An Invincible Summer - A Woman's Journey

The other day on the golf course, speaking to the foursome in front of us...... Me: Great day to be golfing. 70 something Gent: It is. A little on the warm side. Me: Can't complain. 70 something Gent: Those guys (pointing to the two men in my threesome) had the right idea. At least they brought something good to look at.......................................... Me: (mouth open, astounded) Now, I am woman who loves fiercely, I have rich  friendships, I have great business relationships, with people that know they can depend on me, that have lasted for more than 30 years, I have, until recently, had an abundant income, I am decently intelligent, give to charities I believe in and care about the human condition. Oh, and apparently, at 56, I am easy on the eyes. Or perhaps not and I was suppose to be grateful for a thrown out compliment. If it was only a problem of a generation that is slowly dying out that would be one thing but, alas, that is not necessarily the c...

For some strange reason I had a memory this morning that was piercing and came from out of nowhere. It was the week of July 4th in 2009 and we visiting Denver for the holiday. One of our kids was in Germany on an exchange, so it was just 5 of us. Family friends that owned two condos in a high rise in downtown Denver allowed us to use them both. The condos were near the top of the building and each one had patios that had a three sided view of Denver. We could see the city and the 4th of July fireworks from every angle. Each suburb had their own wonderful display and we were able to take them all in....fabulous. I remember I was reading Olive Ketteridge at the time and felt a kind of kinship to the unhappy, close minded protagonist in a way I can't quite put my finger on (or maybe I just don't want to). On one of the days, we went to a local theme park called Elitch Gardens. It was fine....certainly no Disneyland but then what is as good as Disneyland? At some point in the ...

The other day, the Boy Scout and I Zoomed with our good friend Nancy. It was wonderful. We had been missing her tremendously but the retirement community she lives in is wisely on lock down. I’m glad that she is being well taken care of. The first thing she asks, with a look of frustration on her face, is if I like her hair now. Nancy has a gorgeous head of thick, wavy silvery white hair. It’s stunning! We laughed. We talk of family and books, tv and news, her dog Zoloft who is in great need of a grooming, and just enjoy each other’s company fully. I'm amazed at this woman. She has marched to the beat of her own drum. In the 70's, taking her kids out of school, she drove all over Europe in a van for almost a year. She has scuba'd and was an underwater photographer, ran her own businesses, did skydiving, designed more than one home, is well read and will not suffer a fool. And, in her 90's, she Zoomed like it was nobody's business. Friendship can show up...

When I was 12, our family got a great gift of happiness. One of my sisters gave birth to my first of many nephews. That baby brought with him a lot of joy and hope that had been missing for awhile. To this day, I love that man to bits. I was texting him this morning when he announced that he was only living to 48. Had he mentioned it to me? He must have.  NO darling, you haven't mentioned that little tidbit....do explain to my why you have only 4 years left on the planet. He proceeds to tell me that while using acid at 24, he was told that he was half way done. Of course, makes perfect sense right? I mean, while you see things as they are NOT, and while trees are breathing, and walls melting, perhaps the sky falling in on you and.....once you're done, you realize the sky is not falling, walls melting or trees breathing but yeah....you're still half way done. What the bloody hell? This little goody two shoes would have stood in judgement at the reckless behavior and...

I've been hard at work at not working. At 16, I started working full time. It is strange and foreign to be without the thing that has been a source of my security and self worth. Nevermind that my worth should not come from my job; it just is what it is. My family (my mom, my brother and me) was in financial dire straits when I left school at 16. Somehow, I got a job at Security Pacific Bank. Thinking back it such a surprise that a big corporation would hire a minor for a regular full time job. My mom never signed a waiver. I worked on the 14th floor of the Glendale CA building in the payroll processing center. My job was to process the purchase of US Savings Bonds through the service's automatic deductions. Honestly, I felt like I was a kid pretending to be an adult. Honestly, I was. From there, I went to downtown Los Angeles to work for a print shop, moved to Ventura and, tired of the corporate world, I tried my hand at dog grooming, sold Ethan Allen furniture and then...

Tonight was the first time my man has ever seen Singing In The Rain. I must admit, I did not hold out a lot of hope that he would love it but I did hope he would have a good time. Half way through, I realized that I sat there with a big smile on my face. Each song better than the next. Then Moses Supposes comes on and I want nothing more than to get up and dance. I just adore that darn movie. I recognize that it is not high art but it is wonderful fun and great music and.......Gene Kelly, for goodness sake. All said and done he seem to like it too and I got to watch one of my very favorite movies once again. A pretty good time of social distancing.