tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post4433894746175239946..comments2024-01-14T02:19:22.761-05:00Comments on Have Your Cake & Read It Too: When I Am an Old Woman...Erin Knightleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09368123673970225476noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-33100178346247747952010-07-17T10:08:54.847-04:002010-07-17T10:08:54.847-04:00LOL, Katharine, I always notice your bling-y shoes...LOL, Katharine, I <i>always</i> notice your bling-y shoes! I think I went through a very similar metamorphesis. I remember going back to visit one of my former jobs five years after I left. One of my former co-workers looked at me in surprise and asked if I had somehow gotten <i>younger</i> in the intervening years, lol!<br /><br />Thanks for the sweet words... now go wear those sparkly sandals!Erin Knightleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09368123673970225476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-60885773546920576182010-07-17T10:04:54.747-04:002010-07-17T10:04:54.747-04:00Lindsay, I specifically thought of your 'birth...Lindsay, I specifically thought of your 'birthday twin' when I was writing this :)<br />Frances is a very special woman, and I love hearing about her amazing accomplishments and her beautiful take on life. Thanks so much for sharing, I was hoping you would!Erin Knightleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09368123673970225476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-64809612462321058882010-07-17T08:00:50.427-04:002010-07-17T08:00:50.427-04:00Erin, once again I'm both giggling and teary a...Erin, once again I'm both giggling and teary after reading a post here. This is a beautiful tribute to your grandmother. Your attitude toward life you've expressed here shines through so clearly when people meet you. I've no doubt you'll someday be wearing electric blue and calling everyone "honey." <br /><br />I noticed something a few years ago about growing up (and, I suppose, growing old). I'm more who I was as a kid *now* than I was for my young adulthood. At some point in my mid-thirties I let myself remember who I'd been before things like college, work, and responsibility subsumed me in Maturity. <br /><br />Some evidence of the change? <br /><br />Back then, I bought my first high heels for my office job: black, matte leather, medium heel so I could walk comfortably to and from the metro stop. I was very Grown Up and loved this new Adult Me. <br /><br />Now I only buy shoes with bling. My latest purchases are patent leather spikes and princess sandals in sparkly gold. <br /><br />Back then when I felt affection I often withheld expressing it. Rejection was too hard to bear. <br /><br />Now there's no holding back. Hugs and praise flow forth, and giggles and tears are no secret. <br /><br />It's fun to grow up and grow old, and to wear purple. Kudos to your grandmother. She sounds as terrific as you!Thenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15945179782098934391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-62379867095754365952010-07-16T18:24:17.956-04:002010-07-16T18:24:17.956-04:00When I grow up and grow old, I'd like to be li...When I grow up and grow old, I'd like to be like Frances, my 86 year old birthday twin.<br /><br />Frances and I were next-door neighbors when I lived in a studio apt in Santa Monica. She and I would often share wine or tea, watch movies and talk politics. In her 80's, Frances still attends regular classes at the local Ameritus college; she writes weekly letters to Congress and the President; she takes yoga and swim classes. Quite simply, she's amazing.<br />Oh, and did I mention that she earned two PhD's in the 1960s and 70s?! In ancient Hebrew and Aramaic and Egyptian studies. She was only with her dear husband 20 years before he passed, and though she never found love again, she loves life and people and stays so active I don't think she's wanting for love in her life. <br />Every birthday, Frances and I get together and toast another year. And it gives me time to reflect on how, in 50-some years, I'd like to be just like her :)Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05633395981565673888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-89527486479912358052010-07-14T14:37:46.693-04:002010-07-14T14:37:46.693-04:00Andy, you are already the cranky old man yelling a...Andy, you are <i>already</i> the cranky old man yelling at the kids to get off your lawn. Okay, maybe not, but I am picturing you that way anyway - LOL!<br />Thanks for dropping by!Erin Knightleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09368123673970225476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-51098033613525827192010-07-14T13:02:04.583-04:002010-07-14T13:02:04.583-04:00Well as much as I admire your goals, i think i'...Well as much as I admire your goals, i think i'll be the cranky old man yelling at the kids to get off my lawn;)Andymacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-4449583194455821452010-07-14T12:37:28.231-04:002010-07-14T12:37:28.231-04:00It's so hard, Heather, when diseases or accide...It's so hard, Heather, when diseases or accidents rob us of loved ones too soon. In our own lives, we can strive to do the best for our bodies and our souls, and hope to be one of those vibrant ninety-somethings we have known and loved :)<br />Thanks for stopping by! And keep on fighting that darn processed food (if only it weren't so delicious!) :)Erin Knightleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09368123673970225476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-82786039490884103482010-07-14T02:36:36.985-04:002010-07-14T02:36:36.985-04:00Touching post... Me, I hope to make it that long ...Touching post... Me, I hope to make it that long with my mind and body intact. I worked in an Assisted Living facility when I was younger and met the funnest, most vibrant people well into their nineties. It was hard for me, sometimes, though, having lost my grandmother at 62 to cancer and realizing that I could have, should have, had 20-30 more years with her...a lifetime of mine. I hope my children/grandchildren don't ever have to feel that.