It’s who we are. On the Inside . Untouched by time or infirmity. Untrammeled by sorrows and losses and terrible truths. Unfettered by the vulnerability of old age or the fear of oblivion. Inside we are forever young.
The Philosopher’s Teacup
When Your Inside Doesn’t Match Your Outside Anymore
Saturday, February 2nd, 2013
A snapshot can do it… a store window reflection… a chance remark by a friend. It’s the moment you realize you’re not young anymore. You’re not old either, thank the Lord, just – you know, not young. You don’t feel any different on the inside. But your inside doesn’t match your outside the way it [ Read More ]
What’s Outside the Box?
Friday, January 25th, 2013
My mother could foretell death, my daughter described her own death in heartbreaking detail a month before it happened, we had a family Banshee and my aunts tended to communicate by telepathy. In short, we were Irish, so none of that was beyond the Pale of plausibility. You can imagine why, coming from such a [ Read More ]
The Family Plot
Saturday, January 12th, 2013
It occurred to me today, as I found myself standing in the middle of the family plot talking to the people I love who are no longer with me except in spirit and memory, that anyone not Irish might consider it odd to find comfort in a cemetery. Yet, I always do. I’d gone there [ Read More ]
My Alone Time with the Tree
Friday, January 4th, 2013
5:00 a.m. It’s just me and the tree. The house is quiet. Nobody else loves the morning as I do, since my father’s gone. There’s snow on the ground and sleet has turned the trees outside to fairyland, ice palaces crisscrossing my front yard, transforming the winter-blue light into a magical dreamscape. I throw a [ Read More ]
A Christmas Story
Sunday, December 16th, 2012
Love manifests in the strangest ways. Just like courage. And understanding. Sometimes it sneaks up on you and you don’t realize how great a gift it is or how much self-sacrifice was required of the giver. Until later, much later in the game of life, when you’ve grown old enough to know that nothing is [ Read More ]
My Sister
Friday, December 7th, 2012
I have a beloved sister, Conny, nearly 13 years younger than I. We’re quite different in appearance, profession, proclivities, talents and even in sexual orientation, but in our hearts, we’re pretty much cut from the same cloth. We’ve worked together in one way or another, for a lifetime, certain this is not the first lifetime [ Read More ]
The Case for Healthy Denial
Friday, November 30th, 2012
My friends are reaching birthday numbers they thought they’d never have to cope with, taking up Causes or Yoga, planning retirement, talking about their portfolios, their golf game and their cholesterol. They’re also burying their parents, becoming rich and Republican, having grandchildren and heart attacks – and oddest of all, they’re calling themselves Seniors. How [ Read More ]
Reflections
Friday, November 30th, 2012
I recently spent a hilarious afternoon at the hairdresser, as all the women there and the witty, astute owner of the place, shared our strategies for never really seeing ourselves in the mirror again… except, of course, when we’re at the hairdresser and look our absolute best. We each had our own mid-life mirror-avoidance technique [ Read More ]
The Energy of Creativity
Saturday, November 24th, 2012
Among the many reasons I’ve breathed a sigh of relief about the results of the Presidential Election is that I no longer feel the Arts are in immediate danger of being de-funded. They only get a pittance compared to other budget items that could be cut, but somehow they landed in the political crosshairs. So [ Read More ]