This husband of mine…
Was craving barbecue…ribs with bone…beans and rice…two tortillas…and coffee…his beautiful wife…a baked potato with some barbecued pork on the side…got back to the car…my Mr. checks his phone for messages…hmmm…he says…looking at his call log…I have a lot of potentials… Something about this statement…made this old gal lol…potentials…not potential spams…not spam…but just…potentials… And so it is in life…we do have a lot of potentials… The potential… To be nice…or be a jerk… To be successful…or to fail… To be compassionate…or apathetic… To be driven…or lazy… To own it…or to blame… To make change…or to stagnate… To understand…or be ignorant… To care…or disregard… To choose good…over evil… To love…or hate… To make a difference…or not… To be a good person…or a duck bully So check those potentials…before hitting delete…so many choices…so many paths…which way are you being called…and… What will be…your answer… Hello…this old gal here…today she chooses… To love one another…for the greatest of these…is love… And this husband of mine…agrees…
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This old gal…
Saw something horrible…wishes she hadn’t seen it…wishes…she could unsee it…this Alice Kravitz husband of mine…loves to stand on the deck…and look at the river with his binoculars…regaling his lovely wife with stories about all the critter happenings going on… Been enthralled the last few days with a cute little duck family…chuckles as Mom and Dad swim in the river with their three little ducklings in tow…pointed them out…sunning themselves on the bank near two large turtles… He’d just come in from his daily morning duck check…when hysterical quacking ensued…one minute later…this old gal is being called…to come see…you won’t believe this…and he’s right…no one…would have believed this…a man…with a big dog on a leash…a grown a** man…a grandpa looking man…is standing on the bank…pelting the sweet little duck family…with giant rocks… He throws…and hits…and throws some more…he struts back to the giant rock pile and grabs more…and continues the barrage…the frantic parent ducks squawking in fear…flapping…flailing…circling their little babes…before shocked us could respond…the dog leash was tugged…and the man…went back…to the condo… Mom and Dad climb on the bank…one duckling struggles up beside them…two…are nowhere to be seen…later…Mom and Dad would be alone…childless…number 3 also now gone…Mom…sits by the water…quacking…and quacking…and quacking… There are no words…simply none…but we can all draw parallels in our heads…if one can rage at ducks…then what’s to stop the rage…at a child…a cashier…a waitress…a teacher…a grandparent…at you… Stop the hatred…the rage…the ugly… Show love…compassion…mercy…be a good person… For duck’s sake…Be…a…good…person… And that’s all I have to say about that… And this husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Had a thought…while eating cheese and crackers…this being…how much better it would taste…with horseradish…which made her think…of that horseradish eating father of hers…and how…old me…really doesn’t know…who that man was… For some reason…til now…didn’t seemed to be bothered by this fact…but as old age beckons…this has become one of those areas…that needs closure…not many around any more…that could shed light on the whos…the whats…and the whys…that surround the life of this man…been gone 46 years…had no siblings…limited cousins…friends in their 80s…many of them gone… Reached out to his cousin…ten years younger…brothers married sisters…so he spent lots of time…with that father of mine growing up…we talked on the phone…for an hour…this conversation bringing the little me heart…of this old gal…to tears… Those words of our cousin…taking the 2D childhood memories of that limited father daughter time…to 3D…HD even…seeing this man…through the eyes of an equal…the eyes of a friend…the eyes of someone this old gal could trust…to tell the truth… His words…gave comfort…so many attributes described for that father of mine…ring true…also found in his daughter…and his granddaughters…decent attributes…respectable attributes…attributes…to be proud of…attributes explaining…why this old gal…is the way she is…today… Maybe in his absence…this father of mine…contributed more to this life of mine…than one…would have once thought… And this husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Has noticed something…a pattern…a happening…a reoccurrence…the automatically applied senior citizen discount to a bill…not requested by purchasing me…but generously added by the adorable friendly youth…behind the counter… Frugal me is thankful for the savings…but vain me…the one that feels 35 years old inside…is slightly taken aback…like omg…is it noticeable…is this charade of acting like a young hip thing…not working… But then on the flip side…fast forward a bit…and here’s the old gal…enthused to go to a wing ding for Winter Texans…aka old people who are retired…few people there under the age of 60…except the vendors… Enjoyed some fun…food…live music…our bff Winter Texans won the gold medal door prize…a bag full of wonderful goodies of which they shared the love…by bequeathing us with a gift card to Whataburger… Being young and hip has its up side…but the perks of being an oldie are there too…the restaurant discount…the early bird special…Winter Texan Friends…never setting the alarm…ever again… Old Senior Me knows…you can’t have it all…to enjoy the senior perks…you gotta be…a senior…it’s like that old saying…you can’t have your cake and eat it too…well…maybe you can’t have the cake…but no one ever said anything about…a Whataburger… And this husband of mine…agrees… This husband of mine…
