Ageism

My thoughts on ageism?  Um....I don't particularly like this topic.  Like most people my feelings on any kind of "ism" lean towards the negative.  Now that I am on the other side of 50, I really dislike ageism since I am likely to be a victim of it.  That pretty much sums things up.

Books

Oh so many books to choose from!  Day 8 of the challenge, discuss a book I love and one that I didn't.  There are so, so many books I have loved.  If you asked me my favorite, I would tell you it's "To Kill A Mockingbird".  But everyone loves that and it does not need any discussion from me.  Nor does anything by Tolkein, "The Catcher in the Rye", the works of Dr. Seuss, or the "Outlander" series.

Today, the book I will say I love is "Illusions" by Richard Bach.  It is not a particularly deep story in the literary sense, but when I read it in college, it changed me.  It changed how I thought about myself, others, the world, life in general.  I had read "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"  several years before and I got it.  I thought I understood, but "Illusions" spoke to me in a way no other story had and even better, my friends related to it.  This book made me feel real and important and worthwhile. It told me, in a way no one or nothing else could, that I was going to be okay.  I was going to have bad things happen to me and good things happen to me, but those things were lessons on the journey. Things that happened to me aren't me.  They are just things.  That happen.  Shit happens.  And the journey goes on.  And it's amazing.

There are very few books I haven't loved, but the one that first comes to mind is "Eat, Pray, Love".  Probably one of the worst books ever, maybe because it was autobiographical.  First the use of metaphors was so excessive, it actually distracted me from the content.  Second, during the vast majority of the time I was reading this book, all I could think of was how self-centered the author was.  We all have crappy things happen to us and frankly, the author's divorce does not really rank high up there, at least not the way she described it.  Her journey of self-realization may have been enlightening for her, but did nothing for me.  Maybe it did for other people, it was a best selling book, afterall, so what do I know?

I have nothing to write for Day 7!

Day 7 Challenge:  What tattoos you have and if they have meaning.

Well, I have no tattoos.  Honestly, it's a huge commitment and I just can't do it.  Surprising I've been married for almost 27 years.

If there are people out there with meaningless tattoos...shame on you. How did that even happen?

Me

The writing challenge topic for Day 6 is to name someone who fascinates you and explain why.  Naming myself may sound wildly self-centered, but really, aren't we all fascinated with ourselves?  We look in the mirror, worry how we dress, wonder what kind of impression we made, fret over whether we were misunderstood.  The truth is most of us are endlessly obsessed with ourselves and our place in the world.

Like most of us, I have an image in my head of the person I picture myself to be.  She's a snappy dresser, a good listener, a wise counsel.  She is smart, knows how to take care of herself and her family and stays in control.  She loves to read and write, play board games and lean new things.

Does this sound like you?  Substitute any adjectives you like above.

So, this is how I see myself and yet on a regular (daily?) basis, I find myself mentally eye rolling while someone is telling me a story, losing patience with my spouse or children, making poor choices, skipping that brisk walk or workout, ordering pizza (again!) instead of cooking a healthy dinner.  I put my book aside to watch tv or browse Facebook.  I rarely play board games because my family doesn't want to (I think because I usually win).  I have a Rosetta Stone set of Italian lessons I got for Christmas three years ago that I have yet to get through the first section.

Personally, I find someone who fails to do something spectacular ultimately more fascinating than a gifted athlete or a brilliant scientist or a prolific author.  Those are people who recognized or were recognized as having a particular talent, nurtured that talent and achieved results.  Nothing too fascinating there.  The fascinating people of the world are the people like me.  We know what or who we want to be and yet we struggle on a daily basis to get there.  I have no formula for achieving all your hopes and dreams because I haven't done it myself, nor have any of my friends or family.  Yet along with me, all of our possibilities remain endless and what could be more fascinating than that?

A Place I've Never Visited

but would like to live.  Well, this is a fun and thought provoking topic.  Primarily places where I think I'd like to live are places where I've gone and had a great time or the weather has been beautiful, San Diego for example.  This is also made particularly difficult because I have been lucky enough to visit a LOT of places in the United States.

