Sound a little familiar? Which type are you? How is it that when we are young we are often compelled to think we have the answers? Yet as we age, many of us realize that we do not—even though we have had several decades of living to discover them. Actually, if we are lucky, we come to love the questions.
Have you noticed that your attitude toward snow changes as the season wears on? At the outset, it’s that wonderful, magical, winter wonderland stuff—and in March, it’s a guest who has stayed too late after the party.
So many words for cold: nippy, frigid, freezing, brutal, brisk, refreshing, crisp, bitter, glacial, biting, piercing, numbing, raw, arctic – and a few others I’ve never heard of, like gelid and brumal. But, living in Vermont, we all know that there is cold – and then there is COLD.
Winter in Vermont: Snowy. Cold. Dark. Umm, how about two out of three? For me, the snow (the more the better) and the cold (okay to -20F) present both a challenge and an adventure.
On Monday December 17th, Chef Roland and Lisa Gaujac provided the Senior Center with a delicious holiday lunch. We…
Having your sip of joy might be easier than you think. Just remembering where you’ve tasted it before might…
Okay, so perhaps you think that it’s easy for Hawking to talk about “the joy of discovering”—after all, he was doing ‘important work.’ But that need not be the yardstick. Not long ago, I waited in my car for an extended time for a friend at the bus station. I had the time to observe a spider (with my car window closed) on a web it had spun between the side-view mirror and the body of my car.
Some of my grateful moments are these: Driving by the two teenaged girls jogging down the road with their ponytails swaying in unison. The colony of seagulls widely spaced out on the field, strutting around in different directions and looking as though they forgot why they had come. The daily courtesy of a driver letting you into traffic.
This quote probably describes the state of mind of many of our Senior Center visitors. Being “retired” seems to have the image of bored, older citizens at loose ends with not much to do. On the contrary, our participants have trouble fitting another course or activity into their daily schedules with family and volunteering with many, many organizations. One common refrain is: “I’d love to do that, but I just don’t have the time.” It certainly makes planning programs a challenge!
Ah, yes, those scary words: old age. This quote seems to suggest that it might just be an attitude or a mindset more than anything. So perhaps to “triumph over old age” can also mean to change your mind about categorizing yourself—and others. Whatever the case, the concept of an “unwrinkled heart” is something I just want to savor rather than analyze.
Haven’t we all been a little surprised at the person looking back at us in the mirror? We are a little like an iceberg (but in the warmest sort of way)—there is so much more below the surface.
So, there are wrinkled old wizards in movies, but where are the female versions? They are more likely to be depicted as the w-word—which rhymes with stitch. Female wizards? Or, how about “wise women,” instead? Consider for a moment that we have all possibly met wise women in real life. Really? Really.
Gandalf, Dumbledore, Obi-Wan Kenobi—all old men with wrinkles—and magical powers. So, the magic makes the wrinkles acceptable? Interesting that the magic does not make them go away. Hmm. Perhaps they are (rightly) seen as a badge of honor.
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James.
The Charlotte Senior Center is happy to be collaborating again with one of our local chefs on an upcoming Monday Munch.
As John Steinbeck wrote in Travels with Charlie, “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” And sweet it is, indeed. Although now is a great time to be out and about, do take a look at what is happening at the Senior Center.
It is no surprise that the Senior Center primarily serves residents of Charlotte, but did you know that we also welcome those from surrounding communities? What’s more, these participants also contribute financially as Friends of the Senior Center, donate their time and expertise as volunteer instructors and help in many other crucial volunteer jobs around the Center.
How is Charlotte like Utah? Both have snowbirds. There is Snowbird, a ski area in Little Cottonwood Canyon, outside Salt Lake City; and in Charlotte and environs we have our snowbirds flying back from points south. Now is a great time for everyone to reconnect and catch up on winter stories.
It has returned!
Anticipating spring here in Vermont is probably much like the ancients felt during a solar eclipse. There is always some subliminal doubt whether spring (like the sun) will really come back again. And now there is that delicate green haze in the trees from the budding leaves—which is as wonderfully fleeting as cherry blossoms.
So maybe this time, (just maybe) spring has really come. There are actually crocuses outside, and a few folks have reported daffodils. And who could doubt the flowers?
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