Facing My Reality

The memories I thought would never fade have already been replaced by my favorite delusions.

This reality has finally sunk in.

I still feel young, strong, hot.
When ever I go shopping, cute clothes jump in my cart. Animal prints, clingy shirts, short shorts, I even looked a bikinis.

I seem to forget that the last time I tried on clothes nothing looked right. A mom-body was looking back at me from the dressing room mirror.
When did this happen? When did the mom-body emerge from the babe-body?

Facing this reality is going to save me money, weeping and knashing of teeth. Don't even buy that stuff. Clear out the closet of anything that looks wannabe.

As long as I stay away from mirrors, I'll be O.K.

Three Million to Figure Out Why?

In the local paper, we find the Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan went to North Carolina State University to bestow a grant to develop an obesity prevention program. The researcher Sarah Bowen "will work to gain a better understanding how the "food environment" affects patterns of obesity.

Haven't we done this before? Does it take $3,026,939 taxpayer dollars to figure out that too many calories, too little exercise, food laden with crap and a neighborhood filled with fat people turns our little kids into fat people too?

Ask a senior. This is easy stuff. For $1,000 I will write an entire book on the subject. Not like every magazine on the rack doesn't offer a new diet, new exercises, new recipes to get us back on the lean track. Studies show if you hang out with fat friends, you tend to get fat yourself. Its accepted.

Dr. Oz, http://doctoroz.com

is constantly showing us more ways to move our collective butts, eat better, and how the food we scarf today will affect the way we enjoy life tomorrow.

Bring back the garden! Doctor Oz tells us we need more vitamin D. Free from the sun.
Get some good vegetables coming out of the earth. Have kids learn how to plant, pull weeds, harvest, shuck corn. Bring back the block baseball teams, the playing tag in the front lawn.

I don't think more money is needed to study anything. We need commitment as role models. Check out our food misconceptions. Every family gathering is full of buffet tables and the stuff is available. Drawers are full of "goodies". Skip that. Bring back the fruit bowl, or just regular meals.

Our portions are out of control.
Commitment to be the best role models we can be.
The information is already out there.

Outside Mag-Get Real, Boys

Don't you just hate these kids getting into extreme sports and acting like elitist big shots? Dissing older folks like we're golf course material, stay off Their river?

Well, the Word to you all....been there, done that, no big whoop.

You can always go home to momma.
How about those explorers, L & Clark, heading out to check out the Louisiana Purchase, Major Powel running the mighty Colorado, or before that, ol' Daniel Boone? If they got in over their heads, no one would scrape them off the pavement.

Their stuff was all home made. Did they care how tight or loose or how much butt crack was showing? God no. Stay warm, stay in the boat, keep your powder dry. Ain't no momma expecting you tonight.

How about some diversity? Can we all play nice, accept who ever shows up, regardless of age, gender, t-shirt color or design, cog-count, or new techie gadgets?

Just sayin'

And that's my rant for today.

Moms Are People Too

I like to play in the woods.
From the time I was a kid building forts has always been fun.

Some people call this a "nesting" instinct.

Could be. Could be its just the sunshine, the rustling leaves, making something new.

This shelter was made with long branches and leaves. Its something you could do with your grandkids. I have a page at this blog called "Grandkids" that talks about other things I like to do with them as well.

Things that are down home, and inexpensive. Not the amusement park kind of stuff.

Sometimes when my kids are reminiscing about their childhood, I'm amazed at the crazy stuff they remember. With six kids, there was always lots of energy. We'd divide up chores, everything from unloading the car from a camping trip to making supper and dishes. It teaches life skills and kept them from boredom.

They knew if they complained about being bored I'd have a job for them.

I laugh, and sometimes blush, when they tell our stories. Hey, I had to get through it someway. After all, moms are people too!

Other Web Places for Fun

This page

http://www.seniorcitizenhumor.blogspot.com/

has a lot of good stuff to make the day brighter.
The page's welcome mat says "Welcome to Geezer Planet". There's comics, funny photos, and jokes. I especially enjoy reading the blog located via link Arthur Ritis. Hilarious stuff.

I found
http://www.seniorcitizenweblog.com/
during one of my websurfing days.
This quote I found on the opening page:

"SeniorCitizenWebLog.com is a ‘Blog’. A Chronological Stream of Thoughts and Ideas that Interest the Author, a Senior Citizen. Concerns: Direction of Our Country. Reshaping America along European Socialist lines. Our Political Ruling Class: Our ‘Nomenclature’.* National Health Care targeting Medicare for Cuts to Pay for It. Senior Organizations, e.g. AARP that appear to be in bed with the Gov’t."

showed me that there would plenty of good material there.

I love the internet!

Cosmopolitan Mag-Rag

Reading the Cosmopolitan Magazine I'm struck by how Generation Whatever it is.

