Heart Beats

It's been a while since I've blogged but I'm entering a new experience in my life and I thought it would be fun (I'm determined to make it fun!) to do an audio documentary so to speak. Here's the opening crescendo - My lovely 35 year old daughter, her fantastic 35 year old husband and their two children, a 6 year old little girl and a 2 1/2 year old little boy live in central MA. When my son-in-law got a new job it was their golden opportunity to move to the area the always wanted to live in - Northampton. My husband and I were all for it. It would mean they would only be an hour away and we could see them move often, not to mention we were thrilled they were finally going to be able to fulfill their dream... One little glitch - They had to sell their home in Central MA. A task that did not turn out to be easy. And here, both my daughter and I had watched endless home shows where couples have such an easy time of selling their house - just hire a stager and voil...

I'm hearing my own words, words I've said in the past. Words I've said to my kids. When they were young. When I was fairly young myself. Only now the words aren't coming out of my mouth. They're coming out of the mouths of my children. And they're saying these words to me. Go know how well they'd remember all the things I used to say to them. All the advice I gave them. Words of support. Of admonishment. Of warning. Of concern. You can do it if you put your mind to it. Don't just say you'll take care of something, actually take care of it. Is that really what you're going to wear?? If you spend all your time procrastinating you'll just feel bad about yourself. You have to stop obsessing; stop worrying; stop saying "but". It's all very good advice my kids are giving me. Just like it was very good advice I gave them. And it's not like I still don't on occasion say this stuff to my kids. But now it's more a matter o...

Remember when you were little and were waiting for what seemed forever until you turned five and could go to kindergarten? Or when you were in middle school and felt like you'd never finally be old enough to go to high school? And four years of college. It lasted for so long. And what about going to work on Monday and watching the days drag by until finally, finally it was TGIF.  You get the idea. Time practically stood still when I was young. Now I feel like I blink and another week's gone by. Summer starts and before I know it the leaves are falling. Even winter, which always seemed endless when I was younger, is over quicker nowadays. This morning I picked up my pill case, the kind with a separate compartment for every day of the week. The pills for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were gone. Just like that. In the blink of an eye. Where did those three days go? And now Thursday's almost over.I swear it feels like I just finished breakfast but  I've go...

My husband and I are about to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of very special friends. We met Ted and Deanna 36 years ago and we've stayed strongly connected through a number of moves (ours not theirs), illnesses, life's many ups and downs. We've shared sad times and joyous times. We've traveled together, spent wonderful visits at each others' homes. I'm sure we must have shared thousands of meals together. Thousands of laughs. They've always, ALWAYS been there for us and we have always tried to be there for them. History. We have a deep and meaningful shared history. J. and I are  truly blessed to have a wonderful group of close friends and we value them all. But there are very few couples I've known and loved longer than this very special couple. You can't pick your blood relatives but thank God you can pick your friends. From the very first time we all met, J and I picked them. We were couples with young families. We were in the first dec...

Honestly, I'm not against face lifts. But it starts to feel like I've landed on a weird planet when I go to a concert at Tanglewood and nine out of 10 women have had at least one if not several face lifts. It's almost like being among the "Stepford Wives" after they've turned 60. Here's the thing, they all seem to look the same. The friend I was with turned to a young man she knew and pointed out one woman with one of the hundreds of faces devoid of expression and he replied, "She's smiling." They laughed. But, I don't know, it felt sad. Wearing a smile on your face "lifts" your spirit. It "lifts" other peoples' spirits. I was among so many women who thought they'd gained youth but to me they paid an awful price by not really being able to smile. Oh, I know, I'm exaggerating. Most, but not all, can still curve up their lips but still...it's just not the same. Expressions can tell us so much. They'...

So I went shopping for a special function with my friend J. I needed shoes, she was looking for a dress. I figured, hell, there are so many sales, maybe I'll look for a few other things. And it seemed whatever we tried on, we knew in our hearts and in our guts that everything would look so much better on us if we weren't...as J. put it so well - vertically challenged. Tall women have an easier time of it. J. told me that in her next life she was coming back as a thin five foot ten blond (with straight hair). I said I'd take curly hair and if I were a redhead that would be okay, too. But here we were in this life...too damn short! And then I had this sick, sad thought that not only was growing a few inches no longer a possibility, we were going to be facing SHRINKAGE! If we were vertically challenged now what would we be like in ten years? Twenty? My son who's already a foot taller than me (he's fortunately not vertically challenged and I don't know where he go...

Young women love them. I see so many of them wearing thong underwear. I "literally" see the thongs. Girls, do you know or care that when you're wearing jeans or any kind of low slung pants that when you bend over or even lean forward your thong strap shows? Maybe it's cool. Like having your bra straps show when you wear tank tops. One day a while back I was with my grown daughter (yes, she still wears thongs) and I was trying on a pair of pants. "God, mom, you can't wear those pants with those underpants. There's a line!!!" Now, I find this funny. It's bad to have the bottom lines of your panties show through your pants but it's apparently okay to have the waist band and the top of the thong part show when you lean forward. But, hey, my daughter was not going to give up on my need - yes, my need - for a pair of thongs. So, like all "obedient" mothers desirous of winning their daughter's approval I let her lead me to the underw...