This old gal…
Found a magic portal…in the green clothing section of Goodwill…one look…and mama me…was transported back…more than 20 years…that graphic…those cute little yellow peepers…landing old me…back in memoryland…to the days…when those daughters of mine were…The Chicks… The Pixie Chicks to be exact…started innocently enough…mama and her littles…performing at a church talent show…those little hams…then getting requests…to come entertain…someone suggesting their group…needed a name…and so Ping and Ding and Dong…were christened…The Pixie Chicks… Ping…the oldest…kept things rolling…Ding…the performer…stealing the show…and Dong…the wild card…performance level…depending on her mood for the day…five glorious years…of lighthearted performing fun…bringing joy…creating laughter…those ladies and their mama…enjoying the ride… And then it was done…they…were done…not deliberately or consciously…can’t even remember the last hurrah…it just ended…as each little lady…branched off…to do their own thing…it’s like that saying…you never realize…it’s the last hug…the last kiss…the last song…until…it is…and because of this…that portal to memoryland…came home to Little Cottage… Cuz there’s nothing better…than being reminded every day…that Life is Good…so very very good…thanks to those beautiful daughters of mine…who will always…and forever…be…their mama’s Pixie Chicks… And those chicks of mine…agree…
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This old gal…
Has a drinking glass…a gift from that sweet daughter of mine…it’s colorful…glittery…and reminds me…of a friend of mine…we’ve bonded recently…over dot connecting…connecting the dots…in regards to health…that ever recurring joke of a thought…is this something…or is it…just old age… Those dots…for this old gal…once seeing the doc…connected easily…the solution…attainable…this friend…her dots…just kind of all over the place…symptoms…random…unusual…just kind of…a mess…this friend…strong…brave…embracing her mess…with grace…with humor…with a fierce hug…asking questions…searching for answers…never giving up… And so it is…for each and every one of you…juggling that mess life has thrown…may you…find answers…find relief…may that mess of a pile flopping around…be ironed out and sorted…so that you can once again…feel like you… Know that this old gal…cares… And those daughters of mine…agree… This husband and I…
Fill the time…with dates at the just-up-the-street Goodwill…love to see what’s new…have fun searching for a bauble or two…but sometimes…this old gal…feels a little pang…those multiples…lining a shelf…obviously a collection…someone’s collection…someone…who most likely…is no longer here… Doodads…trinkets…items…someone searched for…displayed…cherished…like those gazillions of mugs of mine…that mouse collection from days gone by…that has-no-use-but-to-make-me-smile…swung glass vase…menagerie… Reduced to nothing more than sad…lonely…discarded…Toy Story like treasures…lining the shelves of the second hand store…but fear not…oh lost ones…someone will find you…someone…will love you…someone will give you a new home… And someone…who loved you once…will look down and see…that you are adored…you are cherished…and you are once again…letting your light…shine… And this husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Went to middle school…in the old multi-leveled brick school house popular back in the day…couldn’t breathe for two years…must have been so full of mold…first teaching job…took place…in a similar seen-better-days building…taught in the basement…bats in the lights…sewage running down the walls… So in the day of upscaling…flipping…modernizing the vintage…curious me…wondered…how a flipper…manages to upscale all those classrooms…into things like apartments…personal homes…a slew of shops… And so it was…in one such college town…curious me…ventured into the repurposed old school house…to see how a clever refurbisher…transforms Old Brick…into a mall…was kind of shocked…thought walls would be gone…store fronts created…but no…remove the merchandise…and fifth grade me could have been skipping down that hallway…just like it was 1972… It was cute…it was nostalgic…kind of felt like going home…all the way down to the slick wind suit…of the 90s…of which young me…was so fond… And so it is in life…sometimes…we old things…don’t need to change…to keep up with the times…we can adjust…find our worth…do our part…and still… remain true…to what makes…us special… And this husband of mine…agrees… This Old Salt…
Loved pirates…had a pirate theme in the classroom…read pirate books…learned the history…of pirates…embarked on a treasure hunt…hit the high seas…in search of clothing gems…to replace the dull and drab…collected over the years… The 15 year old sweat pants…sweatshirt bought a decade ago…that out of style cardigan…those exercise shorts…from 1999…find them in dazzling colors…and challenge me hearties…to be as frugal with the doubloons…as possible… Shiver me Timbers…didn’t take long…to find the booty…Goodwill…Target…Walmart…a gift card for Amazon…a winter coat…in Texas…a few fun new items…to spice up the wardrobe…make those stretched out pilled never-be-seen-in-public pieces…walk the plank…become shark bait… Blimey this old buccaneer looks mighty fine in those colorful new comfy clothes…too fine…perhaps…to be swabbing the poop deck…that might now need to be a job…for that matey of mine… And me bucko…replies…with an…arrgghhhh… This old gal…