So much Guy Views, and fashion nothings, then there's trash talking. You can get an update on the new vocabulary : spinners (short legged girls who can....well, we won't say) midbooty (middle of getting it on), and frenemy (that one's obvious...that two faced player).

I pick up a wide assortment of free magazines at this thrift store. Thats how I ended up reading and reviewing this one.
Oh my god, it even told about how Different the 30's are from the 20s. Don't worry, gals, you're not getting older, you're getting better.

You're just a sprout. Don't even think you're half way to better yet.

What Do You Bring to the Table

Experts recommend resumes which detail skills which are transferable.
No longer is "team player" the catch phrase it once was.

Instead, we're instructed to talk about What We Bring to The Table.

OK. I can do that.

But, I'm over 50. And I have friends who are over 60 looking for a seasonal job.
They've been bringing stuff to the table for over 40 years. Its pretty good if they just get to the table, don't worry about bringing Anything.

The mere fact we made it to this ripe old age, can read and write fluently, probably have vacationed around the globe, raised kids, kept clothes on every one's back (and clean ones, at that) should speak to our desirability as employees.

Check our credit scores! Go ahead, we're pretty solvent, if not resourceful.

Check our background references. At our age, if they're still alive, we wouldn't list them unless we already know they'll say good things.

I'm coming to the table. Bringing everything I got. That's old school. How we been raised. How we raised our kids. How we hope our kids raise our grand kids, with pride in their work and themselves.

What do I put down on that resume? I bring enthusiasm and passion. You can teach skills til the cows come home, but you can't teach passion.

That's it for today's rant. See you tomorrow.

Seniors are People Too

I have a lot of interests.
Two other blogs:
http://thefemalesurvivalist.blogspot.com
and
http://brawnyview.blogspot.com
I've been writing for awhile. You'll find tons of adventures, videos, mishaps, and views on outdoor stuff.


I guess that's one reason I need this space, too. The mom side of me, the grandma needs a place to share. A place to write about crazy happenings occurring to me as I get some age on me.

When I go to Lowe's or Home Depot, I learned to wear heels, tight jeans and makeup. A lot more help seems to be available to hunt down those weird hard wear contraptions. If I'm wearing sweats, guess it looks like I know what I'm doing. Not the case.


My home page is http://trailquest.net/BRindex.html
There you can read about all the trails I've hiked, things I've made, read advice on going light weight and even extreme ultralight backpacking . Its been a passion of mine for many years.


I'm pretty independent and encourage women to be that way. Carry your own baggage. Men got enough of their own, I always say.

Sometimes my kids are surprised to find out what I'm up to. I posted to Facebook "Everything I know about my kids I learned on Facebook". Ain't it the truth. That goes for grandkids, in-laws, and exes.


Guess they got to surf a little to find out about the real me, too.

God Is Not a Woman

There's just no way god's a woman. If that were the case, our aging would be a beautiful process.

We wouldn't have hairs getting misdirected from places they belong, to places of distress.



We wouldn't have sleepless nights and hot flashes as we near the peak of our wisdom.

Our bosoms would stay in place, without wrinkles. Age spots,those nasty brown blotches, would be for bananas only. Period.
But, kicking and screaming, we head to the current state of affairs.



Women of Age must either be content with a negative beauty quotient, or fight like a Salmon heading upstream to spawn, employing every resource and investigative procedure to find out what works for them.


Yes, guys have the same problems. Men of Age have hairs appearing in the craziest of places. Their stuff doesn't function as readily as it once did.

Like us, they start being all torso, sinking into puffer-fish-dom: a couple spindly arms and legs springing from a roundish body.


Working out helps some. But it used to be way easier, and more rewards for the effort.


The advantage of having your life partner, significant other, mate, spouse, or "boyfriend" being the same age or even older, is there is tolerance.

I'm still the "hot young chick" for my man. He's older, wiser, and a definite stud muffin.

He always says it takes two of us to watch a movie. His good eyes, my better hearing.
Together, presuming we can catch the flick from the start, we figure out what is going on.

The Senior Coffee

I'm starting this blog cause there's gotta be a place we can rant about senior hood.

It all started when my life partner came home to tell me about his experience at McDonald's.

Wanting just a cup of coffee, and a few moments respite from the town day, he orders up the coffee, and the employee says, "That will be a dollar seven."

"What?" my man asks," I thought it was forty five cents?"

"Oh, you want the Senior Coffee" he loudly replied, stunned that anyone would actually admit to being a senior, I guess.

After my man told me this, I was insulted. Last time I was in McDonald's, they just automatically gave me the Senior Coffee!

I don't look that old.

And besides, when does senior hood start?

Is it fifty, fifty five, sixty two when you can get social security?

I love a good discount, but feel free to card me. And, keep your voice down, young man, when you ask if I want the senior anything.