Is a human encyclopedia of seemingly unique and random facts…not useful for anything other than a trivia game…Jeopardy…or a coffee table book about nothing… But they pique interest…some seemingly so out there…that sometimes this old gal is driven to fact check…always finding that this man of mine…knows what he’s talking about…when it comes to…you name it…no topic is off limits…snakes…scorpions…cats…vultures…cacti…antlions…archeology…Pancho Villa…earthquakes…the life of hobos… And so it was…this husband and I visiting the Train Museum…come across Hobo Lingo…an informative segment this old gal experienced…not too long ago…with that tidbit king himself…this old gal chuckling inside…as once again it’s revealed…that this delightful engaging man…speaks the truth… The Train Museum…so cute…so quaint…a fun activity to fill an hour or two…for this blowed-in-the-grass barnacle of mine and I…wearing our glad rags and enjoying one more grand adventure…until…we catch the westbound… And this husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Rode her bike everywhere back in the day…got a Schwinn for her birthday…the banana seat glittery orange…little me toodled around town…to the pool…the park…the grocery store…that bike…a means of escape…to a friend’s once…running from an episode…a spell…a fit…or whatever…little legs pedaling that bike…pumping with fervor…tears flying with the wind… Remember little me…praying…for that dad of mine…to come to the rescue…save me…be my hero…little did she know…that man she called dad…was fighting demons…of his own…athletic…good looking…valedictorian…all state baseball catcher…died at the age of 40…complications of diabetes…and alcohol… Forty…FORTY…his daughter…was 14…the age…where she might be old enough…to get to know him…as a person…really know him… It’s been said…a few months before his wedding…this man called dad…found his own father…in a barn…gone…from suicide…something…they said…changed in him that day…depression…it’s been told…became his worst enemy… The fantasies of a little girl…searching for a hero…someone powerful…someone courageous…someone strong…the reality of this old gal…realizing that that hero was there all along…in her brothers…her grandparents…that uncle of hers… And in that little girl…on that bike…those legs pedaling so fast…the power of determination…never ending resiliency…and the strength…to never…give up… And this husband of mine agrees… This old gal…
Was drawn to a picture that popped up in Facebook memories…throwback to a Poms Night of the past…one activity…a dance off…those high school dancers encouraging audience members to come to the floor…and dance away… Not surprisingly…amateur dancers were not flocking to the limelight…that youngest daughter of mine part of the group calling for participants…and so it was…her eyes meeting those of those older sisters of hers…and off they went…cutting up the gym floor like there was no tomorrow…this photo…later showing up…in the local newspaper… What gets this old mama about that picture…unposed…natural…innocent…is that it shows joy…true joy…brought on…by goofy…silly…innocent…fun… Which…in this old gal’s memory…it seems not a day went by…with those daughters of mine…that there wasn’t at least one outbreak…of the sillies…the stupids…the innocent laughable fun…often just a snippet in time…break in routine…so brief…so spontaneous…there’s no way…to record them…to save them…beyond that of a memory… So thank you random photo from Poms Night past…for kicking up those memories…of days so sweetly missed…that girlie laughter…girlie goofiness…innocent…fun times…that if one is to be honest…is most possibly the glue…glitter no doubt…that held us…all together… And those daughters of mine…agree… This old gal…
Got it…the gut bomb…ever dreaded…anxiety triggering…envelope…from the tax guy…containing that giant tax packet gifted to you to ease the pain…of preparing for the big day… In charge of taxes me…saves important documents all year…stores receipts…bills…donations…knows that establishments will get those save for taxes statements…mailed off in time…but still…when that giant envelope comes…this old gal…teeters on the edge of the what if panic… What if…she doesn’t have the right documents…or isn’t sure where to locate them…what if she can’t figure out this online uploading…or help that husband of hers…when he stresses over the online…signature… What if…some new old people tax was recently implemented…and retired old people us…get blindsided by some whopping fee…we weren’t expecting… It’s just so bloody taxing…physically taxing…mentally taxing…emotionally taxing…but taxed me rips it off like a bandaid…uploading pdfs…snapping photos…getting those documents in the hands…of someone more knowledgeable… This husband of mine stays clear…of the frenzy…knowing it will soon blow over…when all is said and done…until…of course next year…when that envelope…that dreaded envelope…arrives… And his deep breathing wife…agrees… Thirteen year old me…
Was doing homework when that younger brother of hers…walked into the room and asked…do you like the color green…not looking up she answered…no…not really…and kept on writing…not noticing…that little boy stood there a minute…then turned and left the room…crushed… That question…seemingly random…had been important…because that excited little brother of mine had taken his piggy bank money…walked uptown alone…and bought his sister…a necklace for her birthday… A teardrop pendant with a green stone in the center…green was his favorite color…green…was his birthstone…teenage me…was devastated…when let in on the secret…mortified that she had hurt that caring…generous…giving heart of his… And so it was…this old gal browsing in a shop…that husband of hers sidles up…something in his hand…would you wear this…he asks…if I buy it for you…one glance shows it’s a necklace…with a sparkly gem pendant…a sparkly green gem pendant…green…my Mr.’s birthstone… 13 year old…61 year old me stopped…took the jewel in her hand…and said..of course…I love the color green… Those sparkly green treasures…one still nestled in its special jewelry box place some 45 years later…the other glittering brightly…in that spot near this old gal’s heart…an homage to family…an homage to kindness…an homage…to love… And this husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Finds comfort…in home away from home…wintering in the same town…the same camp…the same cabin…enjoying the familiar…eateries…shops…parks…neighborhoods…feels safe driving…when to turn…where to turn…streets to avoid…backroads to take…reconnecting with familiar faces…and all those pet friends… But the adventure need not end…familiar sites…humdrum…stagnate…instead…turn the lens a bit…see it all…through different eyes…notice things…not noticed before… Crazy roots…popping from the ground…dainty little rosette blooms…giant palms…dried up springs…an age old home…made only from brick… And that tree…so tall and proud…it’s face…so clear…so obvious…drawing you in…mystical…magical…perhaps it’s waiting…for whispered wishes…longed for desires…from visiting friends…both young and old… Seeing the new…in the known…making wishes…on what could possibly be…a magical…tree…makes it quite clear…that even a comfortable old gal…and that husband of hers… Can create…adventure… And this husband of mine…agrees… |
This Old Gal
Devoted Wife Magical Mom Retired Teacher Embracing life's grand adventures with humor and grace. Archives
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