Having time to smell more flowers with the passing years is one blessing of aging. — Photo by Pat Bean
“I don’t want to sound like a Hallmark card, but to be able to wake up each day with food and shelter, that alone is good. Forget aging and the fact that my butt is becoming a little more familiar with my knees than my tailbone, If you are six feet above ground, it’s a good day. So, give me more.” – Faith Hill
Back when I was 60
In the spring of 1999, when I was turning 60, and just beginning to appreciate the beauty of being an old broad, I read a book titled Fifty on Fifty, in which 50 women over 50 talked about life and aging. .
I was fascinated by the book, and wrote at least one quote in my journal from each of the women. Here are some of my favorites:
And every year I live gives me more time to be awed by the wonders of this revolving ball we live on. — Photo by Pat Bean
“I was an oddity, and it played well.” – Geraldine Laybourne
“As women age, they ultimately all learn the same lesson: The only person I can depend on is me.” – Gloria Allred
“You have to do what feels right.” – Cher
“50 – It’s a time to think about your calling, your passions,” – Hillary Clinton
“Surely the consolation prize of age is finding out few things are worth worrying over, and how many things that we once desired, we don’t want anymore.” – Dorothy Dix
“You can’t wait for someone else to start your engine.” – Phyllis George
“No one with a happy childhood ever amounts to much in this world. They’re so well adjusted, they’re never driven to achieve anything.” — Sue Grafton.
“You will never succeed if you try to please too many people or stand in the middle of the road – there is nothing in the middle of the road but a yellow stripe and a dead possum.” – Marion Hammer
“Life definitely gets better – and as your history gets longer, you only get more interesting.” – Laura Hutton
“In the 10 years I’ve been reading death notices, I have yet to encounter the praise: ‘She maintained her ideal weight.’” – Mary Kay Blakely
“Mistakes are the dues we pay for a full life.” – Sophia Loren
“If you want to make God laugh, tell her your plans.” Anne Lamott.
That last one made me laugh, which may be why Lamott is the author of my favorite book on writing, Bird by Bird.
It’s been 18 years since I wrote these quotes in one of my journals, and they still apply.
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Bean Pat: Potato Pancakes http://tinyurl.com/y9nngaug My grandmother used to make these, and now I’m craving them. I can’t wait to make myself some.
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