Adaptability
Maggie Fenton
I think one of the assets of Crone is that she has learned how to adapt to whatever circumstances she’s facing. I’ve seen it again and again in the women I know and admire. They may be brought to their knees by some life event, but eventually, they get up and keep on going.
This spring season is certainly testing my weather adaptability There have been temperature variations of up to 50 degrees within a day. We’ve had torrential rains followed by strong, hot, drying winds. As a gardener, I wonder how all the plants, from delicate flowers to mighty trees, survive this but then, nature is the best teacher of adaptability. I’ve heard from some of you about the extreme weather patterns in your area too. As Mother Nature provides us more and more evidence of climate change, we are all learning how to adapt. I suspect there is more to come.
We adapted and continue to adapt because of Covid which doesn’t seem to be leaving us anytime soon. Inflation, including the sharp rise in gasoline prices are changing our driving and shopping habits. We adapt.
So, knowing I must adapt, the next challenge for me is to do it without whining. I try to look for the upside. Please write and tell me about your adaptations and your upsides.
Dear Elsie
Greetings and salutations Dear Crones. The sun nudges Pixler Hill awake a little earlier each morning and coaxes folks to sit outside later in the evening. Summer Solstice reminds us of the brilliant light and joyful exuberance that accompanies this season of fullness. It is the time of the Mother, of creative Fire, and also a time to savor memories of summers past as we watch the young ones getting a taste of freedom. We see more smiling faces, hear music and laughter as we go about our ordinary routines. It is a time to have some fun!
Hence this month’s question.
“Dear Elsie,
I have a daughter who has always enjoyed surprising (more like shocking) her mother many different times in her life. Now she is 58 and I am tired of being shocked (surprised). Please tell me some things I can do to get back at her (surprise, shock). Any ideas will be welcome although I may not be able to do all of them. Funny things are good.
Many thanks, Anonymous”
Dear Anonymous,
What a great idea! I remember my own mother shocking me occasionally when I was a know-it-all 50 something. Here are some suggestions to help you get started:
Enthusiastically tell her about the good sounding new exercise class you found at a senior or community center. Say it’s supposed to improve strength, balance, coordination, provide a gentle workout and is a great way to make new friends but you can’t remember offhand what it’s called. Something to do with power distribution…oh, that’s it, Pole Dancing!
Ask her to check out one of your favorite online elder’s group website for their new “Age is Beautiful in the Nude” calendar and to be sure she looks at the picture on your birth month page.
If you are single, or maybe even if you aren’t, innocently ask her to show you how to transfer a large sum of money overseas. Explain that you have met a sweet man who desperately needs to come to the states right now. Assure her that he will pay you back as soon as he arrives.
Show her photos of the gorgeous red Harley Davidson motorcycle you will be picking up next week.
Watch out, though, if she starts mumbling about doctors and evaluations. Then quickly start laughing and in your most practical and authoritarian voice try to explain what you are doing and perhaps even why.
Have fun!
Elsie
Simple Action of the Month
By Laurie Dameron
What’s the best choice for sustainability?
a) Aluminum
b) Plastic
c) Glass
If you guess right I’ll send you and mp3 of one of my songs! (no cheating with google!) Send your answer to Laurie D at WindchimeL@aoL.com
Enjoy your summer!
YOU ARE A PART OF THE SOLUTION!
The Heart of Spirit
By Helen Gregory
If you wish to experience the heart of spirit
Look no farther than the pine trees at sunset
Standing like sentinels in rows just off the road
Inviting you to admire their deep purple trunks
If you wish to luxuriate in nature’s purest heart
Sit beneath the oak in springtime at noon
And listen to her breathe in sync with your own breath
In a silent meditation of healing for all that is
If you wish to feel the pulse of the planet’s soul
Lie down upon the soft moss on a warm afternoon
And allow the loamy scent to ebb and flow within and without
Like the breath of distant ancestors who lie below
The heart of spirit is all this and more
It also lives in the misty pink innocence of an ocean’s new day
In the exuberance of vermilion leaves against a cloudless sky in spring
And in the shimmering golden sunset water before last light
So lie in a hammock on a breezy day and
hum with the chorus of the whispering oaks
Or wander through forests and meadows or beside a still creek
With little thought but to know the purity and perfection of the day
And merely allow the heart of spirit to beat within your own
Copyright HCGregory
5-9-2022