Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

ChiSandy

Sending out good vibes to you, Nannette, for an uneventful course of rads.

If I'm absent the next few days, it's because I'm headed to a science fiction in Des Moines to give a concert, and won't be home till Sun. night. Probably won't have time to post.

Beaverntx

Sandy, travel safely and have a good time!

IllinoisLady

We are all born with a belief in God. It may not have a name or face. We may not even see it as God. But it is there. It is the sense that comes over us as we stare into the starlit sky, or watch the last fiery rays of an evening sunset. It is the morning shiver as we wake on a beautiful day and smell a richness in the air that we know and love from somewhere we can't quite recall. It is the mystery behind the beginning of time and beyond the limits of space. It is a sense of otherness that brings alive something deep in our hearts. -Kent Nerburn

IllinoisLady

Hmmm, maybe some rain showers today, but at least it is staying warmer. Need to take a friend to her eye exam this morning too. Just a lot of fun going on I guess you could say. Busy times for me and though I hope the weather gets better I do have a bonus in my work that is starting today. The house where I will stay ( mainly overnight ) is quite large and so I usually lose some wt. if I'm there very long. So -- I'll get paid and lost wt. too. Just hard to complain on that basis.

I hope you are all going to have a wonderful day and hope your trip goes well Sandy.

jo6359

illinoislady- I have to disagree with your quote regarding we are all are born with a belief in God. I believe in nature and I believe in mankind. I do not define that as a belief in a god. I do enjoy your quotes of the day very much. I am very glad you are finally experiencing spring. It was 87° today, humid and rainy . My flowers needed the rain. We're in for a rainy weekend in South Florida.

IllinoisLady

The less I take the difficulties of my life as personal affront,
and the more I use them as an opportunity to learn and grow...
the easier I sleep at night.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

IllinoisLady

Good to hear you believe in nature Jo --- there are lots of people who don't really have any belief in God and they are wonderful people. I am just hoping ( by the way I am very high on nature as well ) that most people have something to believe in -- we all evolve on our paths in different ways and that is the beauty of all of us. No two have to be alike. I consider myself spiritual rather than religious which I felt confined me too much -- but it is just one of those differences which I don't think of as good or bad. It is good to define how you feel.

Rained most of the night -- a little break right now. Going to do a bit of shopping today. Probably more showers sometime thru the day as well. Sure be glad when the dry days come.

Have a fantastic day.

jo6359

Today I spent six hours decorating for a friend's mom's 98th birthday party. This woman is so incredible. She cook's daily, cleans her own house, does her own yard work except for mowing and goes out for dinner one to two times a week. Her mind is sharp. Her main issue is being unable to hear people on the phone but face-to-face she does great. She was very concerned because she is unable to wear high heels due to fear of falling. She was not happy about having a fancy dress and as she called it having to wear ugly shoes. The party will be starting soon and she is very excited. I think this party is going to go very late. We should all be so lucky.

IllinoisLady

Easy to tell when I'm highly in-decisive.

Talent is God-given; be humble.
Fame is man-given; be thankful.
Conceit is self-given; be careful.
- John Wooden

There is no respect for others without humility in one's self.
- Henri Frederic Amiel

Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.
- Thomas Merton

IllinoisLady

Despite the day not being so great yesterday I woke up this morning with a great big sun streaming through the transom windows of the bedroom where I am staying. ( Most of you know, but some may not yet ) that when I work ( not too much now ) I stay at my former employers home with their dogs so they don't have to stay in a kennel. I come and go through the day pretty much as much as I want or need to, but definitely spend overnight, every night -- because it is the routine the dogs are used too. I am paid quite handsomely for it.

So wonderful to welcome a beautiful sun and some drying out time though I'm not sure how long. The sun and the vibrant green of the spring tree leaves and grass nearly take the breath away. Part of my deep love of spring renewal.

Jo, your friend's mom does sound incredible at her age. Reminds me of my mom's aunt that wore heels up into pretty high old age trouncing up and down stairs ( imagine large beads of sweat popping out of my forehead about now just thinking about it ) and this lady loved a sip or two or three of cocktails. I do think many have ?good genes or strength, or both and don't allow negativities to make them too afraid. I just hope to do well as long as I can and not be too much of a burden to anyone. Good for those in age who choose and are able to make the most and do so much well into the age of real old age.

Hugs to your Mom Carole for getting back to herself.