<br /><br />Better quit eating that processed food... :)Heather Snowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16658143507115401865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-76189935769695811032010-07-13T20:50:46.878-04:002010-07-13T20:50:46.878-04:00Wow, Donna, thanks so much! I'm glad you stop...Wow, Donna, thanks so much! I'm glad you stopped by to say hello... and that my sister and i aren't then only ones who still have giggle fits despite the fact we are in our thirties :)Erin Knightleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09368123673970225476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-56998873682612177382010-07-13T19:41:35.685-04:002010-07-13T19:41:35.685-04:00I love this post! My sister and I can laugh like ...I love this post! My sister and I can laugh like that about things that are only funny to us -- half of our phone conversations are dead air while we laugh ourselves silly.<br /><br />This whole post is worth re-reading -- I enjoyed so many things in it. Thanks for sharing!Donna Cummingshttp://www.allaboutthewriting.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-7864583118492244452010-07-13T14:30:20.985-04:002010-07-13T14:30:20.985-04:00I can't believe I forgot about Myra, Kara! Wh...I can't believe I forgot about Myra, Kara! What an amazing woman, and a wonderful example of the power of positive living. How blessed you are to have had so many years of friendship with her.<br /><br />And yes, I think The Adventures of Agatha, Orthopedic Shoe Wearing, White Perm Sporting, Sturdy Englishwoman Extraordinaire has quite the ring to it! LOL!Erin Knightleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09368123673970225476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-64604583291142645572010-07-13T14:18:15.347-04:002010-07-13T14:18:15.347-04:00Love love love this! Made me laugh out loud all t...Love love love this! Made me laugh out loud all the way through...maybe I should write a superhero movie about that short stout British woman, she was a marvel indeed:) Having volunteered at a nursing home for many years, I was always struck at the stark difference between the people living there who were either resigned to living a life of misery or the ones who continued to look out the window with a true sense of wonder at the world around them after so many years. Of the latter group was my friend Myra who I had the pleasure of knowing from the ages of 95 to 101, and to this day, she gave me the best piece of advice I've ever been given -- she told me "Happiness is a choice and I choose it every day." And she did. I hope to be a compassionate old woman, wise and ever learning, I hope never to lose my sense of wonder and to always choose happiness.Kara Holdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02546404485329277556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-25629261104120902012010-07-13T10:40:05.275-04:002010-07-13T10:40:05.275-04:00What a wonderful role model, Catherine! I love he...What a wonderful role model, Catherine! I love hearing stories about amazing people like Lewis :) Thank you so much for sharing!Erin Knightleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09368123673970225476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071542331530983118.post-78983324375046628372010-07-13T10:24:49.832-04:002010-07-13T10:24:49.832-04:00This is a fantastic post, Erin. I know exactly how...This is a fantastic post, Erin. I know exactly how I want to be when I am old. I want to be just like my Grandpa.<br /><br />Even though he was 87 years old, he mowed his own 2 acre yard and his daughter-in-law's 3 acre yard the day before he died. The day before that? He had done all the yard work for his church. He had multiples of nearly every spare part he might need for his riding mower, just in case. He was active his entire life, taking care of everything he could.<br /><br />He was also the most loving man I've ever known, and well-loved because of it. He always surrounded himself by family. When I was 2, he started a bi-annual family reunion. Through these every other year events, I know not only my aunts, uncles, and cousins, but my great-aunts and great-uncles, second cousins, third cousins, (don't ask me to detail all the XXX-removed bits--to me, they're just family) and on and on. Our family reunions tend to have over 100 people present.<br /><br />He read the newspaper every day, even though his eyesight was in a continual, rapid state of decline from macular degeneration. He was an active member of his community. Everyone knew Lewis. With six children, sixteen grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild, he never forgot a birthday, including those of spouses and ex-spouses.<br /><br />Yep, I want to be just like Grandpa.Catherine Gaylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05830640955594808304noreply@blogger.com