There's Simply Not Enough Time

I'm very happy to say I've been too busy this week. That's really a change for me but you can bet it beats not having enough "what to do," as Grandma Sarah used to say.

I spent a lot of time reading pages on Ronni Bennett's Time Goes By Elderblog list: http://ronnibennett.typepad.com/weblog/ ) What a bunch of characters we all are! But as my grandchildren say, "It's all good." Ronni reminded me that these blogs are, in the words of NYU's Jay Rosen, "little first amendment machines." I like that. (Even if I've never been good with machinery myself.)

I wrote my first editorial comment today on TGB. Not sure I expressed myself very well but it felt great to do it. I can't imagine why I've never done it before other than it never occurred to me I could---or that folks would want to read anything I'd written. Now, thanks to a lot of encouragement I'm very hopeful that more elderbloggers will join the community.

Anyway, I want to thank Ronni, Millie, Steve, Maria, Momma, Mrs. DOF and all of you who made me believe I could do something so wonderful, so unexpected, so life-enriching (perhaps even sustaining) as blogging. There's a dance or two in the old dame yet!

Gift of Love for an Old Dog

VDay yesterday was wonderful. I can't believe how much love I feel for and from my friends and family. But it wasn't always like that.

I don't remember my parents expressing love for me in any way, at any time. In addition I didn't love myself. I was fat. Really fat. Needless to say I didn't feel terribly attractive. Then before I graduated I dropped out of school to go to work---somebody in the family had to. What a loser. I was pitifully lonely; I couldn't even stand my own company.

I married foolishly, to get out of the house. As Millie pointed out yesterday in her blog at http://mymomsblog.blogspot.com, decent girls lived at home (no matter how loathsome) until they got married. So I did. It was still lonely but that was familiar. However during the 20 years of that marriage I gave birth to a wonderful son and worked in and loved a job that changed my life. I wouldn't give that up for a second.

After retirement I bought a lovely condo in a vibrant FL retirement community. I volunteered almost daily at the Jupiter Medical Center, served on community and civic boards, shopped, ate out and enjoyed a very active social life. Twice a year I spent a few very long days with my son and his family. I dutifully sent generous and appropriate gifts and felt lucky to have a "nice" family---even if we hardly knew one another. That all changed when I fell.

My children started calling, begging me to move to CO. "We're the only family you have!" they said. "You're losing all your condo friends!" they said. (That was true. My friends were dropping like flies.) Finally, after losing my very special someone I moved to CO---quite certain I was making the biggest mistake of what remained of my life!

Thankfully I was wrong. I'm happier than I've ever been before. I feel real because I'm recognized and loved for who I am. I was reminded of that fact when I wandered into the kitchen Valentine's Day morning and opened a card addressed to: "Mom: The heart of our family." The last 4 years have been scary, tough and wonderful. But I guess the old saying isn't true: you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Pick Up the Phone!

I'm a poor sleeper but a good laugher. I've lost some teeth but kept my hair. My car is 15 years old but it still runs---and I can still drive. I guess life really is a balance of joy and sorrow. Lord knows that's the way it was around our house yesterday!

My daughter-in-law Carole and I spend at least one day a week running errands hanging out at the library (my second home), doing lunch and cruising WalMart. As usual we had a good time and as usual Carole (who is all of 59) needed to lie down and take a rest when we got home. I put away the groceries and tried not to make her feel guilty.

Later, Carole and Jack (my son, her husband) went out to dinner. Alone. By themselves. Fine by me---but when I called Carole's cell phone she didn't answer. This annoyed me as I paid good money for that phone so I could keep in touch with her. Let's just say I called more than once. This annoyed Carole. Now we were both annoyed---but I was pretty sure it was actually my turn to be that way.

She hung up on me. I hung up on her. I called my Jack. She called her Jack. Jack didn't answer the phone but who can blame him? He knows who he's dealing with. We all went to bed mad but somehow got over it by morning.
So now we're back to having fun. At least until the next time Carole won't answer her cell phone.

Here Comes Lucy!

Hi!
Golden Lucy here, coming to you from beautiful Colorado. Just how, why and when I got here is another story...but more on that later.

People call me 83 years young---and thankfully I feel like that most of the time.
My son, Jack, my computer guru, has been after me to write a blog. I think he's just sick and tired of listening to my stories and watching me schlep around my old spiral notebooks. However, since I have no intention of giving up my stories, I decided to look into this senior blogger business---if he promised to hang in there with me while I learned.

OK. Finding any really senior (over 70) bloggers was tough. My daughter-in-law and I surfed the net for what we began to call senior-seniors. We were impressed and inspired by Mille at http://mymomsblog.blogspot.com, Maria at http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/ and Ronni at http://ronnibennett.typepad.com/weblog/. I decided an energetic and opinionated senior like myself could give blogging a whirl. What really, did I have to lose?

I dragged out my notebooks, chose a journal entry and with the help of my son and http://www.blogger.com and the on-line tutorial from http://.Lynda.com I actually published something! Now I'm hooked. There's just so much to learn---and GD only knows how much time I have to learn it! More to come soon.

Four-Legged Friends

I've never been fond of four (or three) legged creatures. I never owned a pet. As a Depression Kid I didn't understand about spending money and food on anything but human beings. As a child my son Jack had only one pet---And that's a sad story.

When Jack was little his father Ben brought home two fluffy duckings and built them a darling little house in the backyard. Mrs. Landsman, the next-door-neighbor didn't approve. She called the Health Deaprtment and complained. My darling mother-in-law Sarah, with whom we lived, dutifully stuffed the offending poultry in a big bag and carted them to the butcher, announcing that if we had to get rid of the ducks our family could at least enjoy a good meal.

When Sarah came back from the butcher she had tears in her eyes---but no ducks. That was the end of family pets for many years. Which brings me to the question at hand. Why must I, at my age, play hostess to three large dogs and one incontinent puppy? These are great-granddogs and all I can say is Thank Heavens they don't actually live in my house...and that I'm not hungry!

TTFN
Golden Lucy