I Am That Old Woman

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 ...