Wrinkles & Waistlines

Lots of life changes since my last blog post.  I’m not ready to write about most of them, but today I wanted to reflect on my Saturday night date with my husband.  We attended the 40 Year Reunion of my high school class at the local KC Hall.

Our class graduated over 400 and more than 160 of us showed up to celebrate. 

With FaceBook, there was probably a lot less squinting at little nametags with pictures of “how we looked then” to compare to the smiling faces in front of us, but I know I did my share of double takes and sure many did the same with me.

But wrinkles and varying changes in waistlines didn’t seem to matter once we placed the face with the memory.  With little effort, that face was age 17 again.

It’s been 40 years since we all stepped to Pomp & Circumstance.  We spoke softly and sadly of more than 40 of our classmates that were on the “Memorial Wall” of friends no longer with us.  Almost all of us had experienced the loss of parents, spouses, or children, and so many things that happen within 40 years that changes the direction and focus of a life.  Since there is not enough time during one Saturday evening 40 years later to share all those things that make us who we are now, we only had one choice:  Dance.

Dance like we did after Friday night football games.  Pose for silly pictures and hold onto each other like we saw each other yesterday and would see each other tomorrow.  Dance like who we were in 1978.

I was proud to show off my handsome, sweet husband.  My “Last Half Love” was the perfect escort to the craziness.  He jumped up when needed for the perfect slow dance and manned the table and held the purse when I ran to reminisce with a familiar face.

It was wonderful to be able to share memories and friends with him.  To feel that when I share a story from 40 years ago, now he has a connection to it, also.  But most importantly, it was wonderful to have him there as a reminder of my life now.

I’m grateful for every face and memory at our class reunion.  Forty years ago we each played a part in the other’s life.  We shared the first steps on a path.  Amazing to think we’ve been on our own paths for more than twice as long as we were on that path together.  

Time seems to fly faster the older we get.  I suppose that’s why so many of our school year memories stay with us.  We were young and each and every event was new. Each and every memory runs clear and deep within us.  

Cheers to the Class of ’78!  Thank you for everything. Thank you for every memory.

Close and Few          

Although I play music and perform from time to time with a small group and although I am in sales as a profession that commands that I can stand and take the position at the front of the room to make a presentation to relative strangers, I am a fairly quiet and fairly reserved woman. 

I never sought big social sororities and I’m not much on large parties.  Through high school and until about the age of 30, my boyfriends were mostly jazz and rock and roll musicians and that meant many a late night in crowded clubs or venues.  Done that…been there.  I like intimate conversations and a glass of wine, small dinners out or at home.  Preferred music venues are small rooms versus the crowded and loud clubs of my youth.

My friends have always been close and few.  In truth, the  “youngest” friend I have I began working with in 1986. A few years later, we had moved on from that company, but we talk often, we never miss a birthday present, and we occasionally, rarely get lucky enough to carve out time to take a weekend together especially now that her only child is out of college.  He’s not yet married and she hasn’t acquired grandmother duties like most of the rest.   All of my other dear friends I have known longer than her.  I can tell you what went on in their lives recently, their birthdays, their phone numbers are still in my head from having to actually dial the number to reach them (pre iPhone Contacts list).

That phone number thing (and also physical addresses---including zip codes off the top of my head for any of them) is important to understand.  Since I met most of them in the small town I grew up in many years ago, the phone and letters and cards were important----because we all scattered.  We scattered for jobs, for love, for salvation.  If someone is important to you, distance is just a mild annoyance.  They don’t disappear from your life.  Moments with them are precious and cherished.  And I don’t look for others to take their place.

There are lovely women that I work with that I count as social friends.  We meet every few weeks for lunch or breakfast, we text and talk weekly, but I would never call them late at night to share a personal loss or heartbreak.  My friends are the women that have known my family, my challenges, my life, and me as I have known theirs.  We know so many things about each other. We still love each other over forty years later.

I know that I could call on any of them in a moment of need.  And have.  They know the same, and do.

There’s a saying that “Men may come and men may go, but girlfriends last forever”.

Yes, real girlfriends that not only passed you that note in junior high, made you a bridesmaid, cried on your shoulder when he left them, gathered around when one of us was struck down with cancer, and rejoiced in your every happiness as you did theirs. 

Time on task is a beautiful thing.  Trust in another human that has seen your scars and loves you still is not made for the masses.  It’s for those that are close and few.

Living In The Real Moment

“Mighty is He Who Conquers Himself” or similar quotes are usually attributed to Lao Tzu from the Tao Te Ching.  You’ll find Proverbs that are nearly the same and I’d be willing to bet that there’s a country song that tells us the same in a second stanza lyric.  What does it mean?  Slow to anger? Self control? Being able to stand where you are now and be satisfied?  I’m not really sure—but lately it seems to ring in my head several times throughout the day.

