“One of the good things about getting older is you find you’re more interesting than most of the people you meet.”
Today is a quiet day. The weather is lovely with sun, a bit of a breeze and a temperature in the low 50’s. Yesterday’s dinner was wonderful. I even have leftovers. I officially started the Christmas season last night by watching It’s a Wonderful Life. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen that movie. I watch it every year, the same with A Christmas Carol. When watching that last movie, I can say the dialogue along with the characters.
Inside I am young. I am always amazed when I can’t do something I’ve always done like carrying a weight of sorts or even walking a short distance. When I look in the mirror, I wonder who the old lady with the wrinkles is looking back at me. If I were a character in a Stephen King short story, I’d look behind the cabinet for that old lady, and she’d be there lying in wait.
When I was a kid, I knew great-grandparents, one on my father’s side and one on my mother’s. Once in a while we visited my great-grandmother in East Boston. She lived in a narrow house with three floors. She lived with one of her daughters, Aunt Mae. My father’s mother was another of her daughters. Every time we visited, she gave me a fifty cent piece. I always wondered why we didn’t visit more often. My mother’s grandfather, my great-grandfather, was scary. He had dementia, but I was too little to understand that was why he yelled and even spit at me sometimes. He’d sit in the living room on a rocking chair beside the furnace. I used to run by him propelled by fear. I always wondered why we visited so often.
My dance card is empty until next week. I have my usual uke practice and lesson, and we have our first December concert. We’re now playing Christmas music. I love Christmas music and am already listening to it on the car radio. I always sing along.
A friend of mine died yesterday, a funny, sweet guy. It is so very wrong.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
November 24, 2023 at 1:32 pm
Hi Kat,
The sun is shining brightly with a high temperature of 63° predicted for today.
Like you I wonder who that old codger is looking back at me in the mirror while shaving in the morning. I suffer from the same issues that you described. In my mind’s eye I’m not a day older than 60. But, my body is not willing to do what the mind desires. 🙂
We had an uneventful day yesterday and the Cowboys gave the Washington Commanders a lesson in football. They won 45 to 10. Go Cowboys! If they can only beat the Philadelphia Eagles when they come to Arlington.
I never met any of my great grandparents. I do have vivid memories of my grandparents. Sadly, my kids only remember my mother-in-law. And she decided to be of no help with them. Her statement was, “I raised my kids, now you get to raise yours”. When their birthdays or Chanukah arrived, she bought them gifts that she liked. One year she bought them Cheo-Pets. What kid would write a letter to Santa, “I want an animal that I water and it grows grass instead of hair”. My father passed away when my daughter was eight and my son was six, he would write a check. He was clueless about what children or grandchildren wanted from their grandparents.
Sorry for your loss. It’s the price we pay for longevity.
November 25, 2023 at 12:05 am
Hi Bob,
We did make it to 50 degrees today, but when I went out, I thought it felt chillier than that.
I remember my mother said, when she turned 70, that she couldn’t believe that she is that old. I know exactly what she meant.
We all knew both sets of grandparents. One grandfather died when I was a senior in high school. He was the first to die. The rest of my grandparents lived far longer. My father’s parents always gave my mother money to buy gifts from them so we always got gifts we’d like. My other grandparents had what seemed like hundreds of grandchildren, but they always bought each of us neat gifts.
Thank you!
November 25, 2023 at 10:28 am
I’m sorry for your loss, Kat. I hope the good memories.of your friend help you through the dark days.
November 25, 2023 at 6:34 pm
Thank you, Sprite. When I see pictures of him, I still can’t believe it.