Yearly Archives: 2011

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?

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Sunday was the fourth anniversary of my husband M’s passing.  It was a bright and sunny day. It was very cold outside. I put on my black fleece jacket and drove over to the cemetery. I brought a rock to place on my husband’s gravestone.  It was a special rock. It was the rock that I had brought back from the Miraval Spa in Tucson, where I had gone in 2009 after a year of grief.  It was time for me to release this precious rock and place it by M.

I drove into the cemetery as I normally do, around the bend, around one more bend, in front of the mausoleum. There were lots of cars around, others were visiting their loved ones too. I stopped the car in my usual spot, right in front of the bench which is home to another’s very large gravestone (you can actually sit on the gravestone while you pray.)

I walked through mounds of mud left from the rainy weather.  I navigated through the musty grass, some brown, some green. There were leaves over some of the gravestones and I brushed them aside, being careful not to step on anyone’s stone.

I bent over to put my rock down on my husband’s gravestone.  I closed my eyes to pray.  My hands felt the cold grass, my hands felt more cold grass, and more and more…but, but, but my hands did not feel any cold gravestone!  There was no gravestone at his site.

“How could this be?” I said to myself.  ”How is this possible?”  I know where M’s gravesite is located.  I’ve been visiting for the past four years.

I looked to the left. No M.  I looked to the right.  No M.  I walked further back.  No M.  I walked forward. No M.

“How could this be?” I said to myself, as I got in the car and drove to the cemetery office to check out the situation.

“Closed for the rest of December,” said the sign on the office door.

I drove back to the spot where I had just walked. I parked again and walked all around from end to end.  I looked and looked as the sun started to set, but there was no M gravestone to be found.

“Just go home,” said my daughter A on the phone.  ”Calm down mom, and I’ll help you find it next week when I am home.  I’m sure it is right there.  You are just missing it.”

“Wherefore art thou Romeo?” I wanted to cry, “Wherefore art thou?”  It was a sunny afternoon and the Giants were playing the Redskins.  My husband M was a big Giants fan.  Perhaps he left to watch the game and his stone will be back in place later this week.  Yes, that must be it.  My forgetfulness is abundant during my life after 50, especially after many sleepless nights.

I returned home and put my special Miraval rock back on its perch on my nightstand.  I’ll place it on my beloved’s gravestone another time whenever art thou returns.

Judi

The Beauty of Wisdom

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As I get ready to honor the anniversary of my husband’s passing and light the yazheit candle this coming Sunday, as we do in the Jewish religion, I’ve been thinking about all the years gone by, yet also thinking about the exciting years to come.

It’s been four years since M departed and left me to fend for myself after almost 25 years of marriage.

It’s been exactly one year since I sold my house and moved into my new town home.  I have no regrets.  It was a difficult, but smart move – it definitely simplified my life after 50. I still have three or four more boxes that I haven’t unpacked. Since I haven’t looked inside these boxes after a year, I’m starting to wonder if I should just throw them out. Do I really need this stuff?

Next month I will turn 54.  I’m inching closer to my mid-fifties. What happened to the last four years? Didn’t I just turn 50? And what about the past 25?

I was reminded of some of my younger years when I read Frank Bruni’s Op Ed piece today in the New York Times.  It is titled “Time, Distance And Clarity.” Frank writes that “This is the stretch of the calendar from Thanksgiving through New Year’s when many of us revisit the places we’ve left behind.” He says, “The journeys can be difficult and I don’t mean the brawls over the overhead bin. Nor do I mean what Thomas Wolfe did when he contemplated the messiness of going home again, stirring up resentments and confronting how much – and it – have changed.”

Frank goes on to say, “What weighs on me is the opposite: how much everything has no doubt stayed the same, coupled with the recognition that I didn’t appreciate or really even examine it before. There lies the sorrow.”

Frank, you are right on the money with how I’ve been feeling this week. I too want to go back in time and really soak up all the blessings and experiences of my youth, like your friend J says, “we’re not only older and wiser when we circle back to our former homes but we’re also, even more crucially, unencumbered guests able to take their measure and siphon off their pleasures in a way we couldn’t before.”

