Doing the Best I Can
By Maggie Fenton
Today, I planted a flat of begonias, pulled and hoed weeds, raked, dug up some daffodils that needed to be divided – a couple of hours of gardening and I needed a break. Gone are the days when I could work outside or hike all day and still be raring to go. I’ve read about ‘slowing down’ but have to confess I’m not ready and am chagrined that I have to stop and take breaks.
I’ve loved watching a video of a little girl polishing her mother’s nails. The polish goes everywhere and her mother asks her to keep it on her nail; the child, in a great southern way, looks at her mother and says “I’m doin’ the best I can, Honey!” That has become my mantra this spring. I’m allowing myself to take breaks, rest and go back again. If I don’t get it all done today, oh well – I’m doing the best I can!
A sister Crone and I keep each other faithful to our exercise program – we set the days we’ll do whatever we’ve committed to – yoga, Pilates, weights, walking, etc. – it’s different for each of us and doesn’t matter. On the designated day, we text “Did it!” to each other. I “do it” because I know she is going to and I don’t want to let her down. So, my workout buddy is states away from me but she keeps me honest and “doing the best I can!”
Our culture pushes us to strive, to achieve, to break records, to push our boundaries. That is well and good but it’s also good to give ourselves a break and do the best we can.
If it Has a Recycle Symbol is it Really Recyclable?
By Laurie Dameron
Just because a product has a recycle symbol does not mean it’s recyclable. The different numbers indicate different types of plastics that are recycled differently. Generally plastics 1,2,5 are recyclable but not 3,4 and 6.
Several years ago someone offered me coffee in a doctor’s office in a Styrofoam cup which has a number 6 symbol on it. I declined saying that Styrofoam is not recyclable. He argued saying, “Well if it’s got a recycle symbol on it I’m throwing it in the recycle!”
When I got home I sent him an email with a couple of links to articles about Styrofoam and how bad it is for the planet. He wrote back thanking me saying he was glad to learn something new.
The whole labeling system is broken and companies need to be held responsible for correct labeling. There is a lot of “Greenwashing” out there. Greenwashing is deceitful marketing that exaggerates a business’s current or past practices in order for them to appear
more environmentally friendly.
I intend to find legislators this year who might introduce a bill regarding this huge problem. The plastics that are not recyclable never really go “away” and so much plastic ends up in our environment and oceans! Please reduce your single-use plastics.
Check with your local recycler for their guidelines and read more about the numbering system and myths HERE.
For Those of you Who were Born In 1943
You Will Be Especially Honored
At Our Virtual Gathering
September 23, 2023
Be Sure to Register Early (Registration opens August 1)
So That We Can Prepare You
As A New Elder for That Time.
Dear Elsie
Welcome to Summer Dear Crones! On Pixel Hill we still mark Summer Solstice as the start of the season but the meteorological beginning is now referred to as June 1st. Whichever date you choose, the time of cookouts and fireflies, swimming pools or beaches, days at the lake or river, are upon us. The urge to take a vacation, or simply recline in the sun absorbing the sounds and smells of summer. Anything except forcing mind and body to engage in work we must do.
Such is this Crone’s dilemma:
Dear Elsie,
I am a writer faced with an overwhelming case of writer’s block! Deadlines are fast approaching, and I would appreciate any words of wisdom and/or practical advice you have to offer. Please!
Gratefully yours,
Blank.
Dear Blank,
A wise writing teacher once told me, when I complained that I couldn’t come up with an opening sentence, my thoughts were like monkeys shut in a cage. All I had to do was open the gate and line them up in an understandable order. Okay, that may be a bit farfetched, but I think what she meant was to clear my mind and put my thoughts into words that made sense
You might clear your head by taking a warm shower or a quiet walk, having a meal or snack, sipping a cup of tea or coffee. Relax, then pick up your pen and paper or go to your computer and start writing one word and then another. For some people the sensation of pen on paper is part of the creative process.
If you are working on a piece of nonfiction, making an outline or a list of focal points can help put your thoughts in order and make it easier to flesh out.
Sometimes just doing what must be done yields the best results. Good luck.
Happy tales,
Elsie
When I die
When I release that last exhale
Will there be an inhale
Somewhere?
I look into the yellow eyes of a black jackal. He blinks and I see adoration
and I know I passed the test.
We are loved.
Beyond measure.
Beyond understanding.
I’ve always been an insomniac,
so I expect my death too
will be a rocky path.
Come Death.
Be easy.
When I call, come and take me into your arms of glory.
Once I heard a Bach organ concert
a Mass – the Magnificat,
Not for Jesus
But for me.
For a few moments of Ecstasy hearing that music,
I knew what it felt like to die.
It must be like that to die.
Oh let it be so!
No rocky path, stumbling, fearful, looking into yellow eyes.
No! A Magnificent Path of Triumph!
As I march down that dark aisle I see
my life story in living colors,
my Passion,
my search indomitable never ending…
my Resurrection incandescent vibrating, a new body of light.
the Virgin adoring me as I lie in her arms…
Above the alter no bloody vision of suffering and martyrdom
no
I see Donatello’s St Theresa
receiving the arrows of Eros
as she dissolves into bliss.
Jeanne is the daughter of Lydia Gallick who also came to Crones Counsel Gatherings. She lived to 102. Passed away about 5 years ago. Jeanne moved from Chico, CA to Sedona, AZ in 2022 and would love to connect with other Crones.