I Am That Old Woman

      A while back, I was chatting with my daughter about legacies. She said to me, "Mom, C is your legacy." C is my granddaughter, the gorgeous redhead whom I adore. After this election, I am deeply concerned about what will be left for her.     Will my granddaughter be met with "Your body, my choice?" Will she have educational and employment opportunities? Will she be able to grow up to be whatever she wants to be? I saw this posted recently:  "We could have shown our daughters that they can do anything. Instead, we showed our sons that they can rape, cheat, and lie and still become the most powerful man in the country." It makes my heart break.     I am terrified about the future of our country in the hands of a want-to-be dictator. I'm frightened by what is being threatened for public education, for our planet. And within two weeks post-election, it appears that many who stood for democracy prior to the election, are bending a k...

             I have been away for a bit-a dear friend was visiting from Cyprus and my writing time was limited. During her visit, however, I made an interesting discovery about myself--that old woman.       My US friend was telling my Cypriot friend that she loved how I said what I thought, and that you knew what you were getting with me. I replied, "You mean, I have no filter." She responded that those words gave a negative connotation and that her observances were meant to be seen in a positive light. After much thought, I have decided to embrace my "no-filter-ness."     As a younger woman, I often bit my tongue, or kept my thoughts to myself. I would present a kind, agreeable self, one who nodded her head and didn't "make waves." Years have taught me that in doing so, I was denying who I really am, what I really think. I am entitled to my thoughts when I back them up with my experience and my education. They a...

We have this sense of beauty and staying young in our culture, but as I age, I become more and more troubled by what I see. I have noticed so many women turning to botox injections and facial plastic surgery. The problem I have with this great desire to stay looking "young"is that many of these women now look hideous.   Noses don't appear real and mouths and lips become distorted.  In my opinion, these women don't look young and attractive, they look defective, like something had gone terribly wrong.     All this in the pursuit of beauty, I say, bah, Humbug! Some things actually improve with age.   Take wine for example. I think women who show signs of aging show much beauty.   I remember watching my grandmother smile and looking at all of the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Those wrinkles were lines that reflected a rich life.   Women are like fine wine.   They, too, improve with age.   Those lines can tell wonderful stories of jo...

I have been blogging now for a lengthy TWO days, and I thought I needed to explain why I created this blog, so pull up a chair and I will tell you a story! Last summer, at the beach with my granddaughter, I was covered with towels and my straw hat, sunglasses protecting my eyes, and seated on my little chair. I looked out at the ocean watching my girl splash and play. During my reverie, I realized-I am that old woman! The one I used to always see at the beach when I was a child. The one I used to giggle at for her eccentric behavior! I couldn't understand why anyone would be so covered and just sitting at the beach. And yet, some 50-60 years later, there I was! I had become that woman. In less than a month, I will reap the rewards of arriving at the ripe old age of 64! Two years more than my grandmother lived. I am now older than my grandmother was when she died. That realization last year at my birthday, sent me into a bit of a tizzy! Was I at the end of my life? Hell no! I h...

 October 23 Recently, I was attending a gala and chatting with some friends. Another friend came over to join us and said, "Lois, I knew I heard your voice!" Yes, I am loud. God did not gift me with an inside voice. The more engaged I become in a conversation, the louder the volume. I have a dear friend who just waves her hand in a downward motion to indicate to me that the volume is a bit high. My friends with hearing aids, however, never seem to have a problem with my volume. I like them. I teach online, meeting synchronously on Zoom with my students. While visiting my daughter last month, I was in a Zoom meeting with my PhD students. Now, I will let you know that I do get rather excited about my subject matter. After class had ended, my daughter asked me why I yelled at my students. She informed me that she and my granddaughter could hear me in the garage. I didn't think I was yelling; I was enthused! And besides, I told her, one of my students Zooms in from Africa. I ...

 October 22, 2024 Today, I should be celebrating the fact that on this day nine years ago I had a right side mastectomy. I have been a cancer survivor for nine years! Something to celebrate, indeed! Instead, I have been calling, emailing, and texting to stop the fraud that is occurring on my old Facebook page. So, once upon a time last Tuesday, I awoke to a series of emails from Facebook announcing that between 2 and 2:30am someone had been trying to sign in my account. With those emails came the assurance that "if this was you, you don't need to do anything." By that time, my Facebook account password and email address had been changed and I could no longer access my account. I filed a report with Facebook that morning and that evening.   After 24 hours there was no response, so I sent morning and evening reports the second day. On Thursday, I created a new Facebook account. I reached out to my "former" friends, but Facebook community standards only allowed me ...