It is great to discover that there are now three generations of us all blogging away in our own distinctive way. My blogs are few and far between and being written by an 'oldie' probably don't hold a lot of interest but I do it anyway!! My daughter is able to express herself more completely than I do and is an expert with words (perhaps we older people are a little too reserved at times?) and now my granddaughter is writing about being a young mum with her experiences along the way. I have just been checking our her blog and find it particularly interesting and I so in agreement with her views on children. I had had nothing to do with babies or children before my daughter was born when I was 23 (in my teenage years there were two nieces I only saw occasionally) and here is Christie with her vast experience as a teacher etc. I can only wish her well. She too has a wonderful way of expressing herself and I look forward to reading all future blogs. I love you both so much.
P.S. I now realise of course that Immy has had her own blog for some time so there are actually FOUR generations doing it. I hope Immy will keep her own blog going as well.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Trying to get back into writing mode
Well, here it is 8pm on Sunday, 24th May, and it is two weeks since I was last sitting here adding to my, what probably is a very boring, blog!!
We have just about completely recovered from this vicious head cold we had...boy, did it linger on with me eventually having to be on antibiotics for a nasty cough that had developed.
Last Sunday we paid a visit to our eldest granddaughter, her husband and their delightful 15 month old daughter....our youngest great-granddaughter. My daughter and her other half were there as well....a delayed Mother's Day get-together postponed from the previous week.
We had a most enjoyable afternoon, sitting outside eating cake and drinking coffee/tea and having so much fun with the little one. Her folks have made her this wonderful cubby house (complete with door and window) out of a huge cardboard carton and she loves being in there and peeking out the window and laughing so much when we say 'boo' to her. Shows that one doesn't need to spend a fortune on toys when such simple things as carboard boxes can bring such delight. Of course she does have lots and lots of toys from family and friends and is a very lucky little girl and enjoys playing with all of them.
I have been thinking seriously about what I may write about.....have already put forward some ideas but I often wonder why would I bother? I have many thoughts on many subjects, both serious and not so serious, and I guess it would be a good idea to get them out of my head or system as the case may be but......perhaps before long I'll get in the right frame of mind to pursue many subjects as they come to mind. Best I can say for now is "Watch this space". Wonder if anyone ever does though? Does it matter anyway? Not really.
We have just about completely recovered from this vicious head cold we had...boy, did it linger on with me eventually having to be on antibiotics for a nasty cough that had developed.
Last Sunday we paid a visit to our eldest granddaughter, her husband and their delightful 15 month old daughter....our youngest great-granddaughter. My daughter and her other half were there as well....a delayed Mother's Day get-together postponed from the previous week.
We had a most enjoyable afternoon, sitting outside eating cake and drinking coffee/tea and having so much fun with the little one. Her folks have made her this wonderful cubby house (complete with door and window) out of a huge cardboard carton and she loves being in there and peeking out the window and laughing so much when we say 'boo' to her. Shows that one doesn't need to spend a fortune on toys when such simple things as carboard boxes can bring such delight. Of course she does have lots and lots of toys from family and friends and is a very lucky little girl and enjoys playing with all of them.
I have been thinking seriously about what I may write about.....have already put forward some ideas but I often wonder why would I bother? I have many thoughts on many subjects, both serious and not so serious, and I guess it would be a good idea to get them out of my head or system as the case may be but......perhaps before long I'll get in the right frame of mind to pursue many subjects as they come to mind. Best I can say for now is "Watch this space". Wonder if anyone ever does though? Does it matter anyway? Not really.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
CARING FOR EACH OTHER IN OLD AGE
My husband and I are at present 77 and 79 respectively and have very few associates, and family members are usually rather busy although there are a few of them who are always there for us without question.
What I am trying to say is that in everyday life he and I are there for each other. He has been wonderful playing mother after my two recent hip replacement operations and I try to be there in little ways too...reminding him to take his medication which he sometimes forgets, putting in his eye drops each night (he has glaucoma) and those little important things which are necessary as one ages.
We are now in the process of recovering for really nasty head colds...he was the first to come down with it and I tried to care for him to the best of my ability...then it was my turn and as he recovers he is doing his best to care for me.
In my mind I hope when the time comes that I go first, but recently when he was worried about me following my operation he told me (after much questioning) that "I just can't imagine life without you!" so am I being very selfish in not wanting to be here without him?
I feel I am more dependent on him than he is on me but he disagrees and says he would be lost without me, so I guess we both see things from our own corners.
Most of our friends have departed this mortal coil and neither of us feel like breaking in new friends. Once you reach our age friendships are established and one cannot expect others to accept you into their established circle of friends of many years.