Hope you all have a fantastic day.

nanette7fl

All this talk of older women reminds me of my great grandmother. She was 98 yrs young when she passed. Great grandma was always old to me but here's her back story. Great grandma came to America in the late 1800's as a very young teen. (I'm related to Gustafson milk). She was sent here by her parents as Sweden at the time was in economic crisis. Anyhow she spent 2 years at Ellis Island and met her husband there. She became a domestic servant until she was 21 and then married great grandpa. Now fast forward to my growing up. I loved trips to see her in NYC.. She was fascinating ...so old yet elegant .. by far the smartest woman I knew and the chattiest too!! She home was delightful with touches of the old world to include an enclosed front porch that was a massive garden of green with 2 whicker chairs in these with the softest handmade cushions... she also had a water closet in the bathroom that was so fascinating to me. The idea of gravity flushing the toilet opened my mind to want to learn things. The walls in the house we painted by my great grandfather.... white walls,with these speckles of paint all over them. I still remember her Swedish lilte explaining to me that the didn't have much money but they had creativity. He took leftover cans of paint and put some paint on the brush and splattered the paint around the room onto the walls. Now mind you he had been dead before I was ever born but yet this painting style always looked so clean and fresh. I remember being so impressed with my great grandmother that I adored her. When I got into my teen years she got hit by a NYC transit bus and the fall broke her right hip...she was 89 yrs old. (The bus wasn't going very fast). She walked every day to the corner store...about 1/4 a mile to pick up what she needed or took the bus to a supermarket. She was 95 when she broke her left hip, she slipped getting off a city bus. Still she bounced back. She was a busy woman even up until the days before her death. I'm 3rd generation on both sides of the family. I plan to be busy for the rest of my life... sewing, crocheting, gardening and taking care of my family...and I'm not willing to let this damned BC take that away from me... I want to be like that sweet old lady who pressed $1 into my hand every time we left her...a Swedish tradition my father told me, 1 generation blessing the next.

HikingLady

nanette7fl Thank you for sharing this lovely bunch of memories!

Annie60

nanette - Thank you for sharing that story. I can just see her!!

jo6359

nanette- what a great story. You made her come alive. Thanks for sharing. My 98 year old friends party ended at 1:30 am. She stayed up the whole night and danced the night away. I couldn't stop smiling. She reminded me so much of my own grandmother. Except for to be fair this lady was much nicer. Both did not tolerate alcohol or tobacco in their presence. When it was time to toast with non-alcoholic cider, she said she'll be back next year. LOL she also wants to show me how to feed her chickens. These chickens are not for Slaughter they are for eggs. She picks up the eggs every morning. I enjoy hearing all these stories about friends and relatives.

I worked half a day and then I went to the Opera. It was a beautiful performance of Werther. I barely made it home before the thunderstorms started. So no running for me tonight. I'm even nervous about running on the treadmill because the lightning is snap crackle pop. So I will hold off until tomorrow.

karen1956

Nanette - your great grandmother was an amazing lady - thanks for sharing her story

IllinoisLady

Make friends with guilt. Guilt is a beautiful emotion that alerts us when something is wrong so that we may achieve peace with our conscience. Without conscience there would be no morality. So we can greet guilt cordially and with acceptance, just as we do all other emotions. After we respond to guilt, it has done its job and we can release it.

Glenn R. Schiraldi

IllinoisLady

I'll add my thanks to the stories of Nanette and Jo. I would love to have grandmother stories, but both mine had passed on by the time I was born so I get to live a bit vicariously in the stories here. I think mine would have been wonderful because my parents were, so there is that.

Sunny today and 80. It won't be as warm ( but still just fine ) the next few days. So far enjoying my little job. Life is good and Spring so far is being beautiful which should continue.

Hope you have marvelous days and saying hi to those who haven't posted for a bit. You are always in my thoughts.

Wren44

I was raised by my grandmother and shared a room with her mother, my great grandmother. History snapped into place after she told me she was born the year Lincoln died. She would tell me stories of growing up on the frontier with 12 siblings, never getting medical care, and loving school. I had a 4th grade McGuffy's Reader which was the main textbook back then. It was about 9th grade level now. She never talked about the sad times but I know that her first baby died of meningitis and I have the quilt she made before the 2nd baby was born. She also never mentioned one child shot another and accidentally killed him. She also provided an example of what not to do when I grew old. Her husband died when she was 70 and she expected to follow shortly after. She lived to her mid 90's and never bought a green banana. My great grandmother on the other side went back to high school and graduated at 54 with my mother. She was interested in lots of things, played violin, and had a garden just for making bouquets. It looked to me like she'd just thrown seeds in everywhere, but we always had a few fresh flowers on the table. My great-great grandmother lived next door and cooked wonderful things we were invited over to sample after nap time. A red ribbon in the window meant come on over.

