shopping for memories

Remember when these little cartoons used to be popular? Me too. They were during the days when I used to spend a lot of time at my aunt's house with my cousin Pam. She was fifteen and I was ten. I remember her pink frost lipstick and baby blue eyeshadow. I couldn't wait to be a teenager. She had daisy patches on her blue jeans and carried a leather purse with fringe on the bottom.

Tomorrow is slotted for a "girl's day." We are off to explore our favorite antique shops and second-hand boutiques. It's strange to see the stuff from my childhood in antique stores. Bless Kristin's heart for her patience when the mere sight of an object sparks up a memory and she is forced to listen to me reminisce about it. How ironic is life when we throw something out and then hold it years later only to pine for the days it existed as our possession. Of course it's not really the object, but the carefree days of youth when the world was different, that we crave. There's nothing like an easy bake oven or all of its miniature-sized pans to remind me of the days when I discovered how hot a light bulb really does get.

Tuesday's Treasure

My mother turned 73 in March and it is really difficult for me to watch her grow older. She has always been this woman of grace who has endowed our family with an immeasurable amount of her love and patience. I’ve never known anyone else in my life to be as selfless and generous with anything they have, including time, as my mom. She has been my pillar of strength on countless occasions and now to see that strength grow dimmer each day, is very heart wrenching. Every part of her body brings her pain at one time or another and we’ve discovered if she keeps her hands busy, then it keeps her mind off of suffering and to some degree I do think keeping her hands busy also helps her arthritis. I do my best to keep her furnished with projects to accomplish this task and now you have the story behind today’s treasure...

These are flour sack dishtowels with the days of the week that mom just finished embroidering. I hadn’t seen these patterns in years (probably since my Sprouse Reitz days!) so when I brought them to her, she was excited to work on them. Now that this set is complete, she is starting another one for each of the kids for when they move out. They might not fully understand the love and energy behind the work, but I do hope they appreciate them as I do mine. When I told her I was going to put them on my blog she said, “Well, let me iron them!”…And I said, “don’t be silly mom, it’s a “come as you are” kind of place!”

So maybe these brought some memories back for you and maybe you yourself like to embroider, but mostly I hope they provided you with that humble notion of aging...the inevitable burden of living with our bodies as they change and we are no longer able to do the things we use to...I hope we can each take a little time to slow down and smooth away the wrinkles on our loved one's hands and let them know they are irreplaceable and worthy of a long trip to the store "just" to get that special color of green.



*I don't have the heart to use these dishtowels, so I have them neatly folded and put away with my linens...that way I can treasure them for a long time.

poem in your pocket

Thank you Kimberly for sharing this great idea for today! I'll be around to visit blogs in the evening and read all the great poetry everyone is sharing. This poem I am sharing has always struck a chord with me. I have the book and it is full of wonderful poems by "older women"...wisdom and life touch every page.....enjoy.

Warning
by Jenny Joseph

WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick the flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

This is a good site to find current poems

by new and established artists

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/

laugh lines

Good morning! I had a nice time with my mom yesterday (and my dad). It is very interesting to witness the aging process through parents. I find myself wondering if there is anything I can do to avoid some of the things they are going through and I always come up with the same possible solution-eat healthy and exercise. I think those are the two leading factors that determine how graciously the body ages...of course there are many more, but in a nutshell I believe those are probably most important. It was a very windy day yesterday so I decided not to take mom out like I had originally planned, but we had a nice visit anyway. She updated me on the lives of my brothers and the few relatives that she hears from regularly...there is always some crazy story stirring and in the back of my mind I'm thinking "I should be writing this down", but of course I don't. So I brought home their taxes to do and promised to return in a week or so when school gets out. I love visiting my parents, but some days it weighs heavy on my heart-yesterday was not one of those days...which is good, because maybe it means I'm adjusting better to the fact they are aging. I asked my mom yesterday if she ever found a wrinkle cream that actually worked and she laughed and said, "Yes, but I can't remember the name of it". I enjoyed her laughter and it was then that I realized I really enjoyed her wrinkles as well, because some of them got there through laughter...why would I ever want to get rid of those?

Continuity

Things change and yet they always stay the same. I like it both ways. Day to day feels the same and yet when I look in the mirror I see new lines that I didn't have the time before. I've been very lucky in that I haven't gotten many grey hairs yet. Maybe I shouldn't say "lucky" because I think there is something about women with grey hair that is very gracious. My mother's hair is grey. She has wrinkles and lines in her face from years of working in the sun. From years of worrying about her children. From years of living. My daughter asked me the other night if I was afraid of getting older. I told her no. It is something I am actually looking forward to. I plan for the next phase to be just as adventurous and fulfilling as the ones that have passed, but just in other areas. I absolutely love having chats with Kristin about life. She always adds a fresh perspective to the topic and it pleases my heart that we can have these deep, meaningful conversations. I remember talking with my mom about getting older and it doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but it was. I just hope that someday when Kristin is asked if she is afraid of getting older she will remember our conversation and realize that things change and yet they always stay the same.