One of the many beautiful outcomes of my aging is the two characters in my life story became one. For most of my life there were two characters that made up my “me story.” The first character was created in my self-talk, the inner voice that took me to sleep and was …
Me to me (self-talk): Holy smokes, I think my stomach is expanding, but I don’t want to get on the scale until I’m confident I’ve lost a few pounds, but how is this happening to me when I don’t think I’m eating any more than I ever did, yet there’s definitely a little bump …
I wonder what percentage of people over the age of 70 have some form of chronic pain? When you get old like me, pain is a hard thing to calculate. How do I know my pain is worse than the guy down the street? Is the pain in my leg actually coming from my brain? …
No one has ever accused me of being a perfectionist. After all these years, I’m comforted by author Tal Ben-Shahar to know that this is a good thing. In his book, Being Happy, I learn that attempting to do things perfectly is a troublesome trait. So, to tout my outstanding …
Aging has allowed me daily periods of quiet contemplation without any twinges of guilt. In the mornings, caressing a mug of coffee with just a touch of cream, I find my favorite chair and sit and let the silence wash over me. I release my mind from its work cage and let it …
A few years ago, I went to a three-day workshop on the strategies of negotiation. On the first day, I was told that in life and in business, you receive not what you deserve, but what you negotiate. After learning some ways of being crafty, almost deceptive, the class split …
As a youth, the word kindness bugged me. It sounded grandmotherly, even a bit unmasculine. I’d rather people think of me as showing toughness or courageousness. And, if someone bestowed kindness on me, I’d think I must be weak or needy. Last week, while in line at a …
I used to get dressed up for work: suit, shirt and tie — the whole big shebang. My closet had all kinds of mix and matches. Ties were my specialty. I had well over 100 in all colors. Thin ones when they were in, wide ones when they took over. Times change. Months went by …
There is one adventurous trip I often take now that I am in my 70s that I did not experience in my younger years. I call it my walk-in closet stroll. My closet is a destination I’ve visited several times each day in previous years for obvious reasons, say, to pick out a …
Certain little moments of joy stay with me for my lifetime. Jerry Dahl was a grade school buddy who lived about 10 blocks from Saint Cecilia School. I’d walk him home and go up to his room, which was in the attic. As with many Catholic families of the ‘50s, Jerry had a bunch …