IllinoisLady

pingpong1953

All four of my grandparents died before I was born and I really think I missed out on some really important relationships.

karen1956

I was blessed to have my maternal grandmother till I was in my mid 40s. She was a very important part of my life. My two older children go to know her, but my younger daughter was only 1 1/2 when she passed away in 1999. I miss her more since my mother passed away 16 months ago - and I miss Mom terribly. I grew up with 4 generations and now my kids have only 2 generations!!!

IllinoisLady

We see what we expect to see.
If we believe the world to be violent and ugly,
we see violence and ugliness.
If we believe the world to be a gift,
we see rainbows, and butterflies, and smiles,
and hear babies cooing, and roosters greeting the dawn.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

ChiSandy

I lost both my grandfathers before I was born: paternal, who died at only 36 when he caught pneumonia; and maternal, at 64 of a heart attack the day after FDR died. (Grandma said it was a broken heart). I knew her second husband, whom we adored and called "Papa." He would take me to synagogue (Orthodox, but everyone let me sit with him in the men's section) and taught me to recognize car brands from their hubcaps and hood ornaments (decades later, Gordy figured the same thing out at only 2)! He died when I was barely 4. My Polish-born, Viennese-raised paternal grandma--who loved to bake, play cards, and watch Liberace and Gorgeous George on TV--had her first heart attack at 61 and died of her second at 66, two years after her second husband (who was not a pleasant person). My maternal Grandma, who lived with us in her last decade before moving to a FL nursing home to be near my aunt, made it to 92. She had four strokes, two heart attacks and eventually Type 2 diabetes, but kept on ticking. Before she moved to FL, she danced at our wedding.

IllinoisLady

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
- Anonymous

IllinoisLady

Going to be a pretty day here and nice and warm. Storms returning this evening and maybe into tomorrow morning. Have a beauty shop appt. tomorrow so hope it is not too wet. I don't want to change it as I'm pretty straggly right now. So, fingers crossed. Otherwise things are going well. I have to start the bill paying again. Wow !!! Seems like I just did it. Sort of like dusting I guess. Just as you finish you see it starting to return. I actually do mid-month and end/beginning of the next month so that does make for a shorter period. I'll just console myself with we always have electric lights and water. Now I feel better.

Great work-out at the gym yesterday. I'm not too sore but then lately I've had more upper body events as I pull weeds and haul things around here with lots of the Spring work in the yard. I think that saved me somewhat though I can feel a bit for muscles not used as well during my yard work.

Hope you will all have a beautiful day.

MCBaker

I had a great workout at the gym yesterday, but today is going to be wet and stormy. I will have to get my workout at home. Three options for transportation: walk, scooter, or taxi. Two of them involve getting wet. I don't want to spend money on taxi, unless I go out to walmart and shop while getting my walking in. That requires a shopping list. Taxi waits in this town get interminable.

I have lost three pounds.

carolehalston

We may have storms today.  I have a hair appointment at 10 am for cut and color.  Hope the weather isn't too bad.  I always dread the possibility of hail damage to my Prius.

IllinoisLady

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world. -Etty Hillesum

IllinoisLady

Looks like rain this a.m. I'll be going shortly for my hair appt. I have a hat ( rain type ) in case it is needed. This is time for a perm so I have to be watchful for a while to not get my hair wet. Well, I've lost some wt. which I usually do when I'm spending a lot of time at my employer's home. Not as much as when I stayed there ( when my patient needed someone there full time ) before, but there is still a lot of walking in the big house so some is coming off. Better eating habits ( oops I made spaghetti for supper -- a big favorite ) do help but sometimes I need to have things that just need a re-heat because I get too busy to cook or sometimes it is too long when I'm having to get back to where I'm staying the night.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

IllinoisLady

To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face; to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains; to approach my work with a clean mind; to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the Ultimate Purpose toward which I am working; to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart; to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all the hours; to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done—this is how I desire to waste wisely my days. -Thomas Dekker