So where should I start? I think I need to visit The New York Botanical Garden near where I grew up in the Bronx.  Oftentimes, my mom and dad would make me take walks through the gardens on sunny weekends.  I found our walks among the plants to be flat out boring.  In fact, when my mom would make me walk through the Conservatory, I would cry out ”please don’t make me go through that hot house with all those wet plants.”

Now that I am older and wiser I have a great fondness for plants and flowers and all things green. I can’t wait to go back and explore the Conservatory’s acre of plants and take an ecotour around the world of rainforests, deserts and aquatic and carnivorous plants.

I just love all this wisdom, it’s be-you-tee-full.

Judi

P.S. Thank you to all my readers who have filled out my survey. If you haven’t had a chance to do so, please take a few minutes to answer a few questions.  Your feedback is important to me as I evolve my blog to a more robust platform. Click here to take the survey. I’ll share the results in future blog posts.

Hearing Back From My Boomer Girl Readers

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It will be almost five years next month since I started blogging.  Back in 2007, when I began my first blog to record my countdown to my 50th birthday, I never dreamed I’d be blogging five years later.  Blogging has helped me find my authentic voice.

One of the major reasons I have continued to blog is because of you, my readers.  You have kept me smiling during my low periods, during those dark days when my husband was ill.  You were my support during the months after my husband passed away and I wondered how I was going to manage as a widow.  You were there for me during the good times and continue to be there as I navigate through my empty nest and my new life after turning 50. Through you I have built a virtual community of boomer girls from around the world who I can converse with, laugh with and interact with on a weekly basis.

Over the years, I’ve shared my ups and downs, my happiness and my fears, my hopes and my dreams for my life after 50.  As I get ready to expand my blog and move to a new more robust blogging platform, I want to hear from you.  I hope you will take a few minutes this week to respond to my blog survey.  Your feedback will help me to create a better blog, with richer content that I hope you will continue to enjoy reading and sharing with your friends. The new “Judi Boomer Girl” blog is a work in progress that I plan to launch in the new year.  It’s exciting and I need your help to make it a success.

So, dear readers, now it is my turn to hear from you.  Click here to take the survey.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.  All responses are anonymous, unless you would like to add your name and location to any answer.  I’ll be sharing the feedback in an upcoming blog post.  I greatly appreciate your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.

Stay tuned for new news as I build the best ever “Judi Boomer Girl” blog.

Judi

Are You Ready To Relinquish?

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I’ve been thinking about the word relinquish ever since I went to yoga class last Friday.  It was so special to go to yoga on a weekday morning.  A real treat because I had the day off from work.

My yoga teacher P talked her fellow yogis (of which I am one) through a practice to help us let go of our stress. 
“Relinquish any of the tightness that is in your body,” said P. (I felt my body relaxing from head to toe.) 
“Relinquish any of the thoughts that are in your mind and any judgements you may have at this moment,” said P. (I let my mind go blank and stopped thinking about all the food I had eaten the night before at Thanksgiving.)
P said that as we relinquish it opens our body and mind to greater transformation.
Just hearing the word – relinquish – makes me relax.  It is truly a wonderful word and I want to make sure I keep it high up in my vocabulary every day, especially each night before I go to bed.
Try saying the word several times and I think you will see what I mean.  Try it.  Go ahead.  I’ll say it with you: “Relinquish, relinquish, relinquish.”  
Do you feel more relaxed?  If not, say it three more times and even repeat its meaning (This word is so special that the dictionary has given it three equally relaxing meanings.)
Relinquish – “put aside or desist from something practiced, professed or intended”
Relinquish – “surrender and let go”
Relinquish - “cease holding physically, release”
Ohm, ohm, ohm, what a feeling to relinquish. Maybe I should tattoo this word on my body so I remember it during my life after 50.  I do forget words, names and phrases so easily nowadays.
Judi 

Boomer Girl Beauty Is About Moisturizing Your Face

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The lovely PR ladies at CVS provided me with samples of Nuance, a new line of anti-aging moisturizers created by Salma Hayek. I figured if these products can make me look as good as Salma Hayek during my life after 50, I will definitely try them. I’ve been using the Renewed Radiance SPF 30 Moisturizing Day Cream each morning under my sunscreen and the Anti-Aging Super Cream at night.  I’ve also tried the Smoothing Anti-Aging Eye Cream and would recommend all three products. The products go on smoothly and are formulated with Shea butter and vitamin E.  How much do these age-defying products cost? You want to know that little detail? Well, well, well, all three are quite reasonable at about $16.99 each at your local CVS pharmacy.  Also check out the CVS Beauty Club for discounts.

