Tag: writing

Quote of the Day…

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Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard there is nothing you can do.

Golda Meir

 

Isn’t that the truth.
Even when I want to say…get me the hell off.

I am not ready for this yet.
For the irrelevance thrust on me.
Rendered invisible. Packed in behind the younger.
Respect once earned upended in the turbulence of senior discounts…
now that you’re 50…60…over 60….doors start to shut. Deaf ears abound.

Forgetting one too many things
Which 20 years ago went unnoticed.
Or commented on.
Not now.

Mask floating down. Got it.
Pulling the life vest cords. Got it.

I tell the younger kin I am not this old inside my head.
They nod. Eyes looking beyond. Already past me.
Uncomprehending…until it’s their aged faces staring back at them.
That’s what she meant.

There will be no mad dash for the exits.
Even in an emergency.
I’m on this ride for the duration. Wind. Rain. Thunder.
Wrinkles. Gray hair. Early dinners. Early to bed.
System slowdowns. Bumpy rides. Love and loss.

Dried up everything, but oozing with wisdom.
Experience.
And ideas. Just ask.
But they won’t.
Whatever.

The longer I’m on this stormy plane ride, the wiser I get.
Not my first rodeo.
So there.

2019…more transitions…
…the next leg on my Golden Years journey.
Seatbelt fastened and secure.
Building up those frequent flyer miles.
Wheels up.

plane window
This post inspired by: V.J.’s Weekly Challenge – Transition

Bologna Pie

~ oneletterup ~ 2 Comments

Thanksgiving = Turkey
Christmas = Roast Beef
New Year’s Day = Bologna Pie….say what?

When I was a kid, my parents often hosted an Open House on New Year’s Day. Neighbors and friends streamed in and out all day long. Eating, drinking, laughing, talking, smoking.
Lots of drinking. Eggnog (2 pitchers: labeled “with” and “without”). Punch with fancy shaped ice floating in the center.
Conversations morphing into a dull roar.
Alongside music from my dad’s hi-fi.

My younger sister and I helped prepare the party food the day before…
…and that’s where the bologna pie comes in.
It was (and still is?) slices of bologna with cream cheese spread between each slice.
The higher the stack, the better. Cut into pie shaped wedges – hence the pie label. And there it was.
We always sampled the greasy concoction as we made the pies…and I hate to admit we really liked it.
How times change.

Loaves of miniature rye bread were transformed into chicken or tuna salad mini sandwiches. Sometimes toasted french bread topped with canned crab & cheese dip was on the menu.
Always delicious.

One memorable January 1st Open House was worth an entire diary entry:

jan 1 1967020
January 1, 1967

 

I have no photographs of these Open Houses.
Which is probably just as well.

Happy New Year!

 

Old

~ oneletterup ~ 12 Comments

This post inspired by One Word Sunday

summer 1940018
Summer 1940

 

One warm summer day
My grandmother and her mother
Posed on a park bench
Complete with handbags, hats and gloves.
Ankles carefully crossed.

I bet my grandfather said “smile”
Before he snapped the photo.

 

 

Photo a Week – New

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Nancy Merrill is hosting a photo challenge. The theme this week: A Photo a Week Challenge – New

2016 was special for many reasons…
New home. New friends. New life in a new town.

But the most important “new” that year was the birth of our grandson in June.
He is the bright light in our family’s future.

When he was a newborn, he held still for my incessant picture taking.
(now, at 2 ½, not so still…)

june2016
Gotcha Grampa!

 

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Cold and Warm

~ oneletterup ~ 7 Comments

Here is my entry for this week’s challenge hosted by Frank at Dutch goes the Photo

The theme this week is: Cold and Warm

Snowstorms happen.
When you own a home…with a driveway…the snow gets in the way.
It is cold…and wet…and heavy.
And – right after it falls to the ground – beautiful.

However, removing the snow can be quite a challenge, especially when over a foot deep.
Which, of course, must be measured and documented.

Staying warm during the snow removal process requires:
Many layers of clothing
Jacket and ski pants
Plus gloves
Plus hat…and hood.

If you are lucky, the sun shines…
Spreading the illusion of warmth.

As was the case… one day-after-the-storm in 2015.

jan2015
Post 3 day blizzard – January 28, 2015 
30 inches of snow

So continued the thought process…Time To Move To A Condo!

Corpulent

~ oneletterup ~ 9 Comments

This post inspired by Ragtag Daily Prompt: Corpulent

Corpulent

Corpulent

“My doctor says I’m too heavy.”

“I feel so huge.”

“I just hate this roll of fat on my hips.”

“I’ve always been on the big side.”

“I’m just a little overweight.”

“When I was a kid, I was considered chunky.”

I was a registered dietitian for many years, providing one-to-one diet counseling at hospitals and clinics. Doctors referred patients for weight loss diets…for a variety of reasons. Blood lipids too high. Blood pressure too high. Blood sugar too high. Joints wearing away.

Or…”to be more healthy.”
As if it was that simple…

I met with a young woman who cried with the shame of being criticized by her mother growing up. Because she was overweight.

