Archive for the ‘Aging’ Category

My Son Bought a Fedora

Friday, October 8th, 2010

My son wanted a fedora. We did find one and it does look good on him. He wants his school photo retaken with it and seems rather obsessed about it because he has mentioned it several times.

†Now this is a kid who only last month began combing out his bed head hair. For years, we have waited in the car for himÖarriving late for every event. †

†I suspect there is a girl involved in this hat thing.

Today, he also tied a necktie on over his t shirt and tucked it in under his favorite hoodie. (Evidently duct tape and this same hoodie will be part of this yearís Halloween costume ñ a zombie from some video game he enjoys.) Itís a red and black job from the seventies that he found in the deepest regions of the closet where the old things we donít wear anymore hang. He said it was for Spirit Week at school.†

†Itís got to be about a girl.

†This is all very confusing to me. †He makes the cat sleep in his room, and still watches cartoons as he slurps Cheerios. Yet, when he talks, his voice cracks.††When did he get so tall? His feet are huge, his appetite bottomless, and has outgrown every pair of pants he owns. Yesterday he loomed over me, squeaking, ìMom, did you know you have grey hairs all in the back, too?î

†My motherís heart clenches when I see him in his Boy Scout uniform, complete with shoulder amulets and a silk scarf. I canít help thinking he walks like a soldier -- I have resolved that he is a patriot and will probably enter the military. He has researched the college opportunities of serving his country and is interested in computerized game applications for simulation trainings. †But that is a ëman and his countryí thing and a long ways away, right? After all, heís only in the seventh grade.

†This morning as he sauntered out the door, I realized he was on a quest, one of many to play out thru his life. Does a hat and tie make up a man? I think so. He looked so handsome, sheíd† better notice. I know I did.

Old Friends

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

This week I visited with some old friends ñ and I do mean ìoldî. On Tuesday, I had lunch with three couples and another widow, the surviving members of our long standing ìSorority Group.î As you might have surmised, we five women were in college together and were members of the same sorority. We attended what was then Colorado State College in Greeley. Upon graduation we had become teachers in high school business, high school home economics, junior high math & social studies, elementary special education, and elementary school/library media. After graduating we went our own ways, but after about five years, we all ended up teaching in the Denver area. We would sometimes meet for lunch and once as we were chatting, one of the gals suggested we include our husbands in the next get-together.

I was a newlywed and we didnít have much furniture yet, but I offered to host the first dinner. I made lasagna and we ate it on a tin camp table sitting on folding chairs. We women had worried that our husbands were too different (automobile mechanic, gourmet grocer, house painter, school principal, and government executive) to get along. Our fears were unfounded. The guys hit it off right away and made plans to play poker after dinner at our next gathering. We established an every other month schedule, so each couple hosted the dinner once a year (skipping July) and, thus, we continued for close to thirty years.

Once we all retired, our traveling schedules have interfered with meeting quite so frequently. I moved to Loveland in 1996 and my husband died in 1997. We continued our dinner routine for a few more years until another husband died and that widow moved with her daughter to Bennett. Now we meet for lunch in restaurants whenever we can find dates that will work for all of us. During the past fifty years, our lives have been separate, but intertwined. We have watched our children grow up and have attended their weddings. We share pictures of our grandkids. We support each other in times of joy and sorrow. Long-time friendships are among lifeís greatest blessings.

Young@Heart

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

Sunday Cheryl and I went to Denver to attend a concert.† It was more invigorating than sitting still and listening.† It was more vivid than mere images forming in the mind as the music flows.†† This concert was ... a whole-body, mind and soul experience.† And since Sunday I've been toe-tappin' and humming, turning over and over the attitude and message imbued in the unreal rock music Young@Heart delivered.

11/15/09 Program - Young@Heart in Denver

11/15/09 Program - Young@Heart in Denver

The chorus is aptly named, and their mere presence on stage drives that home.† Although the singers range in age from 73 to 89, they are wholly committed to their performances.† They don't let physical aches and pains stop them.† Some chorus members had trouble with the altitude; they hail from Northampton, Massachusetts and Denver is ... well, a mile high.† Others have crippling arthritis, but they keep up with rehearsals twice a week and a rigorous travel schedule.† They've been to Europe a dozen times, and Japan is next.

Backstage after the show they greeted groupies and visited amicably with fans.† Just think about how any guest who lives at sea level struggles when visiting here.† Out of breath, thirsty, a bit lethargic.† After these octogenarians used full lung power singing a two hour concert, they graciously played host and hostess!

Redefines what aging means to me. I haven't stopped thinking about it.† And I am glad I met them now, in my 50's, so I can make the choice to elder in a better healthier way.† Always said I'd go screamin' and kickin' rather than graciously accepting the inexorable march of time.† But after experiencing Young@Heart, maybe I'll rock on into aging with some attitude and a bit of my own moxie.

Their concert made a groupie out of me!† I saw what I want for myself Sunday ...†† an engaged, active life for as long as there's air in my lungs.

Check out their music video "Road to Nowhere" here ... and don't expect Lawrence Welk!† This rendition of Stayin' Alive is such great fun.† See how the lyrics pop out more than when Travolta did it!
Since Young@Heart tours all over the country, check out their schedule often to see if they'd added a concert near you!