Was working on a project shortening t-shirts…this squatty body does nothing…for those tees…that drop to the knees…this husband of mine comes in from outside hot and bothered…whew…he says…I’ll have to finish mowing later…when it cools off… Well…came the observation from his beautiful bride…it is…almost noon…and it is…90 degrees out…so it is…probably going to be hot…even for you…a few minutes pass…and sewing me hears music…coming from the front room…that man of mine…cooling off…jamming out to love songs…by Charlie Pride… If someone would have asked young me…what retirement would be like…don’t know what she would have said…described…but this…she is sure…would not have been it…simplicity…camaraderie…humor…support…those words…crooned by Charlie Pride…there will be no mansions…no fancy clothes…I’ll give you all my love…in any way I can… All I have to offer you…is me… This…right here…is better than anything imagined…and that…my dear friends…is enough…much much more…than…enough… And this husband of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Went to the hospital for a stress test…the receptionist…has a nephew with amazing artistic talent but can’t find a job that highlights it…showed the way to the patient room…the get me ready nurse…worried about her 6 year old son starting kindergarten…stuck on electrodes…explained the process… The IV specialist…had those cute glasses…with magnetic interchangeable frames…just back from vacay…was a little worried she’d lost her knack at needle sticking…heart photographer MD…big behemoth of a guy…snapped the before walking pics…puts patient me at ease…commenting on her last name…says it’s a cool one…he loves…how it rolls off the tongue… Hopped on the treadmill…as much as an old gal in a hospital gown connected to electrodes and an IV can hop…the group grows by two…machine gal and student tech…and we are off…this old gal…walking and walking…that medical team of mine…supporting…encouraging…monitoring…kind…professional…accepting…creating a calming environment…for a medical procedure…that could possibly be…a little bit scary… Thank you…for cheering me on…says patient me…when the job is done…I appreciate it…that giant of a man…in his white lab coat…just finishing up snapping the last of the heart pics…laughs…and says…well you know…everyone deserves a big hoorah…every now and then… A big hoorah…yes…everyone DOES…deserve a big hoorah…every now and then…the kind receptionist…the medical team…the sandwich expert who made our Subway supper… I’m going to quote you on that…laughs patient me… And that cheerleader doctor of mine…agreed… Family and friends…
Are obsessed…with House of Colour…aka HOC…color analysis…match your coloring to specific shades…see which hues are the best choice for clothing…young me had it done in the late 1980s…was deemed a Fall…given a collection of fabric swatches to use when shopping…it was informative…but have to say it didn’t influence what young me wore…didn’t want to give up those favorite pinks and blues… But funny thing…working with those littles who speak their mind…teacher me would notice when a wow color was worn…words like pretty and nice were heard…a non-palette color…she was often asked…if she had a headache… Fast forward 30 years…it’s all the rage again…those daughters of mine see an expert…both deemed an Autumn like their mama…them reeling her in…with their enthusiasm…and so it is…this old gal…becomes a canvas…clothing…her medium…a splash of color here…a streak of color there…highlighting this…and emphasizing that… Something so simple as color…building relationships…bringing joy…boosting confidence…and helping this old gal…create…an old gal…masterpiece… And those daughters of mine…agree… This old gal…
Loved Styx back in the 70s…laid on the bunk bed…listening to the Grand Illusion playing on the little blue record player…one of those that had a handle and opened like a suitcase…that album popping in the old head…while leaving the cardiologist’s…sent by the PCP…just to be sure there’s nothing more going on…than the noted bacterial infection… Had the sweetest doctor…took time to inquire…listen…really get to know…patient me…stress test ordered…precautionary…doesn’t see any red flags…except…that cholesterol…that dreadful high cholesterol…I would be remiss…he says…if I didn’t address this…it’s rare I get to see someone with numbers as high as yours…before…a stroke or heart attack… Yes…cholesterol’s always been high…ratio’s been good tho…til old age…tried statins…three of them…debilitating side effects…No more Fooling Yourself…he says…I can guarantee you…that if it’s ignored…in time…it will happen…and sometimes…there is no warning…and that’s…when the Grand Illusion bubble burst…the illusion that there was time…to eat right…exercise more…ignore the numbers…as they creep higher…and higher… So good-bye…to the Grand Illusion…this old gal’s…gonna Sail Away…face the life…that’s in front of her…cuz on board…she’s the captain…and she’ll try…oh Lord she’ll try…to carry on… So watch out cholesterol…this old gal…is coming for you… And this doctor of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Learned some important things in college…how to make chili cheese dip…not to mix beer with hard liquor…badminton as a gym class sucked…and that people in college world…did not call cantaloupe…muskmelon… Growing up…it was always muskmelon…muskmelon and watermelon…that mother of mine stocking the fridge with them all summer…moving away…it became clear…while shopping…on menus…as friends talked…that that fleshy fruit…was commonly referred to as…cantaloupe… Never questioned the difference in names…seemed like one of those things parents do…have their own pet names for certain things…places…body parts…orange fruits…you just silently assimilate when you realize the truth… And so it was…saw a blurb online…that muskmelon…is cantaloupe…grown right here in Muskie City…famous for its melons…soon to be home to the largest watermelon statue in the world…forty years later…mystery solved…until cantaloupe is googled…and what do you know…the term muskmelon…really has nothing to do…with Muskie City… Yes…muskmelons are grown here…but aren’t named after here…for muskmelon…is some scientific term…for a certain species of melon…a cantaloupe is a muskmelon…but not all muskmelons…are cantaloupes… Mind blown…the old brain cells working slowly…to wrap their mind around that useless little tidbit…but one never knows…it might pop up the next time you’re a contestant on Jeopardy… You can thank the Tidbit Queen then… And that king of hers…agrees… |
This Old Gal
Devoted Wife Magical Mom Retired Teacher Embracing life's grand adventures with humor and grace. Archives
July 2024
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