This is our second time around as far as marriage goes (his first one lasted about 11 years and mine lasted 13 years) and in our case the second time around has proved to be fantastic and this year we will have been married for 42 years. We try not to think of how many more years there will be. We don't live in the past but try and live for today and hope there will be a future ahead for some time yet.
What I am trying to say is that in everyday life he and I are there for each other. He has been wonderful playing mother after my two recent hip replacement operations and I try to be there in little ways too...reminding him to take his medication which he sometimes forgets, putting in his eye drops each night (he has glaucoma) and those little important things which are necessary as one ages.
We are now in the process of recovering for really nasty head colds...he was the first to come down with it and I tried to care for him to the best of my ability...then it was my turn and as he recovers he is doing his best to care for me.
In my mind I hope when the time comes that I go first, but recently when he was worried about me following my operation he told me (after much questioning) that "I just can't imagine life without you!" so am I being very selfish in not wanting to be here without him?
I feel I am more dependent on him than he is on me but he disagrees and says he would be lost without me, so I guess we both see things from our own corners.
Most of our friends have departed this mortal coil and neither of us feel like breaking in new friends. Once you reach our age friendships are established and one cannot expect others to accept you into their established circle of friends of many years.
This is our second time around as far as marriage goes (his first one lasted about 11 years and mine lasted 13 years) and in our case the second time around has proved to be fantastic and this year we will have been married for 42 years. We try not to think of how many more years there will be. We don't live in the past but try and live for today and hope there will be a future ahead for some time yet.
Friday, May 8, 2009
HOW OFTEN I WONDER...................
....should I write about how I feel, about the past, my hopes for the future? Is it good for me to put my thoughts into print (THEY say it is good for us to do so) or should I keep them in my head and mull them over without sharing?
I often think of my adoptive parents and how good they were to me through the years of my youth (and beyond in my mum's case); about my real parents and what life would have been like with them. I don't really think that 'what if's?' are good for us as events that we had no control over are long past even though they may have shaped our lives in some small, or large, way.
I think all the time of my children and their families and how wonderful it would be if my son was still in contact with us and give thanks that my daughter still is even though at times we may drive her to distraction. That happens in families as different generations have different points of view, although eventually the next generation often comes to realise where the oldies were coming from.
This blog of mine would be a wonderful outlet for my thoughts as they meander through my head so perhaps it is time I worked out just what it is I would like to 'talk' about and how much of it I need to get out into the open. Perhaps I'm a little old for any soul searching to be of much help to me or anyone else and living in the past may not be good and yet maybe....who knows??
None of the above may have made much sense but I at least know what I'm on about which I hope will be helpful to me if to nobody else, at least for the present.
So....all I can say is this "Watch this space".
I often think of my adoptive parents and how good they were to me through the years of my youth (and beyond in my mum's case); about my real parents and what life would have been like with them. I don't really think that 'what if's?' are good for us as events that we had no control over are long past even though they may have shaped our lives in some small, or large, way.
I think all the time of my children and their families and how wonderful it would be if my son was still in contact with us and give thanks that my daughter still is even though at times we may drive her to distraction. That happens in families as different generations have different points of view, although eventually the next generation often comes to realise where the oldies were coming from.
This blog of mine would be a wonderful outlet for my thoughts as they meander through my head so perhaps it is time I worked out just what it is I would like to 'talk' about and how much of it I need to get out into the open. Perhaps I'm a little old for any soul searching to be of much help to me or anyone else and living in the past may not be good and yet maybe....who knows??
None of the above may have made much sense but I at least know what I'm on about which I hope will be helpful to me if to nobody else, at least for the present.
So....all I can say is this "Watch this space".
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
THE LOVE OF FAMILY
What would we do without it? Our lovely daughter and her, also lovely, eldest daughter are coming to the rescue of we two oldies. Pop has to go to hospital tomorrow for a procedure and, as I am still not driving after my last hip replacement op, we were wondering just how we would manage it. Checked out taxi prices...gee, they are high these days....but thought that would have to be the way to to solve the problem even if we probably would be $50-60 out of pocket. Then, our daughter telephones and says "About Thursday....I have a meeting at work that day but can get off for an hour or so in the afternoon and I will ask "CB" if she could drive over and take Pop to the hospital in the morning".
This has relieved us both of a huge dilemma....I was feeling I'd let the dear old chap down as I'm not driving yet......but thank goodness there are still some in our family that are always there for us. These two are very precious to us and, not only that, we will also spend a short time with our gorgeous great-granddaughter as well; me the longest as, after dropping Pop at the hospital, they will come back to me for a cuppa before heading home again.
I don't think these two precious people will ever know how much all this means to us. Most of our close friends have departed this life and others live so many kilometres away that we were somewhat stuck, but not any more. Thank you so much.
