing skimpy bits of satan and lace after a glass or two of champagne and a heart shaped box of Sees’ Chocolates. Those were the days, weren’t they? Remember how it was before babies? When we were young and firm and everything was right where it was supposed to be? Me neither. Yet, I suppose I could try it again. Just for laughs–for old times sake. Dig out one of those teddies and try to stuff myself into it. Then put on some stilletoes and prance around the house. The problem is, I’ll fall and break my neck in those stupid shoes and the teddies are long gone along with the fit little body they adorned. I always remind myself that the girl I used to be is still here, somewhere. She’s just tucked away under a nice layer of life. Youth is over-rated anyway. It doesn’t come with experience, knowledge, patience and tolerance. Those are character traits we earn through years and years of groveling our way through the traumas and terrors and pitt falls of reality. You know–raising kids, living from pay check to pay check, loving the relatives, wondering where all the friends went and…
Men-O-Pause
Interesting word, isn’t it? Menopause. Men-o-pause. Who ever came up with that word was trying to relay a very important message. I’m sure of it. I have hot flashes. When they happen, I need to separate myself from anything that produces heat, like my husband. I take a pause from my man. Hummmm. Sometimes, my hot flashes make me cranky. Just sometimes. When that happens, I separate myself from anyone around me, usually my husband, so I don’t do anything I’ll regret, like rip his face off. And then there are those special times when menopause causes my body to crave dark rich chocolates in enormous quantities which are never enough. When that happens I need to separate myself from anyone who looks at me while shaking their head and says, “just remember this when you get on the scale in the morning.” That would be my husband. Every once in a while, I have the menopausal bloats. When that happens, I ask my husband, “Do these jeans make me look fat?” If he is suddenly frozen in place, like an ice statue with a slight tremble, I separate myself from him so I don’t force a lie out of the…
Home Sweet Home
When we were first married, my husband and I would occasionally take a drive through the worst neighborhoods in town. You know, the kind that encourage windows to be rolled up and doors to be locked. The kind that had us scrunching down in the seat wishing the car windows were tinted much darker. I was often appalled to discover homes occupied that should have been condemned and yards full of trash and abandoned cars instead of swing sets and nice new minivans. The point was to remind us both of how lucky we were to live in our humble little house in a safe and friendly neighborhood where it was still OK to take the dog for an evening walk and for kids to ride their bikes in the street. Every now and then it’s good for all of us to look beyond the safety net we’ve never lived without. Last evening, we entered the house after vacationing in Mexico for a week and were totally struck at how lucky we are. Looking beyond the beautiful condo we stayed in on the pristine sandy beach with fabulous restaurants only a short walk away, is always an eye opener. Little…
Hasta Luego!
Tomorrow morning I’ll board the plane taking me to paradise. I’m sorry to say, I only lost 8 of the 12 pounds I intended to lose. So, the 12 pounds in 28 days didn’t go as well as planned, but that’s OK. I gave it a good shot and I’m happy with myself. It was a pretty aggressive goal anyway. A friend told me that she subscribes to the theory that muscle weighs more than fat so if it werent’ for all the muscle I’ve gained I would surely have lost the entire 12 pounds. Thank you, Ann! I’ll go with that! Until next week, Mary Ann
So I Thought I Was Done!
I’ve had my hands full lately, helping out friends and family in different ways. It got me thinking about the old saying that a mothers job is never done and how true it is. I’ve spent a lot of time wanting to be done over the years yet there never seams to be an end to it. Looking back, I realize just about the time I thought I’d get some sleep, the baby’s cry would cancel that! Just about the time I’d gotten kids down for the night, one of them would need a glass of water, have a nightmare, throw up, wet the bed, or cough all night. Just about the time I thought I was done, I found myself waiting up until curfew, doing the mom breathalyzer test, checking the mileage on the car and worrying to death that they might make the wrong choices. Just about the time I thought I was done, I became a wedding planner for the most important day of their lives, responsible for the memory they would carry with them forever. Just about the time I thought I was done, I found myself wanting every holiday to be the best one yet,…
Counting Down in a Whisper
Mexico is seven days away. I’ve been avoiding the subject because in the big count down, I pledged to lose 12 pounds in 28 days. Well, it just seamed like a piece of cake when I started out, but something has happened. The first 6 pounds flew off like dust in a hurricane. I was thrilled and confident. Surely the next 6 would be just as easy. Wouldn’t you think I’d know by now? If it were so easy, I’d be light as a feather all the time. So, I’m fessing up here. I still have 6 pounds to go in one tiny short week. I’m working hard at it especially in light of the rule I made. Remember I said I wouldn’t board the plane unless I met my goal? I’ll tell you right now, I totally plan to break that rule. I will, though, be honest about it. I’ll exercise like a crazy person and eat like a humming bird. Who knows? Anything is possible. So, I’m cheering on anyone doing this with me. We have seven day to reach our goal. I say, let’s get on the floor and start crunching! P.S. I hate this! Later, Mary…