A Boomer Girl And Her New Smartphone

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I did it.  I made the move to a smartphone.

I did it.  I bought an iPhone4S and I am now one of those people who is addicted to her smartphone. (Hope I don’t become what New York Times writer Lizzie Skurnick calls a “clogin,” one who blocks an entrance or exit while checking a smartphone.  I definitely have signs of what Lizzie calls “e-ander,”to walk slowly while checking my messages, and I also have “sentropy,” as I do have a tendency to come to a stop to see if a message has been sent.)

I did it and I love it.  My phone is smarter than me. (Although I don’t find Siri so smart. Siri doesn’t answer all my questions correctly like it does in the iPhone4S television commercial.)

My smartphone can tell time. (However, unlike my millennial children, I never go out of the house without my watch on my left wrist.  It’s a creature of habit that I wear a watch.  I even had my mother-in-law’s old watch refurbished and I actually have to wind it to make it work. Imagine that!)

I can keep my “to do” list on my smartphone and delete each item after I complete it. No more little scraps of paper to keep track of. No need to keep my “to do’s” once they are done.

I can check my stock quotes on my smartphone and get up-to-date information in a matter of seconds. (Not sure I want to do this on a daily basis anymore with the way the Dow is doing lately.)

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. This smartphone is so, so, so smart. I can check the daily and weekly weather, find out what time it is around the world, take fabulous pictures, buy newspapers and magazines from the newsstand, find maps and directions when I need to go someplace new, keep my photo album up-to-date, listen to my music, read and sync my books with my Kindle, check the latest movie schedules and watch new movie trailers and movies too.  I can update my status on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and shop on Rue La La or any other site I want to shop.

I can download yoga routines and wellness routines.  (Wonder if my smartphone can help me lose the few extra pounds I put on this week?  Or if it can cook a turkey for Thanksgiving?)

“You have to protect your new smartphone,” said the AT&T salesman.  ”You need a good case and a car charger.”

“How much will that cost?”  I asked.

“Let’s see, the case is $50 and the charger is $29,” said the AT&T salesman as he rang up the two items.

“You are going to show me how to put the phone in this fancy case,” I said to the salesman.” Absolutely,” he replied. “And you can also set up a speaker phone in your car.”

“I can set up a speaker phone in my car.  Wow-o-wow, this phone is really fantastic,” I said.

“What kind of car do you have?” asked the nice twenty-something salesman.

“I have a 2004 Honda Accord,” I said.

“Ooh, I don’t know if a smartphone will work in that old a car,” he said.

A new case for my smartphone: $50
A new charger for my smartphone: $29
A new car for my smartphone: $27,000+

I love my smartphone.  I adore my smartphone.  But now I need a new car for my smartphone.  What will it need next?  Sure hope it is not a college education.  My youngest graduates in May 2012 and I’m done with paying tuition.  It’s time to save for retirement, not for my smartphone expenses.

Judi

Beauty Buzz From A Boomer Girl

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I’ve been lucky to be treated to some new beauty products from a few sponsors I met at the BlogHer ’11 conference.  I thought I would introduce you to some of the brands that I like and thought other boomer girls might like.  I’ve included a few additional ones that I recently purchased as well.

First, I have to take a detour though and tell you about the fabulous facial I treated myself to in honor of my day off from work. My esthetician D put an oatmeal scrub on my face and followed it up with a probiotic masque. (I wondered if I had scheduled a facial or perhaps it was time for breakfast.)  The combination made my face, as my boyfriend L would say, “as soft as a baby’s tush.” D waxed my eyebrows too – what a difference an eyebrow wax can make to one’s face.  (Note to self: Be sure to make another appointment for a facial in the coming winter months.)

