Tuesday, November 30, 2010

“The Folks Inside”

(from the book Falling Up)
by Shel Silverstein

Inside you, boy,
There’s an old man sleepin’,
Dreamin,’ waitin’ for his chance
Inside you, girl,
There’s an old lady dozin’,
Wantin’ to show you a slower dance.

So keep on playin’,
Keep on runnin’,
Keep on jumpin’, til the day
That those old folks
Down inside you
Wake up…and come out to play.

This is one of my favorite poems by Shel Silverstein, and the older I get the more true it seems. I’ve often said to people that I feel like an 80 year old trapped in a 40 year old body. Unlike many people my age, I don’t keep my cell phone on 24/7, nor do I text (nor do I ever plan to). I like classical music. Although I like dressing fashionably, I prefer to dress for comfort. I don’t like staying out late. I prefer to be home by midnight (or earlier), and I don’t like to sleep too late in the morning. I also have to hold things farther from my face in order to see them in focus, and ‘being regular’ is something I appreciate more and more as I get older. In fact, I sort of look forward to old age, especially retirement. I plan to keep busy, but much prefer to live by my own schedule.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

me at the Coliseum


me at the Coliseum, originally uploaded by authorwannabe.

Scratch this (visit the Coliseum in Rome) off the Bucket List.

The Bucket List

Last night I sat down and watched “The Bucket List,” a movie I’ve been meaning to see since it came out a few years ago. After watching it I discussed the list with my husband and was delighted we could already cross off a few.

THE BUCKET LIST:

1. Witness something truly majestic – we saw a total solar eclipse in 1999 where the afternoon turned to complete darkness for almost an hour or so. I think that qualifies.
2. Help a complete stranger for a common good
3. Laugh till I cry (nearly – there was the time when the elder Harold Cottrell (my aunt’s now late father-in-law) played a trick on my young niece Emily involving the whole family in his deception. I don’t think I’ve laughed as hard or as long about anything since then).
4. Drive a Shelby Mustang
5. Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world
6. Get a tattoo (I’ve thought about it, maybe just a little one, but my husband doesn’t want me to desecrate my body in that way).
7. Skydiving (no, I don’t think so, nor would I ever consider going bungee jumping. If I had to do something daring, I think hang-gliding or perhaps parasailing might be fun,)
8. Visit Stonehenge
9. Spend a week at the Louvre (okay, so it was only an afternoon, we did actually spend a week in Paris)
10. See Rome
11. Dinner at La Cherie d'Or
12. See the Pyramids (I’ve seen a few smaller ones, but not the original ones in Egypt, but it’s definitely on my short list).
13. Get back in touch (previously "Hunt the big cat"). I keep hesitating, but I know I should really write to the lady whom I used to babysit for and who was invited to our wedding. Somehow in the first few years after we were married, we lost contact and I’ve never picked back up on it again.
14. Visit Taj Mahal, India
15. Hong Kong
16. Victoria Falls (maybe next year when we go to Australia we can hop a flight to New Zealand and visit here).
17. Serengeti
18. Ride the Great Wall of China

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

So much waiting…

I’m waiting for our cable box to reboot….

I’m waiting for our plumber to show up…

I’m waiting for my co-worker to come up to my desk so I can leave for the day…

I’m waiting for dinner to finish cooking…

I’m waiting for my co-worker to come up with some work for me to do…

I’m waiting for the traffic light to turn green…

I’m waiting for my husband’s dvd to finish so I can watch TV…

I’m waiting for lunch time to arrive and then time to leave for the day…