A man whose parents belittled him at the dinner table when he served himself a second helping of potatoes.

A teenage boy who needed to be weighed on the hospital wheelchair scale. Bullied at school. Dropped out. Working on his GED.

A young man whose wife would put a box of chocolates in his bureau drawer to tempt him. She was chubby too.

Countless women – of all ages – were embarrassed to be sitting across from me, as if they had committed a sin.

To be fat. Corpulent. Obese. Chunky. Chubby. Portly. Overweight. Whatever you name it…is to be branded less than. Ostracized in our first world society.

Often facing an exhausting lifetime battle with food.
How much. When. Where. Why.
Most doctors don’t realize that food is just one piece of this puzzle.

You don’t have to do this, I’d say when calling to set up an appointment…if I sensed reluctance.

But the doctor said I have to.

It is your decision no matter what the doctor says.

There would be a pause in the conversation.

Really?

Yes. It’s up to you. If you aren’t ready, we can wait.

Most of the time, the appointment was made.
The patient showed up. Often wary.
And we’d talk. About goals. Typical meals.
Eating history. Likes. Dislikes.

Sometimes there was crying. Or almost crying.
Stories of shunning. Lost opportunities. Self-hatred.

So much emotional pain.
Because a body is large…
Soothed for years
With foods that comfort.

Only to face doctor’s orders
to take those foods away.

I often asked myself…
Is it worth it?

Holiday Music

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I hear it almost everywhere I go – ever since the stores have been decked out for the holidays. The music from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” I do remember the television show – in 1965 – and was entranced by it then. The soundtrack now iconic.

It is also a mood changer.

Last December I arrived on a late flight at Logan Airport. My plane had been delayed. I was tired. Achy from the cramped seat. Walking into the gate waiting area, I heard the Linus and Lucy theme on the musical loop. Vince Guaraldi’s piano playing couldn’t help but make me smile. And relax. What a perfect choice for a busy airport full of travelers from all over the world…shouldering all kinds of burdens. Also tired. Achy. Anxious to get safely…somewhere.

I also hear this song in the grocery store. The local card store. In the mall.
I never get tired of it.
No matter what time of year it is.

 

~~~~~

Happy Holidays
and 
Merry Christmas
to all…

 

IMG_1583

Photo a Week – Eyes

~ oneletterup ~ 2 Comments

Nancy Merrill is hosting a photo challenge. The theme this week:

A Photo a Week Challenge – Eyes

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO OF SOME OF THE EYES IN YOUR LIFE.

My daughter was born with the bluest of eyes…which opened and stared into mine within minutes of her arrival. Her curiosity for life already beginning.

Those eyes…she would hold your gaze – even as an infant – without changing expression, as if seriously contemplating the words to follow. Before she knew how to say a thing.

Her right eyebrow arching ever so slightly…posing a silent question we couldn’t possibly know the answer to…

 

blue eyes 82028 copy

Pictures with Santa

~ oneletterup ~ 7 Comments

Santa Claus appeared at many different venues when I was a child in the ’50’s and ’60’s. Sitting on some type of chair or throne-like chair – and dressed in his signature red suit and hat, he would wait for children. To sit on his lap. Briefly. For a quick question and answer, smile for the camera..and done! Then a parent would wait in line for the polaroid result of this annual pilgrimage.

I couldn’t wait to meet up with him…(or one of his elves subbing in – the explanation for why there was also a Santa on the street…and in the local Bamberger’s or Sterns department store at a “Breakfast with Santa” event on Saturday mornings)…in order to pass on my requests for presents.

I visited the pre-mall Santas – often appearing at local church fairs…or church “bazaars” as we used to call them. These were simple affairs…handmade mittens, cookies, potholders and such made by the church ladies. In the corner sat Santa – waiting for the local kids to sit on his lap and whisper their wishes for Christmas morning. Santa looked eerily similar to men I would see at church on Sunday talking to my parents, but I never questioned why.

I do not remember what I asked for the year this black & white photo was taken…but Santa looks like he had heard most everything by the time it was our turn.

santa 1957?017
Me, Santa and my sister circa 1957

 

Almost thirty years later, my daughter sat on Santa’s lap at our local mall. And whispered her hopes for gifts on the 25th.  Again there was the wait in line for the polaroid result.

santa 1984016
My daughter and Santa 1984

~~~

Pictures with Santa in 2018?
Still at a mall.  There is a long wait circling around extending past the stores. Babies, toddlers and elementary school age kids. Some dressed up. Some kids panic at the sight of this large man in the red suit. Other don’t…sitting quietly, not quite understanding all the activity. But still, whispering…something…to Santa. Look towards the camera. Hopefully, smile.

There is no longer a wait for the polaroid print. Now it is air-dropped to your smart phone. For a fee of course.

“Pictures with Santa” has changed in many ways in the past 50 plus years. As one might expect. All things do.

Santa sits on a fancier throne. I don’t see him at the church fairs.
Photos are digital and float through the air.

But the excitement in a toddler’s eyes…
I saw Santa, Mama! I sat on his lap!
The smiles. The jumping up and down…
THAT has not changed at all.