October and November are the two hard months for me. Of course, when you get to my age there are anniversary deaths and birthdays every month. And they occur in every month, but it just seems like fall and winter are the most prolific. And then I have momma whispering in my ear to remind me that I am getting older. I almost said I am getting old, but older works better in this context! My mind is still fairly clear and for that I am grateful, but when I look back at the people who have left me, I get very sad.
Earl, Richard, Gene, Josephine, Jake, Mary, Dorothy, and of course, mom and dad are all gone, along with a myriad of aunts, uncles and cousins. Just Donna and I are left to carry on the heritage. I have lost track of all the cousins and their lineage. I figure I am doing good to remember my kids and their kids and those kids's kids! I had a great granddaughter graduate high school last year! I think I have 8 grandkids and 11 great grandkids.
Longevity seems to be a given in our family. Either you pass to your great reward in your sixties, or you are doomed to a long and fruitful life. Since I am now 81 years old, I am assuming I will be a centurion in the future. Kenneth passed 20 years ago, and I have dated a few times, but I cannot bring myself to think I want to have another husband at this stage of the game!
I tend my geese and raise a garden. I can my produce and bake and cook. I drive myself to church and shopping and change my furnace filters when they get dusty. I need to paint, but that is not happening. I got the smoke detector down from the top of the wall, changed the battery, but cannot seem to twist it just right to put it back up there. I am assuming it will beep if it needs to! It will be much easier to turn off laying on the sewing table by my bedroom door!
Well, the day has begun and the geese want out of their house. They need to forage through the weeds on the back acre looking for a stray grasshopper or a treasure trove of seeds. I need to brew up a cup of coffee in my little french coffee press and get ready to face the day.
Momma always said that the old people are like the seasons when it comes to dying. They either die in the fall like the leaves on the trees dropping to the ground, or they die in the spring, like the new leaves opening.
Momma knows!
