I'm my own imaginary friend
If I told you my favorite foods are liver and brussels sprouts, you might wonder about the mother who raised me and question how I survived to adulthood. If you knew her, you'd understand.
If I told you I smoked Gauloise cigarettes in my youth and colored my hair with henna, you'd accept that as a rite of passage, perhaps. You'd be right if you suspected it didn't take long for me to outgrow that phase.
If I told you I once lived in a home situated on a lot the length of football field in an exclusive suburb of a major city, you might not believe me. Someone who grew up in Dowagiac could never have lived in a house with Corian counters, a heated garage and gutter cables that melted the ice-dams on the slate roof, but honestly, I did that, too.
If I told you I visited Iceland in February when I was 45 and visited the Penis Museum while I was there, you might be shocked, unless you've realized that middle age creeps up on us. Before we know it, we're old and grey.
I wasn't ready for that to happen. I'm not sure what it means to be "old."
Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.
”
—Mark Twain
About Jane
I am an attorney and mediator in a small community in Southwestern Michigan. I have been a professor at two law schools as well as a community college and currently substitute, when possible, in the public schools.
Connections
Jane is a fan of
Trust Me...
Re: I'm not sure what it means to be "old"
Don't worry; It'll come to you.
Thanks
So much to look forward to . . . Santa!
Don't listen to Ron (sorry,
Don't listen to Ron (sorry, Ron – no disrespect intended). You are NOT old. My grandmother, who died, last March, was "old". She was 100.
My mother, when asked her age, replies "I am 78 years young". I know some 30-somethings who complain about being "old" (I feel like slapping them).
I don't subscribe to the "you're only as old as you feel" but I know for a fact that you're young for as long as you can feel awe – real awe for life.
Did you see the George Guetary quote I use under my photo?
One more thing. As usual, Jerry Herman puts it perfectly here.
what a great song sung by the
what a great song sung by the great Angela Lansbury, love the line "you're not over 40, you're over 17." I must remember that!
Just to prove a point
I posted this on my Facebook page. Eva Lesko Natiello's photo appears next to the link. None of my friends seemed to notice, or if they did, they attributed the glitch to my ineptitude with computers, my age, or both.
I have not agreed to take on Eva's debt, or adopt her kids, but when the royalty check for her first published novel appears, I'm cashing it.
True story
When my daughter was in 4th grade, her teacher wanted to drive home the lesson of the Boston Tea Party. She passed out a letter addressed to the kids' parents, suggesting that "due to budget cuts," in the next semester, the janitorial staff would be reduced and 3rd and 4th graders would have to share lockers.
My daughter marched into the assistant principal's office, requested a piece of the school's letterhead and access to a typewriter. She drafted a letter to her teacher, explaining that after some deliberation, the administration had determined it was more cost-effective to eliminate the teacher's position and the reduction in homework would be an additional benefit to the students. The assistant principal signed it.
The teacher kept her job, my daughter got an "A" on the assignment and her classmates learned the significance of the phrase, "the pen is mightier than the sword."
Your daughter sounds
Your daughter sounds fantastic!
Thanks
I'm hardly impartial. :-)
She may be my next "subject"
God help me.
Age is just a number. And a
Age is just a number. And a relative concept. Sometimes when I feel old I stop and imagine myself at 85 wishing I were 48.
You'll be older next year, so enjoy this one!
Hear! Hear!
Hear! Hear!
Age is merely a number. I
Age is merely a number. I decided I would never be old so for every year forward, I go back two. Now, I'm so confused as to my real age, I have to look at my birthdate on my driver's license. But, I'm still having tons of fun and enjoying Life to the fullest so age doesn't matter at all, Jane. I've stopped counting and I still don't know what it means to be "old!" Cheers, J
PS; You have a fantastic daughter!
Thanks, Judee
I'd love to write about my daughter but I still harbor the mother's need to protect her. She's a phenomenal young woman who has accomplished a lot on her own. I don't think she'd like me to write much more about her than I already have and I hope she'll forgive me for my previous references.
As I mentioned, I'm unable to be impartial.