ODDS AND ENDS

Isn't "Normal" Weird?

After over a year of lockdowns, quarantines, face masks and social distancing, it seems a little weird to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel - and realize it isn't a train. It's the beginnings of "normal".

Last week we went out to dinner and actually ate inside the 25% capacity restaurant! To be honest it felt kind of strange, almost like I didn't know exactly what to do. Unfortunately, I think the servers didn't either. The service was lousy, the food was average at best and the price had gone up quite a bit. Hmmm, was restaurant eating overrated?

We are beginning to make some travel plans. I've flown to Albuquerque several times this past year to visit Darrin and Charley but leisure travel was definitely off limits. We have rebooked our Alabama and Georgia trip around a Giants/Braves game the end of August.  Lou and I will celebrate twenty years together this June with a Palm Springs getaway. And we have Pool Parties galore planned with Darrin and Charley this summer since they can now travel freely as well - with all the protocols in place, of course.

Everyone in my circle of friends and family are fully vaccinated or on their way. There is an odd sense of relief after that first shot and a feeling of triumph after the second - I've done my part! Yes, I will continue to follow the CDC guidelines for the most part. It seems that "normal" can actually be on the horizon. But it still feels just a little weird to really believe it. My guess is that it will take some getting used to as the months go on.

Sneezing Fits

I have this strange affliction that my dad had and I think my sister and my son also have occasionally experienced as well. We have what I call sneezing fits. I don't just sneeze once or twice like most people, I suddenly start sneezing two, three, four, five or more times - sometimes I lose count around seven or eight sneezes.

It doesn't really have anything to do with allergies or illnesses, it's just a sneezing fit. I can be sitting in the house reading the paper or driving to the store and it comes on suddenly. When it is over I go right back to what I was doing and I'm fine. Lou and my close friends or family members have learned not to say "bless you" every time I sneeze. It used to be I sneeze, bless you, sneeze again, bless you, sneeze again, bless you, etc., etc., etc. I have convinced them that one "bless you" will cover all of them.

Just curious. Does anyone else have these sneezing fits that go on and on?

 

Delightful Old Lady

Since I am now in my seventies, I have decided that I want to be a delightful old lady when I grow up. The kind who doesn't constantly complain about her maladies, what she can't do anymore or how much everything costs now days. With that in mind, please disregard my above comment about how much it now costs to eat out. I am still a work in progress.

I may not be able to scale mountains or look pretty damn good in a bikini anymore, but seventy-one years of living have given me a ton of compassion and lots of insights into life. My brother-in-law's family had a couple of delightful old ladies who are long passed now but they would enter the room like a whirlwind, smiling, laughing and ready for a glass or wine with rousing conversation - slightly flamboyant and full of life. That's who I want to be.

Sure, we all have aches and pains. We all have things we wish we had done differently but if we've made it to our twilight years then we must have been doing something right. Sure, it can be a royal pain in the ass to grow old but we can decide to welcome it - forget about the bad and embrace the good. It really is all our choice.

I found this quote from the now 71 year old actor, Richard Gere, that sums it up pretty well:

"I am old but I am forever young at heart. We are always the same age inside. Know that you are the perfect age. Each year is special and precious, you can only live it once. Do not regret growing older, it is a privilege denied to many."