Odessa
June 25
For those of you who are counting, 6 months until Christmas! :-)
I have been busy for the last few days. Cammie came home with us and I have put her to work. You see, I needed to paint our bedroom and I knew Al would not help (he hates to paint) and I also knew I couldn't do it alone and get it done in this century. For what ever reason, my arms don't work as well as they used to. The last time I painted I blew out my shoulder and elbow and it took months for it to recover. So cammie and I started to paint. Sandy Pebble is the color...a pinkish, tanish, rosy kinda' color. Very pretty, but I am getting ahead of myself. Since we are painting on paneling, you first have to either a.) sand or b.) paint it with Kilz. So of course, I opt for b. However, painting with Kilz is like painting with liquid rubber. UGH. First day was Kilz day. Second day was first coat of Sandy Pebble...and third day final coat. It looks very nice now, but what a chore. We also painted the ceiling, which was a very dirty, icky color, and is now a beautiful white. Cammie had to do the ceiling, I knew I couldn't do that. And if that wasn't enough messing up the house; we had new counter tops installed in the kitchen, so for the last 3 days my house has been a disaster! But now the new counters are in and it sure does look nice. Tomorrow I am going to put my house back together.
While Cammie has been here we have tried, unsucessfully, to get her drivers license. It seems that my Explorer (exploder as it is fondly called) has a problem. The third brake light (middle light) is out. Now, it would be only too simple to just replace the bulb, however, we tried that and it still didn't work. Found out we need a new brake light assembly. Easy enough, right? WRONG! Ford does not stock parts for a 94 Explorer any longer at any dealer ship. We had to order the part. It was suppose to have been mailed to us last week, only to find out it wasn't mailed until yesterday....grrrr! Now, you can't take the drivers test if you have "faulty" equipment. DAMN! Her test is scheduled for Friday morning and if I have to borrow a car I will, but she will take the test. She is more than ready...an excellent, safe driver and a parallel parking ace! I am so proud of her.
I also have gotten her hooked on quilting..kinda. She has picked out her material for her quilt and tomorrow she will start to sew. We cut it out last Friday night at the quilt shop (it was free sew night) and she is all fired up to go. It has been so much fun having her here.
Today we went to Spokane to Costco and also took the cats to the vet for their annual shots...which is always fun. I am still getting the evil eye from Juanito! I can't believe my cats are 13 years old...seems like just yesterday they were kittens and bringing me treasures from the outside like mice, moles, frogs, wood rats, snakes, etc.
I recived this from a friend via email the other day and I really thought it was appropriate to share at this time in my life. I can really relate to this.
OLD AGE, I HAVE DECIDED, IS A GIFT
I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother/father!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things..
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)
MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!
MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!
FRIENDS FOREVER!
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