Lunch today with an 84 year old friend. We dined on Lobster Ravioli with Shrimp in Pink Sauce. I'm thinking it was red sauce mixed with cream. Very good lunch. I even laughed out loud at something my friend said. Everything was great. We both put out credit cards for our separate checks. When the credit slips came back I signed and watched as my friend added the tip in cash. Looked like a large tip and then she mentioned putting $18 there. I said but you used your credit card. And she said "No, I didn't".
What should I do? She is forgetting her children's names. I remind her of the grandchildren's names. She lives alone. Calls me each day to see if I'm free to visit her or have lunch. She is disappointed when I have to work. Her children live far away. About as far away as I live from my own 85 year old father. Who lives alone and calls one of my brother's friends. To make sure he has a key to the house. In case.
My 84 year old friend mentioned that my newest quilt--the Marigold-- seemed "tight" or "controlled" to her and not like my usual work which is loose and a bit erratic. And then after lunch, I met a friend on the path to my car and she asked about the Marigold and in talking about it I realized that my lunch companion was correct. It is too controlled and tight and THAT is what has kept me from liking it and finishing it for all these years. About 4 or 5 years. The friend on the path said she would never have even wanted to finish something that old. I said that I was trying to "pull the art through". A David Walker quote.
I'm that way with unfinished art business. It nags at me. Loose ends. Unfullfilled promise. So now that I know what was wrong--I will make a new Marigold. Wild and loose and totally crazy. Because that IS my favorite song. "Still Crazy After All These Years".
I took a bag of outgrown linen clothes to the resale shop. I will know in 6 weeks if I sold any and I can have anything unsold back to use as fabric. I plan to sort through the closet and wash, iron and fold any more big, summer items.
Fifty Pounds. Six Months. I sort of wish there was a FF (Formerly Fat) like AA so I could go to a meeting. To learn how to not see myself as FAT. To not backslide. To accept myself as I am. At the resale shop the owner was unpacking my things and she looked from the clothes to me and said "These are really big". And I said "So was I". So. Was. I.
And dear friends--- that is a moment in time, a day in my life. A snapshot.
You GO Joann! I am SO PROUD of you. Fifty pounds in six months is really incredible and it sounds like you are doing it reasonably. One thing that is working for me on my fitness program is that I set a reward goal each month. I don't set a specific goal, like "I'll lose 5 more pounds" because since I am weight lifting I may not lose weight but my body is transforming in other ways. Anyway, I set a reward based on how well I stayed on the program the previous month and if made progress. I just bought a new dress yesterday in a smaller size, but added on new shoes, necklace and earrings as a special reward. I haven't done that in YEARS! And the fact that everything was on sale made it even sweeter. Sorry to ramble. I just want to share some of my enthusiasm with you. Aloha, Dianna
ReplyDeleteSo proud of your lifestyle change benefits, my dear! Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your elderly friend, perhaps you could contact a Dementia/Alzheimer group and ask for some advice.
And that quilt...I know I am bold(ish) but maybe in your brand-new-you mode, you could chop it up and rework it? Yikes!