Boomer Girl Beauty Is About Protecting My Face From The Sun: D told me to be careful in the sun and always put sunscreen on my face to prevent age spots.  (I already have quite a few of those ugly spots.) As I always listen to what D says, I bought the sunscreen she recommended and am liking it very much.  It’s called Skinceuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50 – it has color-infused sunscreen technology and it blends with all skin tones.  The best part is that it is tinted, so I don’t have to wear a separate foundation.  According to Skinceuticals, “up to 90% of visible aging is caused by sun exposure.” (Ooh, aah, but I love to go to the beach and I love to soak up the sun. Guess I am going to have to watch out for those UVA/UVB waves from now on.)  How much did it cost?  You want to know that little detail?  Well, well, well – not too bad – it was $30 for 1.7 fl oz.  I only use a little amount on my face each morning and re-apply if I am going to be out in the sun all day.

Boomer Girl Beauty Is About Moisturizing Your Face: The lovely PR ladies at CVS provided me with samples of Nuance, a new line of anti-aging moisturizers created by Salma Hayek. I figured if these products can make me look as good as Salma Hayek during my life after 50, I will definitely try them. I’ve been using the Renewed Radiance SPF 30 Moisturizing Day Cream each morning under my sunscreen and the Anti-Aging Super Cream at night.  I’ve also tried the Smoothing Anti-Aging Eye Cream and would recommend all three products. The products go on smoothly and are formulated with Shea butter and vitamin E.  How much do these age-defying products cost? You want to know that little detail? Well, well, well, all three are quite reasonable at about $16.99 each at your local CVS pharmacy.

Boomer Girl Beauty Is About Attitude and that’s why I love the Philosophy brand.  I was so glad to see they had a booth at the BlogHer Conference in August.  I just finished trying the samples of their new miracle worker skin care collection.  The samples were very teeny-tiny, but the miraculous anti-aging moisturizer went on so light.  As the Philosophy packaging says, “to witness a miracle is to know ourself, vital, brilliant, heavenly in body and spirit.”  (Me, me, me, me. Thank you Philosophy.) How much does this miracle worker cost?  You want to know that little detail?  Well, well, well, it cost more than Salma’s brand at $55 for 2 oz.  - but it is worth a splurge once in a while if you want to have attitude.  I’d also recommend Philosophy purity one-step facial cleanser.

Boomer Girl Beauty Is About Pampering Yourself:  You absolutely will adore the Sabon line of bath products. I was smitten after my son D took me into the Sabon booth at Bryant Park last week.  ”Mom, come here and try these soap scrubs, they will make your hands amazingly soft and they smell so wonderful,” said D. The saleswoman put a small scoop of the Lavender Apple Soap Scrub on my hands and then washed them in a beautiful, handcrafted Jerusalem stone fountain.  Then she topped my hands with Lavender Apple Butter Cream, a body cream based on Shea butter oil.  These beauty and bath products are from Israel and will make you feel luxurious from head to toe. How much did the soap scrub and lavender butter cream cost?  Well, well, well, it was rather expensive at $65 for the set, but if I don’t pamper myself at this age, who will?

Let me know if you try any of these boomer girl beauty treatments and how you like them.  Or do you use any of them already?  Do tell, do tell.

Judi

The Best-Ever Pancakes

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“The next time you are in NYC, we have to go to the Clinton Street Bakery & Restaurant for breakfast,” said my son D. “They have the absolute best-ever pancakes.”

“I can’t wait,” I replied, “I’ll be in NYC this week for a conference and am going to stay until Saturday.  Let’s go!”

“It’s time to get up mom,” said my daughter A, bright and early on Saturday morning. “We have to meet D and get in line for the best-ever pancakes.  I took a shower, washed and dried my hair, put on my jeans, my long-sleeve black tee and my warm winter coat and was out the door before 9:00 a.m., on a morning when I normally like to relax in bed till noon. However, I love pancakes and the thought of warm fluffy pancakes made my mouth water and my body move quickly into a cab and straight downtown to the lower east side of the city.

