I spent the last two weeks in February with a dear, elderly friend of mine. Her husband of 41 years had passed away in January and she needed companionship and assistance with the mounds of paperwork one acquires upon death.
I love this woman to…well…death. As a 79 year old deep south Jewish southern belle, who grew up with a black mammy she is not exactly PC. She is, however, fascinating to listen to. She remembers her father being gone during and returning home from World War 2. Of helping her mother who was a nurse during the polio outbreak of 1952. She spent time with an American belly dancing troupe in the 1970s who danced in their way across the Middle East. She has lived and traveled throughout the US and parts of Europe as well as traveling to Asia for work when she was a jeweler. Having been married four times will also give you something to talk about.
Floating lantern festival in Kanab, UT
Yet when I was there, she kept saying “we” (her and I) have lived interesting lives.
I know she had, I wasn’t so sure about myself. Was she actually referring to me and not mixing me up with someone else? Always a possibility. Of course, this led to the thought of, am I boring? I don’t believe so. Which in turn, got me thinking. What makes a person interesting?
Getting ready for a hot air balloon ride
The natural answers to me are:
The people they’ve met
The places they’ve been
The experiences they’ve had
The times they’ve been through
How they tell their stories
From personal experience, I can tell you not everyone wants to hear about where you’ve been or what you’ve done, although some people will enjoy listening to your tales. Find those individuals! You’re likely to enjoy their company as much as they enjoy yours. I’m a bit of a rambling storyteller so that may also be why not everyone wants me recounting my adventures to them.
All this pondering sent me down memory lane, assisted, of course, by looking through photos. I created a list with three categories: The Good, The Bad and The Weird.
Among other items in the weird category….
I included on my list above the times we’ve lived through. Whether you’ve felt the influence and aftermath of national or global events strongly or subtly, their repercussions on us individually is undeniable.
While I was born before the end of the Vietnam War, I’ve been around for a few interventions, conflicts, invasions and wars (the US has been in a surprising amount of these over the last several decades). The invasion of Panama, the Gulf War (Desert Storm and Desert Shield), the Bosnian War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War to name a minimal few.
Other notables during my lifetime.
Roe vs Wade was decided within a year of my birth
When I was born, women couldn’t get a credit card, a mortgage or a business loan without a man
The energy crisis
The three Mile Island accident
The first cases of Aids were discovered
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion
The space shuttle challenger disaster
DNA being used for the first time in a criminal case
I was part of the Latchkey kid generation
The Berlin Wall came down
The Cold War ended
9/11
I’ve survived:
Eight track tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, MP3 players, and now downloadable music.
Among other designs, I’ve seen /worn are bell bottom jeans, leg warmers, french cut swimsuits and leotards. Neon colors and shoulder pads. The reactionary move to simpler lines with subtler or more earth tone colors. Sparkles, glitter and all that jazz.
I would hold on tightly to the thin metal bars of the merry go round as bigger kids and parents whipped it so around so fast the occasional kid would fly off. The playgrounds toys when I was as a kid were often made of metal.
My sister would get off of the teeter totter while I was at its apex causing me to crash to the ground helplessly…and repeatedly…because I’m a slower learner.
I’ve been adding to my list off and on for the past week or so. I have about one and half pages of bullets points between the three categories but I’m not done yet as I continue to jot down the random memories come back when unexpectedly. The good, for me is the longest list by far. Probably because I truly am an optimist and I prefer to find amusement in my experiences rather than the bad.
This little exercise has helped remind me that while my own life isn’t thrilling enough to have an autobiography penned about it, I’ve still had my moments. Good, bad and WTH.
Even if you think your life has been terribly boring I encourage you to create a reverse bucket list. I know there are people who have done everything and way more that I have. They will probably think I have led a boring life. That’s okay. Finding the version of excitement that works for you is what matters.
My favorite stop when I was in Paraguay. Igazu Falls is bordered by Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay
This post contains pictures from some of my favorite memories. However, pictures are fun can’t always capture the best of stories. They certainly miss out of on the magic moments that happen unexpectedly. Many of which for me, involve not only my husband but all five of our delightfully odd and incorrigible children in one way or another. I’ve found sharing those on Facebook helps as every year on the day it was posted, Facebook reminds me what I said…good, bad or ugh.
Kids say the darnedest things
So maybe my friend was right…I’ve had a interesting life. While I may not be the most exciting person you’ll ever meet, I’ve had a lot of fun so far…and it isn’t over yet.
I love me a good murder mystery party
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