IS THIS THE RIGHT SIZE?

IS THIS THE RIGHT SIZE?

I am gingerly trying to slip into my new age…
Of (gag) 83.
It arrives, without any frills,
In fifteen days.

BUT--
“It’s too BIG, too LARGE, too MUCH!
Please, can’t I have something
 smaller, younger, prettier, fresher?”

This EIGHTIES PLUS garment
belongs to wrinkled, doddering, feeble
people who can barely
Talk or Move 
or Think or Feel 
or Care.

Not for many years from now
(If ever) 
I’m not going to “fight it”
Because “it” will not be real.

I’m not budging!
Whew, now I can go out and party!

 

 

 

MONTESANO FAMILY PHOTO

FAVORITE FAMILY PHOTO

There we are—the Montesano Family.
Caught mid-laughter--
My brother Nick with his mouth
Wide open (as usual).
Taken in my thin year of 1977—
(My changing body weight
Over the years
Marks time in my life.)

This photo—I can still hear
Our wonderful laughter
As our cousin’s husband bravely
Attempted to get the “right” shot.

It was the right shot--
Still right, 
Still happy, 
Still together.

I could sit on that top step
For eternity.

ME TO ME

 

ME-TO-ME

This is a very private conversation…
So please don’t interrupt!
I am confiding in myself now,
And this stuff is highly classified.

If it got into the wrong hands--
Like anyone else--
All the quirky thoughts
 Pinging into me now
Might get out---
Somewhere!

That I am an emotional person
Of many charming foibles
Is of course universally known.
How could I hide
All that adorableness.
(Actually, I tried once,
 But I nearly fainted from the effort.)

What I want to confide to myself
Today,
right now,
this very instant,
Is that I have lived an OK
Ordinary Life.

Fair intelligence, passable Italian looks,
Good friends, nice husband,
Extraordinary children
(I could gush,
But I’ve restrained myself.)

And now, at strangely 80+ years--
I look around my mind and heart
And just have to say--
“WHAT’S NEXT?”

 

 

 

MY CLOUD VISTA

 

 

 

READY OR NOT—HERE I COME!

A sweet calming vista
 Embraces me every day--
My window frames
Sky of bottomless blue
Whipped cream clouds
Snuggled close.

I could almost
Dive/Fly/Float/Glide
Into it.

 

                       

ODE TO CHEESE

 

AN INAPPROPRIATE ODE TO CHEESE

Oh lettuce, oh cottage cheese
Oh fruits and vegetables
Oh fish and lean meat
Oh crap, another diet!

Farewell to my favorite food,
My Daily Addiction--
MY CHEESE!  MY CHEESE!  MY CHEESE!

There is such a desolate feeling to any day
Without Cheese.

It caresses my tongue with creamy silk
And it’s subtle flavor
Makes my world just a little better
For having this cheese morsel
In it.

Oh yes, there are nonfat or lowfat versions
Of my beloved Food Group…
But I WANT that fat,
 that whole milk,
those plumpy curds--
I just cannot settle for less.

 

 

 

LAUNDRY BREAK

LAUNDRY BREAK

Just soap up, swirl in circles, rinse, dry--

Such a simple method
To wash out the daily grime and sweat of the day. 

That’s all well and good for clothes. 

Where do I power wash my regrets

                                                         omissions
                                                                          missteps?

Do they just get buried

 in soul crevices
 or mind cubbyholes 

 To spill out when I’m tired
                                            or vulnerable
                                                                 or sad? 

These imps,
these mini-devils of angst
remain restless 

They lie in wait to prickle 

                                           and remind

                                                              and blame 

                                                                                and finger-wag. 

 SHUT UP>>>SHUT UP>>>SHUT UP! 

 (I feel so much better now!)

FEEDING TIME AT "THE HOME"!

 

FEEDING TIME AT THE HOME

          What a delicious date today---4-24-24…..

          I hope that whatever I write today is worthy of such a fine harmonious date! 
I intend to continue regaling you about retirement living—-THE REAL STORY!

       Do you wonder whether the halls are “littered” with sleepy old people in creaky wheelchairs, napping through their days, and just waking up for a bland dinner of oatmeal and weak tea?

          Well, forget about that tiresome image! 
Life here is funny, lively, interesting and colorful,
peppered by fun events and yummy food. 
  You are free to join your friends to eat in our welcoming dining room.

Or you can pick up your meal to eat in your room…
.like this typical resident, so happy to be picking up his meal.

        Who wouldn’t want to eat a meal in such a zany place?  I have to modestly admit that my table of friends is known as the LAUGHING TABLE or LOUD TABLE, depending on who's listening.

Left to right: Maria, Me,Seating Hostess Doris (she has her mask under her chin),

Karen, Gina, Mickey, Ginny in front

It’s lovely to have this daily meal with my buddies.  Monday through Friday, we eat at beginning time of 3:30pm (you adjust). On Saturday and Sunday, we eat at 1:30.  We go at the beginning time for dining now, ever since a dreadful day when they RAN OUT OF ECLAIRS FOR DESSERT!

Just to get your taste buds salivating, here was this week’s Sunday menu:

STOP BY TO VISIT AND SHARE A MEAL SOMETIME!