When we arrived at the restaurant at 9:10 a.m. (yes, only 10 minutes after it opened) there was already a crowd gathering on the curbside. It is a teeny-tiny place and it seemed that many others wanted their morning pancakes too. “It will be about a 90 minute wait,” said the host. Ooh, ahh. Ooh, ahh. It was really cold outside, almost felt like the freezing mark. Ooh, ahh. Ooh, ahh. Those pancakes look and smell soooooo good.

“Okay,” I said to A and D, as I tapped my boots to keep my feet from icing up. “I’m game. Let’s wait. I do hope I will make it back uptown in time for my bus home by 12:45 p.m.” We stood outside the teeny tiny restaurant as each name was called. And then, and then, and then, the clock struck 10:15 a.m. and it was finally time for our breakfast.

“What would you like to order?” said the nice waitress.

“I want the blueberry pancakes with warm maple butter,” I said. D ordered eggs benedict and A got the farmer’s breakfast with soft scrambled eggs, farmhouse cheese, herb roasted tomatoes and sourdough toast.  ”Should we get a side order of pancakes too?” said A and D. “No, no, no,” I said. “I will not eat all my pancakes. You can definitely have some of my pancakes. I will share them with you.”

We drank our hot coffee while breakfast was prepared. And then our food arrived. The waitress brought our plates to the table.

Ooh, ahh. Ooh, ahh. I thought I had been transported to pancake heaven. They were light. They were fluffy.  They were three large, perfectly round pancakes. They were perfectly placed one on top of the other. Wild Maine blueberries were dripping over the stack and a sprinkling of powdered sugar topped off the plate. Next to the pancakes was a small bowl of warm maple butter. (Yes, it was warm maple butter, not maple syrup.  I think that is one of the things that makes these pancakes taste extra special.)

“Pour the maple butter over the pancakes,” said D. I did exactly as D directed and then I sliced the mound of cakes and put each bite in my mouth until they were all gone. (I did share a few fork-fulls with A and D, like a good mom. I also tried a few bites of D’s delicious homemade biscuit and poached eggs with hollandaise and I sampled a teaspoon of scrumptious homemade raspberry jam on a piece of A’s sourdough toast.)

“I can’t believe I ate all those pancakes,” I said as I wiped my face clean. “They were so good…surely the best-ever pancakes I will consume during my life after 50″

We were finished with breakfast by 11:30 a.m. and promptly on our way back to A’s apartment so I could catch my bus home.

I would definitely do an early morning wake-up call for Clinton Street Bakery pancakes anytime and I highly recommend you do the same when visiting NYC. In fact, I may have to schedule a trip to NYC in February, for National Pancake Month. I read that the restaurant features a different pancake flavor every Monday thru Friday, well into the night. Just remember to bring cash, as no credit cards are accepted. Or if you don’t get to NYC anytime soon, you can always buy The Clinton St. Baking Company cookbook and make your own pancakes.

Judi

P.S. – As part of the BlogHer community of bloggers who are helping to get the word out about a special campaign that kicked off on November 1st, I encourage you to stop by your local Starbucks to make a $5 or more donation to the “Let’s Create Jobs for USA” initiative.  100% of your donation goes to the Opportunity Finance Network to create and sustain jobs in communities across America.

Learning About Slow Love

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I went to the BlogHer Writers ’11 Conference last week.  The conference was sponsored by Penguin Publishing.  I went to the conference to learn about how to publish a book. You see dear readers, when I find a spare moment in one of these upcoming days, months or likely years, my dream is to turn my blog into a book.

I listened to all the bloggers who had been published, the editors and agents, and fiction and non-fiction authors as they shared what it takes to get a book published or self-published in today’s market. I  drafted a book proposal and shared the title during my mentoring session on writing a memoir. My book is going to be called “How I Got My Mojo Back, After Losing My Spouse, Selling My House and Emptying Out My Nest.”  What do you think?  Oh, please tell me that you can’t wait to read the table of contents.  Oh, please tell me that you can’t wait to read each chapter and the sidebars and more. It’s going to be a great book, especially for those 50+.