The earth has spun around and around and it seems that another birthday is nearly here.  Another year to reflect upon.  To wonder what might have been and to acknowledge what was.  If I didn’t “conquer” myself over the last year, will I manage it this year?

My life has been blessed.  Frankly, I don’t think I even know anyone that could not count themselves as blessed in the big scheme of things.  In this country, most of us live in houses that are too big filled with too many things and throw more food and abundance away in the weekly trash pickup than someone in actual need and hardship has ever seen or managed to acquire at one time.  There is nothing physical to want.  Nothing emotional that is actually needed if the blessings were actually counted.  But do we count them? Are you able to stand where you are now and be satisfied?

We live in a world that is constantly telling us that we need the latest smart phone or the newest electronic gadget.  We need a house with a separate room for every child and a separate car for every driver.  Ballet lessons and soccer, nannies and maids, status handbags and physical trainers.  If you don’t look like the characters on your favorite television shows or dress like the magazines tell you to dress, then you are lacking.  I’ve even realized recently that most conversations are carried on through text messaging.  We’ve even lost the nuance of voicemail messages with friends.  Texting is easier because it’s instantaneous. No having to stop and “listen”—you can text back and forth while sitting with other friends—never having to give anyone your full attention.

We are so overloaded with blessings that we let them conquer us.  These blessings have conquered our memories and moments and we’ve become a population that is spread so thin with passwords and emails and FaceBook and Twitter that we barely know how to be with each other anymore.  I’ve begun to notice that friends that don’t participate in a cyber existence as much as other friends are left behind.  And friends that are really more acquaintances of the past or casual friends in similar social circles are the ones I keep up with more…simply because it is easier.

When the news ran this weekend that a woman in Pontiac, Michigan had been dead for 6 years in her home with no one noticing until her bank account ran out because she had all her bills on auto pay and a nice neighbor continued to cut her lawn and her mail was sent to the post office because she traveled and was sometimes gone for a few weeks, I wondered really what we’ve come to in our world of blessings.

Take a moment and stand still where you are.  Look around.  Is your life filled with moments or is your life filled with false moments recorded electronically?  Are you aware of your actual blessings and those around you? Have you put away the phone and had dinner with friends?  Did you actually see that concert or did you see it through the lens of a camera on your phone?  Are you there or are you making sure everyone in your social media group knows you are there?

My goal for this next year of my life, if I am lucky enough to be granted such, is to conquer myself. To step out more into the world and stop letting computers and smartphones live my life.  To stand still and be satisfied with the moment I am living. It may seem convenient and easy to share my friends and family and life with the assistance of an Apple product, but I’m sure I’m missing so many other things while I’m looking at that screen. 

 Life is not “virtual”, Life is “actual”.

Milestone Anniversaries

When setting up this blog site, I named it “Last Half Love” because of my age and because of coming to love at what would be considered “late” in life.  So, obviously when you have waited patiently (ha!) for something and then achieved it, you must celebrate the day it came into your life.  With that in mind, my husband and I will celebrate the five-year milestone in a few weeks.

For all of you that married young and have had decades of bliss, you may think five years is not much to brag about.  Odds that my marriage will reach its 25th year are low just because of the age factor alone.  Not impossible, but we consider each year (or even each day) a gift and try not to take it for granted the way that someone 25 years old might look at their future.

My life has been an anomaly when it comes to relationships.  Although I dated and knew many interesting, creative, and successful men in my life, I’ve never previously married or even lived with a man before my husband.  I had always lived alone (except for a cat or two) from the age of 23 until our marriage at the age of 48.

Childhood did not provide me with the best example of marriage.  The house I lived in growing up was filled with anger much of the time and joy was limited.  As the oldest, I was often left to be the caretaker and responsible while my parents worked, etc. for my two younger siblings.  For those reasons, I was wary of relationships that might be anything similar to what I grew up with and also never felt the need to have children.  I love my younger sister and brother, but in the big scheme of things, I had babysat for them and for neighborhood kids and felt like I had “done that, been there” and never felt that motherhood was something I needed to do in order to be fulfilled in some way.

All that being said, five years is an important milestone for us. I’ve known my husband for many years and came into this marriage with eyes and heart open.  I believe the same for him.  These five years have filled me with joy and love and an opportunity to grow.  There are a few lessons that I’ve learned that although I believe I knew them before, have realized how critical it was to remember them everyday of our marriage.

Lesson #1:  All In or All Out.  From the moment we were married, our wills, our bank accounts, and our savings—everything—became “ours”.  It was the best decision we ever made.  Especially without children, it was important to lay the foundation for commitment to the union of our lives.  We are responsible to each other in every way possible and have been from the moment we decided to marry.  We grow together and fall together.  No secrets.  I don’t know how anyone considers themselves truly “one” if they have separate bank accounts or a secret stash.  How do you face your goals together if you are figuring out who owes what?  In order to make decisions that affect both of you, you must fully understand that you take from both of you when you write that check or make that investment or buy that toy.

