Picking up speed on the downhill stretch

If I were religious I'd say  we have been blessed with good health.

We being 'my family,' both the children I have borne and the family I was born into. My husband too, has a family history of good health and longevity. On the periphery  of my family life I have known of people who suffered from ill health and disease but my fore bearers and those of my spouse have lived to impressive  ages, in remarkable good health. My children and grandchild, to date; hale and hearty, my spouse; vigorous and vital.The one cloud on this sunny horizon was the death in early adulthood  of my dear brother Todd, victim of  an aggressive brain tumor.

My friends too have been fortunate to be healthy and parents of healthy children. I have never had to support a close friend with a sick parent, nor give comfort to a friend with sick or injured child or a terminal spouse. I believe  my  life is exceptional in this regard. I cannot attribute it to good living   and see it as little more than dumb luck, adequate nutrition, clean water, immunization and preventive health care. I have given considered thought to this over the last few years and have reckoned that this will not continue as I age.

Someone I know will have a stroke, someone will suffer a heart attack, someone will develop Parkinson's and surely someone will fight cancer. As I age, the incidences of the diseases of aging will increase in my peer group and touch me personally, this is inevitable. It also stands to reason that the odds of encountering catastrophic illness in my community of acquaintances increase as the years go on.It happens to other people and I can expect the same. How can it not be so?

Yesterday I visited one of my oldest friends in the hospital, something I haven't done since all our babies were being delivered into this world. He is a grandfather of two. He seems to be doing very well. He doesn't give off the vibe of someone terribly ill. His condition, just treated, was one of those found  in adults over 50 . It was found in a routine health examination. Tissue and lymph nodes have been sent for further examination, but all indications are that this is due diligence rather than a suspicion of anything more sinister. I am optimistic his crooked smile, quirky sense of humour and kindness will be with me for years to come, but know too that his health is the first of my circle to be seriously affected and that we all will again be touched as time goes on in this down hill track to the end.

Diminishing Domestic Diva

These days, I like to clean the kitchen without my glasses on. It goes so much faster.

Milestones

When my Grand was younger he came to me on Tuesdays.

After he had settled in I'd ask him if he wanted a "kid cofee." Almost always, the answer was "yes" and we'd sit together sipping and plan our day. I have been making him his cocoa ever since. With one thing and another; his mother moving to the burbs, high-school, and a part-time job he and I don't see each other often enough and so the ritual has fizzled out.

He joined us for Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. The dinner had been planned around his work schedule. The turkey dinner had been shared and we had all retired to the living room to digest and engage in a lively game of Cranium. There was pumpkin pie waiting for us and so after a time I took a poll of what beverages were neeeded to wash down the pie.

"I'll have tea Gramma" my darling little boy said. It was a first! That little boy is gone, and now my university student grandson is drinking tea.

Don't tell him I made him decaf;o)

Greybeard

Although we have grown old together, I have never again seen your chin.

Ancient History: Beyond the Hedge; Ladder to Success

02/05/07
Ladder to success

Part of being successful is figuring out what you want.

It seems straight forward when you put it that way. I am from a generation who was not brought up to think about success or to plan for it. I was taught it was my duty to be a good wife and mother, to be a good citizen and a contributing member of my community. I was certain that I wanted to have a loving lasting relationship and I am fortunate to have found someone I could grow with, who was similarly committed. A community of two.

Over time, the constituency of my community has changed. My community has been my birth family, and then my school and my friends which became our friends. As a pre-teen, I imagined my community to be my church but this was not, for me, a long time community. As a parent the community of my children became my community.

So once the need to belong to a particular community has been removed where does that leave me? Alone with myself and my own family. Here I have success but as my children move on what is it I need and what is it I want?