Yes, I know, I really must get back behind the wheel. Just a case of regaining lost confidence I guess. It's such a jungle out there on the roads these days but if my aunt could start driving again when in her early eighties (my uncle, at 86, had decided his driving days were over) then I can do it too. I will. I will. I will.
This has relieved us both of a huge dilemma....I was feeling I'd let the dear old chap down as I'm not driving yet......but thank goodness there are still some in our family that are always there for us. These two are very precious to us and, not only that, we will also spend a short time with our gorgeous great-granddaughter as well; me the longest as, after dropping Pop at the hospital, they will come back to me for a cuppa before heading home again.
I don't think these two precious people will ever know how much all this means to us. Most of our close friends have departed this life and others live so many kilometres away that we were somewhat stuck, but not any more. Thank you so much.
Yes, I know, I really must get back behind the wheel. Just a case of regaining lost confidence I guess. It's such a jungle out there on the roads these days but if my aunt could start driving again when in her early eighties (my uncle, at 86, had decided his driving days were over) then I can do it too. I will. I will. I will.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
GOING SHOPPING....AGAIN
This may sound such an everyday occurrence to many people but it has become quite an adventure for me to go to the shops over past months as I can't walk too much or stand for very long.
Tomorrow my oldest granddaughter, with her little girl, is going to pick me up and we are going to Spotlight as both of us want to buy some items that only they seem to have these days. Not many shops cater very much for those who want to sew, knit and crochet. We have a new Spotlight not far from our home and I am looking forward to visiting it.
I know this sounds a very mundane event but to me it means just so much. I am going somewhere I really want to go and with someone who is taking the trouble to pick me up and bring me home again. She will never know what it means to me to have her do this. Another day for me to look forward to and I hope all will go well.
Tomorrow my oldest granddaughter, with her little girl, is going to pick me up and we are going to Spotlight as both of us want to buy some items that only they seem to have these days. Not many shops cater very much for those who want to sew, knit and crochet. We have a new Spotlight not far from our home and I am looking forward to visiting it.
I know this sounds a very mundane event but to me it means just so much. I am going somewhere I really want to go and with someone who is taking the trouble to pick me up and bring me home again. She will never know what it means to me to have her do this. Another day for me to look forward to and I hope all will go well.
MY MOTHER'S SLAVE BANGLE - VERY DEAR TO ME
As many people now know, I was adopted when a very tiny baby. The story about who I am and about my natural parents is too long to recount here but one little story I would like to tell is this.
Eventually, when in my late 60s, I met some of my birth mother's siblings which was a real thrill for me and they were so very nice to me, and accepted me without question, which made it even better. My mother had died prior to this and when I met an uncle and his wife for the first time, she brought with her a gold slave bangle that had belonged to my mother. She also gave me some lovely photographs of when my mother had been a bridesmaid at a couple of weddings and in these photos she is actually wearing the bangle on her upper arm.
I was telling my physiotherapist about this today and said I thought people would perhaps think me silly, but I had hung the bangle on the post at the head of my bed so it was always close to me when I slept, and occasionally I would take it and give it a polish to keep it bright and shiny. After all it would be all of 80 years old now as my mother was born in 1910, nearly 100 years ago.
Unfortunately, I was never able to meet my birth mother but I feel that this bangle is so personal to her that having it there makes me feel closer to the woman of whom I am very much a part of. It is to her that I always quietly say "Thank you for giving me life. No matter what the circumstances were regarding my birth you chose to have me. If you had known me I would like to think I would not have been a disappointment to you."
I had wonderful adoptive parents but theirs is another story for another day.
Eventually, when in my late 60s, I met some of my birth mother's siblings which was a real thrill for me and they were so very nice to me, and accepted me without question, which made it even better. My mother had died prior to this and when I met an uncle and his wife for the first time, she brought with her a gold slave bangle that had belonged to my mother. She also gave me some lovely photographs of when my mother had been a bridesmaid at a couple of weddings and in these photos she is actually wearing the bangle on her upper arm.
I was telling my physiotherapist about this today and said I thought people would perhaps think me silly, but I had hung the bangle on the post at the head of my bed so it was always close to me when I slept, and occasionally I would take it and give it a polish to keep it bright and shiny. After all it would be all of 80 years old now as my mother was born in 1910, nearly 100 years ago.
Unfortunately, I was never able to meet my birth mother but I feel that this bangle is so personal to her that having it there makes me feel closer to the woman of whom I am very much a part of. It is to her that I always quietly say "Thank you for giving me life. No matter what the circumstances were regarding my birth you chose to have me. If you had known me I would like to think I would not have been a disappointment to you."
I had wonderful adoptive parents but theirs is another story for another day.
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