HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!

OK, get this.  Yesterday was my dad's 94th birthday!  I had exactly a 45 minute window of opportunity to get in touch with him.  Why?  Because he was either golfing, playing cards (in the morning), or going out to dinner and playing cards (in the evening)!  And I thought MY life was busy!!  Not only is he physically active, but mentally, too!
I first TEXTED him in the morning to wish him a happy birthday. Then, during that open 45 minutes of opportunity in the late afternoon, we SKYPED!  He told me then that he couldn't keep up with all the people who were wishing him a happy birthday on his FACEBOOK!!  Whenever he had an moment here or there, he was playing words with friends on his I-PHONE with my daughter!!  He is UNBELIEVABLE, YES????  It makes me burst with pride, not to mention awe, to see how engaged with life he is!!!  Many, many more happy birthdays, Dad!  I love you!  BTW, did you pass down any of those genes or did you keep them all to yourself??

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE!

I was watching the Today Show today, as I do most everyday, and there was a segment by Jane Pauley on aging.  She interviewed a man, who, when he was going through a divorce and depression, he went to the beach to de-stress.  Being a carpenter, he decided, just on a lark, to build a sandcastle.  It was therapy for him.  Now he has commissions all over the world as a professional sand sculpturer!  But it was his words, even more than his beautiful work, that really got to me.  He said, "If you're really dissatisfied, find something that feeds your soul, that gets you excited.  Don't quit your job."  (Altho he did, after 6 months!)  "Just make it a bigger part of your life, because that's going to give you the balance that you need."  He loves doing what he does, especially because he is always surrounded by happy people, who are in awe of his work, as am I!  He said, "It's so intoxicating.  I had never had those moments before in my life." When he was asked what happens if the sandcastle falls down, his answer was, "Things collapse, just like in life.  You just start all over again."  His only regret?  He didn't start doing this until after age 50.  The lesson here:  start early in life making time for the things that truly bring you joy!

EXCLUSIVE CLUB, INDEED!

I was talking on the phone yesterday to my best bud from high school. We only chat about every 4 months or so, but when we do, well, her husband said it best when he answered the phone:  "I'll go get her and some iced tea, because she's going to be sitting on the porch for an hour!"  I love how we can just pick up wherever we left off, so many months prior!  I know this is rare.
   Something even more rare is what she commented upon:  I am the only one of her friends (we live in different states) that still has both parents alive and well!  I never thought of that!  Come to think of it, I told her, I am the only one of MY friends, too, who has both parents living!  The youngest of my sibs is in his mid 50's and the oldest, is in his upper 60's and for all of us to have our parents still around, is, well, amazing!!
    My dad commented the other day that he and my mom now have 10 GREAT grandchildren and one more on the way!!  Are you kidding me?!  My parents knew nothing about their own grandparents, not even their names!!  Then, their own parents, my grandparents, were all deceased by the time I was 12, so my memories of them are minimal.  How crazy is it that we mid-lifers still have our parents, which means that our own kids, who are all in their 30's and 40's, still have their grandparents, and vital ones at that??  My gosh!  If each generation continues to live so much longer than the ones before, get ready, kids!  I'm stickin' around till I'm 125!!  I know my son-in-law loves me, but even he might be thinking I've overstayed my welcome!  ha!
   Well, as my mother turns 89 on Friday, I wish her a very happy birthday, and many, many more, to be sure!

HER MAJESTY, THE QUEEN

1.  Has unbelievable, incredible skin!  I'm really thinking it might be due to the fact that she has always worn hats with brims!
2.  Rarely is seen wearing sunglasses.  Has the brim protected her from getting cataracts, also?
3.  Smiles so infrequently that when she actually does, it looks fake!  How sad is that?
4.  Wears THE most beautifully coordinated, brightly colored outfits with matching hat and (always)pearls (necklace, earrings, broach or all 3), but then why does she always carry THE ugliest black purse and wear ugly black heels?!  Those ladies-in-waiting have failed their queen!
5.  Has kept in great shape for all of her 86 years.  How?  Do you think she hops on the treadmill or elliptical?  Does she even own tennis shoes?  If so, are they also black?
6.  Shows so little emotion that I want to reach through the TV screen, shake her and say, "COME ON, LADY!!  Doesn't four days of celebrating YOU mean that your subjects deserve some kind of spontaneity, warmth or enthusiasm from you?  Even for one brief, shining moment??
7.  Is probably so upset with her husband that he messed up both Christmas and now her Diamond Jubilee celebration that she'll make him walk behind her from now on!
8.  Was a sweetheart in calling my mother everyday when they were both pregnant:  the Queen with Charles and my mum with me.  (I am one day older than Charlie).
9. Must be doing something right:  married for 64 years, on the throne for 60, has kids, grandkids and an entire country who respect and adore her.......HIP! HIP! HOORAY!!

FROM ONE OF THOSE ANONYMOUS EMAILS

1.  "It only takes a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone."
2.  "Don't go for looks; they can deceive.
      Don't go for wealth; even that fades away.
      Go for someone who makes you smile,
      Because it only takes a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
      Find the one that makes your heart smile."

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

We all know that such a circle exists, but every so often, this fact dramatically hits us upside the head!  Two days ago, my niece gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.  Only a few hours later, the father of a good friend of mine, died.  One came into the world; one left it.  One has a lifetime to live (hopefully!) and one lived a lifetime.  Happysadtears.

I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!

I have written before about the importance of living a conscious life- one in which we are totally plugged in, and not just swept along on the current of life, not noticing those important details that are all around us.  I was happy to read an editorial in my favorite magazine, MORE, where Lesley Jane Seymour, Editor-in-Chief, writes of the same thing. She put it so beautifully, that I just had to share.
"From age 13-45, we treat each day as if it were a tiny clown car into which we jam, squish or squeeze eight more activities than is physically possible....This frantic, exhausting circus act called life seems as if it's going to stretch on forever- and we're left begging for just a five minute intermission."  Years pass, and "we start spending Saturday nights at events we are actually interested in.  Wrinkle creams materialize on our bathroom counters, and gray hairs on our heads.  Suddenly there is a "big" birthday and we realize that intermission is upon us!  Now we don't want to treat each day like a tiny clown car anymore.  We want to be conscious of the way we spend our time...... I've decided I want to do only the things that will help me live a life that's fuller, richer- and slower."  And this is precisely why I "allow" myself to sit on my back porch, with a book on my lap, possessing none of the guilt that I used to have when I wasn't doing or going.  Age can be a wonderful thing!