The Weekly Ramble 2/4/24

It was a busy week that got busier as it plugged along. You’ll forgive me for publishing this on Sunday instead of Saturday night. I was ready to go to sleep by 7 pm last night!

I am at an age of realization. I am noticing things I never saw before and recognizing all kinds of new things, too, such as:

• There are only 847 days until my youngest graduates from high school. This is significant because it will mark the end of 24 years of homeschooling, 24 years of spending my mornings with my kids. (When I told my daughter we had less than 1000 school mornings left together, she started to cry. Oops, but not. Read on.)

• Scarcity (as described above) is not necessarily a bad thing because it makes you think twice before squandering that asset. All our days are numbered. How do we want to spend them?

• What’s so normal and everyday will become a memory someday. The breakfast conversation she and I shared led to our spending two full days together running errands and driving to LA and back, time well spent because we were together. She shared her plans for the future, what she hopes from Mr Dude (her someday, yet unmet, husband), and asked all sorts of questions. It was just another day in LA traffic, but bits of it will always be significant.

• I will be an older grandma, so I need to prepare. I guess “older” is relative, but seeing as there are women my age who are grandmas now, I will be “older”. Since I’m 36 years older than my youngest child, I will be in my 60s and 70s when her babies come. I want to be just as active and helpful with her kids as I will be, Lord willing, for her older siblings’ kids. (My youngest brother and his wife have little ones now; my mom is in her late 70s and isn’t able to help. You follow?) Preparation looks like taking good care of myself so I can lift babies and still do run around in 20 to 30 years, ie lifting weights, eating well, etc.

• Sourdough bread is a great gift. I’ve baked and gifted my third loaf in the last month and it’s three times a winner. People really love bread and my recipe is simple and easy to make. Buying the cute bread bags to make it just a little special takes it over the top.

• When in menopause/perimenopause, get yourself a female practitioner of the same age. I had a physical this last week. Knowing that my male GP just wasn’t up to the task of advising me or truly understanding my current situation, I requested the nurse practitioner who had managed my breast lump situation of a few years ago. She’s probably within 5 years of my age and I was right. She totally got me and willingly ordered every test I asked for, plus a few more.

• Unplugging is on the horizon for me. I’m still not sure what my digital detox will look like, but I foresee making some changes and getting space from the internet. Bryan is considering the same, so it could be really good.