Assuming I could overcome the language barrier, I think I would have to choose somewhere in Italy. Southern Italy specifically.  Naples, maybe, or along the Amalfi coast.  Or inland, towards Montella.  My daughter went there on a student exchange and got so much from that beautiful small town and it's residents and having our Italian "daughter" stay with us, enriched all of our lives.  Also, Sicily might be nice, although I'm not sure living on an island would work for me.

I would be happy with a nice sunny spot, somewhere where I could visit the ocean when I wanted, or the mountains.  The Italian lifestyle seems relaxed in a way that appeals to me at this point in my life. People are warm and friendly.  The food is spectacular.  There is relatively easy access to the rest of Europe.

I think I'm sold.  Time to cut this blog short and start house hunting!

10 Interesting Things about Myself

Day 4, write 10 interesting things about myself.  On the surface, this sounds so easy, but instead it makes me think. What's interesting about me?  Should I choose things that I think are interesting about me, or that I think other people will think are interesting about me?  Frankly, I'm really not that interesting.  In any case, here are 10 things about me; you may or may not think they are interesting.


1.  I have a half brother who I've never met.

2.  In 2008, our family took a 3 week RV trip with friends and drove most of the way across the country and back.

3.  I was closer to my grandparents than either of my parents.

4.  I've played Dungeons & Dragons

5.  I was bullied in middle school.

6.  I don't mind public speaking, but I find it difficult to approach someone and start a conversation.

7.  I've never participated in a competitive athletic event.

8.  I went to Live Aid (the original one in 1985).

9.  I've never worked in retail, or been a waitress.  Actually, other than a very brief stint at Roy Rogers, and being a tour guide in college, I have only ever worked in an office setting.

10.  I'm a member of a sorority.  Joining it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

If anyone reads this, feel free to comment with an interesting thing or two or ten about yourself!

Day 3, where I usually give up on "challenges"

30 Day Writing Challenge, Day 3:  your first love and first kiss; if separate, discuss both.


Seriously?  Is anyone's first kiss their first love?  Well, maybe they are.  I was not the type of teenage girl boys seemed to want to kiss so by the time I turned 15, I was willing to take what I could get.  Sadly, I don't recall the name of the boy who first kissed me.  My friend, Cindy, fixed me up with him. We went on a date, I liked him, and just like in the movies he leaned over to kiss me when he dropped me off at home.  Unlike in the movies, he had braces and a terrible kissing technique, not to mention he went immediately for the tongue.  Clearly he had not heard about practicing on the inside of your elbow to perfect kissing.  What, you haven't heard of that either?  Try it, you'll see.  In any case, that was also our last date, which probably contributes to why I don't remember his name.

My first love, on the other hand, was pretty much 80's movie perfect.  We met our junior year of high school, he made me smile, I think I made him smile.  We went to different schools, but still managed to find plenty of time to spend together, probably more than our parents liked.  We were both very involved in youth group and I like to recall us as the couple everyone wanted to be like....at least in our joint circle of friends.  I remember feeling so lucky that a nice, cute, smart boy could see anything worthwhile in spending time with me.  His parents took me on college visits with them, and I would surely have never found my alma mater otherwise.  We took trips to Pittsburgh to visit each other's grandparents.  We had each other and the security that relationship brings in high school.  He probably never knew it, but he laid the groundwork for self confidence that helped me make good relationship choices in the future.  Hopefully, I did the same for him.  When we went our separate ways, our freshman year of college, it was a bittersweet parting.  I think we both knew it was time to spread our wings.

As a post script to my first love, like most people, we lost touch as we moved through college.  He very quickly (as I recall) moved on to another relationship, while I had a series of them.  Suddenly with the advent of Facebook (I think I've mentioned I'm a huge fan of Facebook), we were back in touch.  Unlike the many stories or urban legends you hear about high school sweethearts reuniting, I'm happy to report it was wonderful to catch up, and see pictures of his lovely family and go on our merry way, "liking" each others life events as our separate stories continue to unfold.