Taking a break from the newsletter

This afternoon as the time eased by, my friend, Kathy called me. It appeared she was coming back from a school board meeting and asked if she could drop by with some more surveys for the Synod Team. Since I will be at church tomorrow night for Bible study, she asked if I could just take them along. Sure! It was a welcome break to have Kathy come by and enjoy some time on the river with me. I mixed a drink for us and we discussed a few of the items on the agenda of the School Board tonight. Nothing good coming as far as the budget discussions go. Hopefully the powers that be will come to a favorable agreement regarding the teachers and the funding.

We sat and discussed many other things including music, which is particularly close to her heart as a musician and singer. Another topic was about fixing up our homes, the timing thereof of projects and the lengths of our do-it-yourself updating. It was perfect timing for this conversation as just this afternoon I was wiping things down in the kitchen and tried to wipe finger prints off the door frame around the pocket door. When Bruce replaced the trim, the painter had already left, which means the frame was never touched up. I just may try it myself, because, after all, I used to do it for a living! Why does it seem like a much bigger job now, merely touching up, than painting an entire house inside and out used to be???

Ever since Suzanne brought up this subject in her blog the other day, I have been pondering the age factor in my life, our lives. As I walked from my car this afternoon, carrying my grocery bags, and wishing Dave the Doorman was still here, I considered my age. Exactly at what point do we (I) cross over from being one of the young ones to being the same age as the ladies 20 years older than I am? Like some of those with whom I have lunch on Mondays. Would I be their age if I still had a 13-year-old to raise? I will bet not. My point of reference would be entirely different, my focus redirected, my 'freedoms' limited. Physically, if I lost some weight or grew taller, perhaps I would have increased stamina or an interest in running or riding bike, like my church friend, Jennifer, does. Bearing in mind Jen is much younger than me and has young kids at home.....

Kathy and I talked about when people, such as parents or in-laws, no longer are interested in receiving things as gifts ("I have no use for flowers") and start to purge their homes of as much as possible. For years and year now, Gretchen has been going through stuff in her home, sorting and getting rid of things, and coming up with fun pieces or articles to show us. People at her age like to say they don't need another thing in their homes, like my mother-in-law used to say when it came to gifts. I just wonder when that will happen for me, if it will. I remember my mom did not like it when I moved my rooster collection to a back bedroom here, but, for me, I was done collecting roosters, I had enough. I hope I never get tired of colored glass!