So here's my new favorite story about my grandmother:

While getting her new ID card, the gentleman behind the counter stated that at 98, she really shouldn't have to pay for said card anymore. He joked that when she came back at 102, he would pay for the card himself.

Later, my grandmother was discussing that exchange with my aunt and queried, "do you really think he'll still be there??"

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Why do I love this story so much? Because it shows the unflagging spirit of a woman who refuses to be stopped. She is 98 years old, has trouble seeing and hearing and yet refuses to sit around feeling sorry for herself. Grandma continues to converse online with her many cyberfriends, gets out of the house as much as she is able and remains chipper whenever I speak with her. It's amazing.

And it's in direct contrast to how I view myself.

I have tended to be one of those people who sit in an unlit room and curse the darkness. I really and truly want to adopt my grandmother's outlook on life and I am making strides (ever so slight as they may be) in that direction. Everyday is a bit of a struggle and everyday I remind myself constantly of who and where I want to be.

I remind myself that life is not a contest and that no one around me is actually keeping score.

I remind myself that there is beauty to be found in even the most ugly of situations.

I remind myself that I have amazing family and friends who have much to teach and show me.

I remind myself that every new day is to be dealt with on it's own terms.

And, I'm reminded of something I once read (and if you know where it's from, please remind me!): "If you have one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow, you'll just end up sh**ing on today"

:^)




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Just Read:
*Self Storage by Gayle Brandeis
*Maynard & Jennica by Rudolph Delson
*Home from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean

Reading:
*Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction

Going to Read:
*Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks
*Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender
*Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
*Awake in the Dark by Shira Nayman
*Sweetest Dream by Doris Lessing
*Making Money by Terry Pratchett