When I think back to pre-internet days, I marvel! These days, when I want to know something, like what is the prevalence of the flu in Florida this month, I GOOGLE it! When I need a recipe for sweet potato, I am as likely to do an internet search as to look in one of my many cookbooks.
Sometimes I am annoyed by spam or popup ads, but woman has never had so much information LITERALLY at her fingertips! I really am grateful for this - how prepared I will be in Asheville next week when I go looking for a place to escape the summer heat in Florida.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
It's Been FIVE Years
Five years ago last Sunday my life underwent a massive upheaval!
The STROKE I had changed the parameters of my life - what I was able to do, how I thought about myself, and much more. I was also at that time uninsurable! No one would issue any kind of policy on me.
Rejoice with me that FIVE years have passed, I am now eligible for insurance, and my life is better than it ever has been!
Okay, it isn't perfect, but I don't expect or even want perfection. I'm wiser than I was - I understand the limits of my patience and know better what drives me over the edge into unbearable stress.
The paradox of time is that it hardly seems like five years, and yet it also seems a lifetime ago.
The STROKE I had changed the parameters of my life - what I was able to do, how I thought about myself, and much more. I was also at that time uninsurable! No one would issue any kind of policy on me.
Rejoice with me that FIVE years have passed, I am now eligible for insurance, and my life is better than it ever has been!
Okay, it isn't perfect, but I don't expect or even want perfection. I'm wiser than I was - I understand the limits of my patience and know better what drives me over the edge into unbearable stress.
The paradox of time is that it hardly seems like five years, and yet it also seems a lifetime ago.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
A Song in My Throat
Singing - such joy!
My mother was a 13 year old, singing live on the radio in Burlington, Vermont. Wish I had seen and heard that!
Thanks to her, I grew up listening to favorites, such as "How Deep Is the Ocean?" and graduated to show tunes before I hit double digits. I idolized Julie Andrews.
Next I embraced the Kingston Trio - "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooly". In college, I sang folk music - Eric Anderson, Peter, Paul and Mary, Judy Collins.
At some point I discovered the passionate native American, Buffy Ste. Marie. Hers was not always a beautiful voice, but one full of pain and struggle. I remember being deeply moved by a quote, which must have come from a record jacket, about life being about the wonderful feeling of having a song in your throat. I can feel that, too.
In the hospital, after the stroke, I sang whenever I had the chance, just to prove I still could.
Yesterday, I sang through "The Bell Song" for the first time in years. Wow, did it feel good! Well, except for the final sustained high E; still, though the E may be gone, the rest felt miraculous.
My mother was a 13 year old, singing live on the radio in Burlington, Vermont. Wish I had seen and heard that!
Thanks to her, I grew up listening to favorites, such as "How Deep Is the Ocean?" and graduated to show tunes before I hit double digits. I idolized Julie Andrews.
Next I embraced the Kingston Trio - "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooly". In college, I sang folk music - Eric Anderson, Peter, Paul and Mary, Judy Collins.
At some point I discovered the passionate native American, Buffy Ste. Marie. Hers was not always a beautiful voice, but one full of pain and struggle. I remember being deeply moved by a quote, which must have come from a record jacket, about life being about the wonderful feeling of having a song in your throat. I can feel that, too.
In the hospital, after the stroke, I sang whenever I had the chance, just to prove I still could.
Yesterday, I sang through "The Bell Song" for the first time in years. Wow, did it feel good! Well, except for the final sustained high E; still, though the E may be gone, the rest felt miraculous.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Daily Thanks
It occurred to me that I really should post here on a daily basis! I am truly thankful for many things, though not all warrant a long discussion. So said, here I go:
Yesterday was a wonderful celebration of friendship, particularly among women. Spoonbill and I had a delightful lunch, with conversation ranging from movies to our children, to the "whole ball of confusion" that is racial identity in this country. We followed that with a visit to MaGoose's Stitch-In. Just imagine, 2+ hours of stitching and more enlightening conversation in Ma's sundrenched living room, as the breeze eased in off the bay. Ah, that's living!
Yesterday was a wonderful celebration of friendship, particularly among women. Spoonbill and I had a delightful lunch, with conversation ranging from movies to our children, to the "whole ball of confusion" that is racial identity in this country. We followed that with a visit to MaGoose's Stitch-In. Just imagine, 2+ hours of stitching and more enlightening conversation in Ma's sundrenched living room, as the breeze eased in off the bay. Ah, that's living!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
