MountainMornings

I’ve been nominated for an award, by someone I only “know” online. First and foremost, a big thanks to Yvonne http://seasonedsistah2.com who nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. I am honored, truly. She is an intrepid and inspiring woman who’s mantra, after overcoming cancer is, “FEAR has two meanings: (1) Forget Everything And Run, or (2) Face Everything and Rise. The Choice is Mine.”

Here Are The Rules:

Thank the blogger that nominated you. (check)
Put the award logo on your blog.
Answer the ten questions sent to you.
Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer.
Nominate seven blogs.

Here are my answers:

1) What is one of your favorite quotes?
Well I have two: “Bloom where you’re planted” and “Go into the heart of the dragon.” One refers to my husband’s need to uproot me every so often, and the other is about courage, from the lips of Sally Field.

2) If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
I’ve always wanted to learn to play the cello. My Mother the Flapper sent me to ballet class, but music was always in my soul.

3) What was the last movie that made you cry?
The Imitation Game just this week, made me ferklempt.

4) If you won the lottery, what are the first things you would do?
Let’s see, I’d probably find a good money manager first and I’d donate a good percentage to organizations around the world that help women and children. I’d also help out my kids, the starving artist and the one with the big medical school debt. After that, who knows, a beach house?

5) Have you ever had a nickname, what is it?
Yes, it was “Posey.” My foster parents couldn’t decide which name to call me since Rose was a first name on my Baptismal Certificate and a second name on my Birth Certificate; so Rosey turned into Posey when I was a little girl.

6) What is your favorite holiday?
My all time favorite holiday is Thanksgiving since we usually spend it with friends and share the cooking!

7) Are you an introvert or extrovert?
I’ve been told I’m an extrovert but feel more and more like an introvert.

8) If you had to evacuate your house immediately, what is the one thing you would grab on the way out? Assuming the people are out and besides my dog? The pictures, all my old pictures that haven’t made it to the Cloud yet.

9) What is one food that you will not eat? HA I’m not a picky eater but I would not order any organ meat whatsoever – liver, intestines, brains, yech. I did however organize a menopause celebratory dinner with friends at a Greek restaurant – we all had to order something we never ate!

10) Would you rather use Facebook or Twitter?
I like them both, and believe me, I never thought I’d like Twitter, but I find myself on Twitter preferentially.

Here are my questions:

1) Who besides your parents, had the most influence in your life?

2) What makes you get out of bed in the morning?

3) What three songs would have to be included on the playlist of your life?

4) If you were given one last meal what would it be?

5) When did you know you were a writer?

6) If you could travel in time, would you go backwards or forwards? Why?

7) What does the word “feminist” mean to you?

8) Are you a dog or a cat person? Or both?

9) What is your preferred form of exercise, if any?

10) How would you describe yourself in a sentence?

And I nominate the following blogs:

https://cyclingrandma.wordpress.com; https://fishershannon.wordpress.com; https://friendfortheride.wordpress.com http://talesfromthemotherland.me https://susannye.wordpress.com http://catherineryanhoward.com http://www.katheats.com

Some of these women are accomplished writers, and some are more into cooking, while one is more political. These are the women who inform me, who I follow on this platform. When I think about it, that pretty much spans my blogging life – a little bit of food for thought. I know some of you hate these things, but I kinda like getting to know you just a bit better! What else should we do on a mid-winter Sunday anyway?

The Great Grandparents are snug in the Florida Keys, entertaining their friends and exploring new territory. The rest is us, otoh, are either getting or recovering from some illness.

Luckily, the Love Bug and her baby brother were vaccinated for measles. It seems that this rotten disease is making a comeback primarily because of parents who believe vaccines are a bad thing. Science trumps rumor and speculation every time. It’s one thing to think your child should not be vaccinated, but quite another to put the rest of the population at risk.

Adults who were born in the 70s and 80s may not have had a measles booster, sooo beware of kids with red morbilliform rashes (the Bride taught me that word). Ms Bug has some patches of red from the sun, and unfortunately a fever with a barking, seal-like cough.

She must have inherited Bob’s lovely lungs! Yes, the Bride had croup as a baby; now she’s sitting in the shower at night with her baby girl.

Who rallied today to see Hugh and Buffett, the brothers manatee! Our first overcast day, so we all landed at the Aquarium! My fav was a calico crab and the Bug loved watching a dolphin named Moonshine. It was a perfect morning.

And about the mumps – well that has to do with medical school and the Groom. And that’s a whole other story I’ll save for later. For now we’ll head over to the ice cream store for a snack.

Florida is starting to grow on me!

I’m in transit again. And I spent one hour on a plane sitting next to a woman with Alzheimer’s recently. How did I know?

She kept repeating over and over again to anyone listening “This is the first time I’ve flown alone.” She’d been a widow for “…seven or eight years.” At first I thought she was a nervous flyer.

She was fooling around with the seat belt, trying to connect the wrong parts. So I fastened it for her. Then I thought oh, she must have cataracts. This is how it starts I guess, we make excuses for our loved ones as they age, we make accommodations.

Then she told me her children worry about her. What else is new? I know that day is coming, when the tables will turn and the Bride and the Rocker will wonder if I’m OK, did I lose my car again in a parking lot? Am I trying to dial the microwave like it’s a phone?

But then she wanted to know if I was going to Atlanta too. That whole plane was going to Atlanta, so the light bulb went off in my head. Aha, so this is what it’s like.

A friend of mine in MA tried to explain it to me when her mother developed Alzheimer’s. She forgot how to get into her bed. That night I made a mental note, this is how you do it, and I willed my mind to remember. Because it was part of my muscle memory, my head just didn’t compute those movements.

My seat mate on Delta told me her son had arranged to have someone meet her at the gate in Atlanta so she could make her connection to visit her daughter in Jackson, MS. As she was talking, her hands were trying to catch the dust bunnies in the air.

And she’s been losing weight, the doctors did all the tests and they couldn’t figure it out. I thought to myself, I know why. She forgets to eat!

It occurred to me then, Ada would never forget to eat. We sometimes can’t find our keys, and maybe my reading glasses might end up in the kitchen. But I’m making a pact with Ada, we’ll remind each other to eat.

I didn’t read “Still Alice.” But I’d like to see the movie. Julianne Moore inhabits this dreadful disease, this incremental loss of ourselves. I know the Flapper didn’t develop dementia, and it’s not in my family.

Still, how does one know when it’s no longer you?