Today is Nick's birthday. I guess that's normal. It happens every year. This year it will be a quiet birthday.
Diwali happened last week. The neighbors had fireworks. Their kids had sparklers. Everyone dressed up in their best saris. We were invited to join in the festivities, but declined because the Corona virus numbers are going up again.
When the pandemic was first in the news, I thought the reporting was going to be like when a snow storm is predicted. It would be the lead news story, everyone would be all excited, then it would fade and nobody would mention it anymore. But it didn't happen that was at all. It did stop being the only story. The election took over as a big topic. And demonstrations and Black lives matter and masks and people refusing to wear masks.
And here we are. Sitting around more than usual. Going out less than before. I miss walking up and down the aisles at Target just looking at everything. I used to call my sister and say "I am at Target looking for things to spend money on"
I miss my kids. I am sad that we won't be able to get together for Christmas. It's been over a year since we've seen the west coast kids. Austin is here and that's nice even though I know that we old folks drive him crazy.
Nick made a comment the other day. He said, even if we do get to be grandparents, we will never get to see any grandchildren as adults. We're getting that old.
Aging is strange. It's not like one day you get up and say "oh my, I am old now". It's not like that at all. It's little things. The most obvious , for me at least is my hair. It is pretty much completely white now. When I look in the mirror I see myself as blond, but really my hair is white.
We watched "Funniest Home Videos" on TV last night. It's a silly show, but it's good for laughs. Something I noticed on the show last night was how people fall. There are a lot of videos of people tripping or losing their footing and falling down. The more senior (old) the person was, the more clumsy and dangerous their fall. Awkward . Unable to get up on their own. Like when I fell in the front yard a couple of months ago. when does that happen? At what point and age does falling down get to be so perilous ? When do we becoming wobbly, fragile people ?
On a different subject: I was watching the birds this morning. I was sitting on the deck, in the cold, and I saw these two birds going around and a round in the same circuit . Was one chasing the other? Maybe. Were they playing? Having fun? I don't know. But it was fascinating. Even Buddy the dog stopped to watch.
It reminded me of my mother. When she was living in assisted living, she was fascinated by the aquarium in the communal sitting area. she would watch the fish and observe their behavior. Once when I was visiting she explained her observations . She pointed out how one particular fish would chase another fish. How one would swim to a certain point and then turn and repeat the same path. To anyone watching, you would have seen an old lady who was clearly demented, just staring into space. But in reality she was observing and learning and enjoying herself.
It is so easy to make assumptions bases on what we think we know and we see.
Nick is 73 today. The parents who were so happy to welcome him into the world are no longer here to celebrate with him. Life is strange like that.
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