Lesson #2:  Just because you are married does not mean that a smile and a positive attitude are not important.  In other words, don’t save your “happy face” for the outside world.  If it’s really a bad day, let your spouse know and look for support, but if it’s just crummy traffic or some idiot in the grocery store line, suck it up and come home with a smile.  Share the joy and don’t “harsh the mellow” for the non-important stuff.

Lesson #3:  Men are as vain as women when it comes to being told they are handsome and attractive.  It’s important to tell your man that he looks amazing in that pair of jeans and that his new haircut is flattering.  I am incredibly self-conscious about my looks because of being the chubby kid for most of my life.  My husband gives me a positive compliment every day and I admit that I’ve always thought he was great looking and attractive and took for granted that he knew it. And he may, but it’s important that he hears it often from me, his wife.

My sister once told me when I was complaining about a bad boyfriend experience that as she lay in bed earlier that year with the flu (red nose, greasy hair, rumpled pajamas) her husband stopped and smiled at her as he was leaving the room.  She said I asked him “Real pretty, huh?” and his answer was “Yes, you are”.  She then said, “you deserve that kind of love in your life”.  Remember to tell the love in your life how beautiful you think they are every day.  It’s important.

Lesson #4:  The inscription inside our wedding rings says “like scissors” from the Sydney Smith quote “Married couples resemble a pair of scissors, so joined that they cannot be separated, often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them.”  We believe that fully.  First and foremost, our responsibilities are to our union.  We chose to be married to each other and we don’t change our focus on that regardless of what others think or say. Those that have tried to step between us or bring strife or conflict or made one or the other of us unhappy or hurt were cut from our lives. He is my family and I am his.  As long as extended family and friends know this and acknowledges it, we welcome them in our lives.

Lesson #5:  Never speak badly about your spouse to anyone ever.  Besides the occasional girl talk about men as a unique creature to us females, everyone knows for sure that I believe my husband is the best thing ever and how much I love him.  No doubt, no question.  To speak badly about your spouse to anyone only reflects on you.  I refer to my husband on the limited social media I participate in as “Handsome Husband” because he doesn’t participate in social media and besides giving him a bit of anonymity; it makes me smile every time I type it.  He refers to me in any conversation phone or otherwise as “The Lovely and Gracious Mrs. Davis”.  It’s a seed that is planted every time it happens and it helps our garden of love continue to flower and grow.

Five lessons for five years are all I have right now.  Hopefully I’ll have ten to share for our ten-year anniversary.  I wish you all love and a future filled with milestone anniversaries.

Old Friends

Recently, I was sharing a quick dinner and conversation with two women I met in line at a busy restaurant. We teamed up our needs to be seated and fed and willingly shared the table. All of us were attending a musical event next door and wanted a quick dinner before the show. This common goal itself was enough to start conversation and get to know a bit about each other. We were already fans of the performer we were about to see and we obviously enjoyed Italian food. What more do you need to spend a little time with someone? Wine, pasta, and song have often been the start of wonderful relationships!

We began with garlic bread and “how do you know each other?” One was a nurse and the other a teacher. They had met in high school 35 years before. Through divorces, children, and all the things that come with life, they had remained friends. Since I was about to join a friend at the event that I had known since junior high school, I did not find this unusual. I have friends as far back as grade school that I still talk to and see from time to time. Facebook has made that easier than it was, but we were still in touch before there ever was a Facebook.

When you are from a small town and you manage to go through grades 1-12 with many of the same people, you form bonds. You have history. They “knew you when”. I also attended a nearby college with several of them. It’s easy to stay friends with the peer group that you shared activities and common values with for decades. We lived in the same neighborhoods. We were in band and drill teams that performed at our school football games. We carpooled and rode bikes together. We know secrets and failings. We have shared our lives.

It makes no difference that some of us stayed and some of us moved away. It doesn’t matter that we have vastly different jobs, families, and interests. We still have those shared moments from long ago that will only leave us when we depart this world. We cheered each other on. We cried when we lost friends to car crashes or cancer or even worse. We’ve known each other from the beginning of what made us who we were to become.

Sure, there are many I’ve lost touch with. There are many who choose not to be in touch. And that’s O.K. But if you were a good person and you grew up with good people, why would you lose that connection? Staying in touch is easier than ever. You don’t even need a stamp or a long distance carrier! A Facebook post or a text keeps you up with what’s going on in each other’s lives and at the very least you are able to connect for the important things like births, deaths, celebrations or sickness.

Why wouldn’t I want to share an evening of wine, pasta, and song with that crazy girl I carpooled with to high school for 3 years after having sat next to her in the junior high band for 4 years before that? We know where we come from and how we got where we are now. 

Nothing takes the place of that.