I Met The Author Dominique Browning

But now, I want to tell you about an author I met. Her name is Dominque Browning and she wrote “Slow Love – How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, and Found Happiness.” Dominque was a keynote speaker at the conference. As a fellow boomer girl, I could identify with Dominque’s remarks.

Dominque was the editor of “House & Garden” until Conde Nast folded the magazine and she lost her job. That’s when she put on her pajamas, slowed down and wrote a book about it.

“Slow love is about knowing what you’ve got before it’s gone,” Dominque said. “Slowing down is about tuning into the miracles of life all around us.” Dominique challenged each of us to notice a miracle every day. (Think I will try to notice my houseplants every day. It is truly a miracle that I am able to keep them green and growing. I will also have to buy more flowers and put them around my house. Flowers are miracles too.)

“Slow love is about taking advantage of what’s around you to nourish yourself every day,” Dominque said. (I have to heed Dominque’s advice. I’ve been so busy lately that sometimes I tend to rush through the day and gulp down my meals so I can get to the next task. Instead, I need to slow down and be more mindful of my food and savor every bite.)

“Sometimes we impose impossible demands on ourselves,” Dominque said. (Really?  Oh, really?  That is me to a tee.)

As she closed out her keynote address, Dominque shared some tips about how she reinvented herself during such a traumatic time in her life:

  • “There is a time of mourning,” she said. “Give yourself permission to mourn.”
  • “We often don’t know where we want to go,” she said.  ”Be patient with yourself.”
  • “Why are you still doing what you wanted to do when you were 22 when you are 52?” she told us to ask ourselves this question and see what the answer is.
  • “Get rid of the toxic people in your life.” she said.  (Yes, I agree and I’ve tried to do the same during my life after 50.)

I so enjoyed hearing from Dominque that I went straight to the conference bookstand and bought a copy of her book and had her autograph it.  Each night before I go to sleep I’ve been reading a chapter.  This “slow love” is good stuff. If you want to practice “slow love” you can find more words of wisdom from Dominque at her blog Slow Love Life.

Judi

Flo-ree-da, Mom’s 90th B-Day and a Hot Red Sports Car

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Last week I was off to Flo-ree-da for my mom’s 90th birthday.  It was a BIG occasion.  After all, it’s not every year that my wonderful mom turns the BIG 9-0. My sister N and nephew N and my daughter A and son D all joined in to honor mom’s birthday with a BIG celebration.

My daughter A and I took a little detour before heading to mom’s assisted living residence to spend two glorious days in South Beach at the Dream Hotel.  It was truly dreamy.  They even had Dream Water in the room to help guests have a restful sleep.  I didn’t try any relaxation water therapy, but I wrote down the website if I ever want to order any water for home use – might be good for some nights when I have menopausal insomnia.

After our mother/daughter Miami trip, A and I took a cab back to the Fort Lauderdale airport to pick up a car and pick up my son D before driving north to mom’s birthday party.

“I ordered a compact Ford Focus,” I said to the rental agent at the Budget Rental Car counter. ”Sorry, no compact cars left.  But we are going to upgrade you to an SUV,” said the agent.

“What do you mean?  I don’t want an SUV,” I said rather loudly.  I’m here for my mom’s 90th birthday and she cannot climb into an SUV.  You gave my sister an SUV and now she cannot take my mother out for a ride. I need a car,” I said.

“Well, I’ll give you an upgrade to our best car. It’s a Lincoln Towncar,” said the agent.  It is a car with four doors.   “Okay, I’ll take it, I’ll take it,” I replied.

“What are you doing?” said my son D as we walked to the car.  ”That car is a boat. We cannot drive a Lincoln Towncar,” said D.  ”Grandma will think we are going to a funeral not her 90th birthday party.  The car is big and black.”

I walked back to the Budget counter and demanded a different car. “I cannot drive around in a big black car for my mother’s 90th birthday weekend,” I told the agent.

