Tuesday 4

 

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. She began this fun activity and it's been fun to get to know each other over the years! And thanks for Ann for keeping it up.

INQUIRING MINDS WANNA KNOW!

Let's inquire about stuff....

1. What gets your blood to boiling?

I'd probably say inconsiderate people - people who step in front of you to get ahead, cut you off on the highway . . . . the list goes on. Sometimes it seems that manners are left at home!

2.What does a really good day look like for you? What makes you say, "That was a great day"?

It depends on my mood, I guess. As I've gotten older, I don't like a lot of drama and I don't like rushing around. I suppose it would be a leisurely lunch out with a friend, having a good hair day, relaxing in the evening with a favorite series on TV or better yet, absorbed in a good book. And Apollo wouldn't throw up a hair ball for me to clean after. That would be nice.

3. Are you continuing to grow mentally, spiritually, talent wise or are you just marking time?

For some reason, when I turned a certain senior age, I got in the mindset that "This is all there is.". I suddenly felt old in body and mind. It's taken about a year to get out of that mindset, but things are looking better. Yes, I continually want to grow mentally and spiritually - to make these years count. In that vein, I try to write. I got my blog up and running and I treasure my quiet time with the Lord even more. I'm learning to play the mountain dulcimer and trying to perfect my crochet techniques to more than just single crochet.  I volunteer at our local Humane Society. It's a journey right to the very end!

4. Have you changed your hair style since high school?   Why or why not?

Goodness, yes! Probably a hundred times! As we age, those teenage styles just don't work. I was a teen in the 60s with big, teased hair. It required sleeping in curlers (those pink hard things with tiny teeth) all night and teasing and spraying in the morning. I couldn't pull that off now. Nor do I want to! I don't have a digital version of my senior picture, or would you see what I meant. Later, newly married, my hair was long and straight. Now it's short.

Just about the only photo I can scare up!

1972 with my newborn daughter

On a quick blogging note: I took off comment moderation for a bit. It seems that when I would moderate comments on my phone, my finger would occasionally miss "publish" and hit "delete". It seems if you do that, you can't get them back. So, some of you who check back may not see your comments. So sorry but I did read them and enjoyed them! 

Adventures in aging

 I remember when my dear mother was alive, she would lament getting older. She was so depressed the year she turned 60, that my daughter and I took her to Disney World and spent the night - just to try to cheer her up. For me, it was 50. A half century! But I got over it.

Each year, each decade I've met with philosophical murmurings. It happens. You don't stay young forever. And I've always seemed to have a young outlook on things, so my age became simply a number. That is until I turned that decade that began with a "7". Suddenly, it mattered again. I suddenly felt old. My body hurt more. Health issues I'd dealt with for years suddenly grew worse. I lost my zest for life. Things that had interested me were put aside. Things I thought I was passionate about - my dulcimer, creative crafts, blogging just sort of stopped. I think I can safely say I've been depressed. 

A few weeks ago, something happened. It was nothing that happened in my little world. It was all inside work. Suddenly, I began to feel a spark. As I walked around, hobbling with arthritic and fibromyalgia pain; as I again passed up opportunities because I was too told or not feeling well, instead of feeling resigned to it all, I began to get angry. For two years, I had wallowed in self-pity and depression. I was ready to leave it all behind. God finally got through to me that I still had worth.

Sound a bit dramatic? I'm just being real here.

I started with a list of people who in their older years still accomplished great things.

Colonel Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken at 65

Laura Ingalls Wilder began writing the "Little House" series at 65

.

John Glenn, the first astronaut to orbit the earth, again went into space on the Space Shuttle Discovery at age 77.

Grandma Moses began painting at age 76

Christopher Plummer, an actor, won his Oscar at 82.

Others less familiar

Peter Roget invented the Thesaurus at age 73.

Doris Haddock walked across America from age 88 to 90.

Gladys Burill ran a marathon at 92.

I may not be able to invent something that is used by the literary world. I may not log in thousands of miles in my walking shoes. But who knows what God has in store for me.

And what does God say about aging?

"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness. Proverbs 16:31

"Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you!"  Isaiah 46:4

"They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing."  Psalm 92:14

"Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails." Psalm 71:9

According to my Heavenly Father, I still have things to do because He will give me the strength and means to do it.

I really like the poem "The Flower" by George Herbert. The graphic at the top of this post is a quote that I think began my healing. 

"Now in age, I bud again."

It was a wake up call that it was time to call an end to the 'pity party'. And so, I have.

Again - just being real!