As children, we might have thought that someone who was 40, 50 or 60 was old, especially if they modeled certain behaviors. Watching our elders complain about getting older, limiting themselves, and acting as if it's "normal" to not just age, but to also become decrepit sends a strong message. Many of their assumptions about aging probably came from what they heard and saw when they were younger and got passed along to us. I was very fortunate. My grammy looked like a grandmother, but she didn't act like many others. She didn't worry about making it up and down the stairs in her Victorian-style home with just one bathroom on the second floor. I would often find her outside with her dress and
When I was a little girl, I remember hearing the adults say to never discuss religion or politics at a dinner party. I would love to bring back the custom of having dinner parties on a regular basis. I'm not sure I'd like to talk about politics these days and I doubt I would chat about organized religion, however I would relish hearing about peoples' spiritual practices. I was raised in a family that belonged to and attended a protestant church. While my parents were quite liberal about many things, their views (especially my mother's) were very strong about which religion was better. I didn't get it because I had friends in school that went to all different churches and it didn't seem to ma