“Well, I’ll upgrade you to a Cadillac Escalade,” said the agent. “No, no, no,” I replied.  ”I told you, no SUV.  I need a car.  Do you have any cars left in the shop?”

“Well, the only cars I have left are sports cars, either a Camaro or a Dodge Challenger…and you’ll have to pay extra,” said the agent.

By this time I was quite annoyed.  Plus, we had to get going if we were going to make it in time for the party at 3:00 p.m.  ”Okay, give me the Dodge Challenger,” I said.  ”Way to go mom,” said my son D.  We loaded up our luggage, revved up the engine and off to the races we went,  I mean off to the birthday party we went, in a two door, hot red sports car.

We arrived at mom’s place just in time for the party.  E, the events planner at my mom’s residence, was a pro when it came to celebrations.  ”Do you want to have a really, really great 90th birthday for your mom?” she had said when I spoke to her a few weeks prior.  ”Of course I want to have a really, really great 90th birthday for my mom. Why wouldn’t I want it to be a really, really great birthday?”

“Then I suggest we have some entertainment.  Do you want a singer or a comedian?” E had asked.  I chose the singer and my sister N agreed.

At 3:00 p.m. sharp there was a sitting room only crowd waiting in the living room. (All walkers were folded to allow for maximum accommodations.) Singer Jeanne arrived and belted out a bevy of show tunes and love songs to honor my mom’s nine decades.   She ended her serenade with a Peggy Lee favorite, “I’m A Woman,” and the crowd sang along.  Oh, it was so good, I feel like singing it again.  Come on and have some fun and sing along with me:

I can wash out 44 pairs of socks and have ‘em hangin out on the line
I can starch & iron 2 dozens shirts ‘fore you can count from 1 to 9
I can scoop up a great big dipper full of lard from the drippins can
Throw it in the skillet, go out & do my shopping, be back before it melts in the pan
‘Cause I’m a woman! W-O-M-A-N, I’ll say it again

I can rub & scrub this old house til it’s shinin like a dime 
Feed the baby, grease the car, & powder my face at the same time
Get all dressed up, go out and swing til 4 a.m. and then 
Lay down at 5, jump up at 6, and start all over again 
‘Cause I’m a woman! W-O-M-A-N, I’ll say it again 

If you come to me sickly you know I’m gonna make you well
If you come to me all hexed up you know I’m gonna break the spell
If you come to me hungry you know I’m gonna fill you full of grits
If it’s lovin you’re likin, I’ll kiss you and give you the shiverin’ fits
‘Cause I’m a woman! W-O-M-A-N, I’ll say it again 

I can stretch! a green black dollar bill from here to kindom come!
I can play the numbers pay the bills and still end up with some!
I got a twenty-dollar gold piece says there ain’t nothing I can’t do
I can make a dress out of a feed bag and I can make a man out of you
‘Cause I’m a woman! W-O-M-A-N, I’ll say it again ‘Cause I’m a woman! W-O-M-A-N, and that’s all. 

Wow, that was fabulous.  Don’t you feel empowered?  Oh, you want to know about the rest of the party?

Well, chef E at my mom’s assisted living residence made a delicious fruity birthday cake with pineapple filling and whipped cream frosting. Almost everyone had a slice, except for those who were diabetic, they had to have special cookies.  Then my mom blew out her birthday candle and made a birthday wish.

We spent the rest of the weekend driving around in the hot red Dodge Challenger sports car.  ”It was great,” said my mom at the end of the day on Friday and at the end of the weekend too.  It truly was a best-ever birthday.

I especially love the quote in my mom’s 90th birthday card.  It is by poet Emily Dickinson and says “We turn not older with years, but new every day.”  That’s how I feel about my mom.  She may be 90 now, but she still inspires me in new ways every day.

We dropped off the hot red Dodge Challenger sportscar at the Budget rental car return and boarded the plane at 6:00 a.m. back to New Jersey on Monday morning. A and I were exhausted (D had already left on Sunday) but glad that the weekend had gone so well. “Maybe we’ll be back to celebrate grandma’s 100th birthday in 10 years from now,” said A, “That would be really fun!”

Judi