City Views, Country Dreams

Good morning from New York.

This is my one hundredth blog. I am going to use this momentous spot in time and space to reply to a tag from the wonderful ChrisH of Home Thoughts Weekly. Chris asked me to try to describe myself in seven words.

Although there is not much recent evidence to support this, I will begin with painter. Painting, drawing, printmaking is what I love to do. Regularly however, I seem to push these interests to the back of the queue, time wise. Why is this, I ask myself?

Another word springs to mind, responsible. I was a child who ate her vegetables, did her homework, made up her bed, helped her mom with the dishes, tried to keep cavities away from her teeth (particularly after the orthodontist had been handsomely paid to straighten them.) Early patterns can become embedded. When I graduated from university and began my life as a working adult, I brought that sense of responsibility to the job. This has continued for ... over forty years. Every so often, I do break loose from that yoke.

May I introduce another word, spontaneous. Although many might consider me quite the planner (after all, I am a September-born Virgo,) I think of myself as someone who enjoys making a quick decision, and opting for a big change every so often.

I think that I will claim to be frugal rather than stingy, or those other negative takes on watching one's finances. I still have a rotary dial phone, do not have air conditioning, love to make gifts rather than buy them, bring my own packed lunch to work. Book buying used to be a major weak link in my frugality; however, paying an annual membership fee to a marvelous library has opened up a fresh world of new and old books to my eyes, without my having to shelve or dust them.

Perhaps Chris will allow me to stretch the rules a bit, so that I may an adjective. I would say that I am a caring friend. I am still in touch with folks I met way back when I was around nine years old. It is a delight to meet new friends and to increase this bouquet of connections. My fairly recent acquaintance with the web has made it possible to realize that there are friends all around the world with whom I share many interests. Someone once told me that a "normal person" is someone that you don't know very well. I always smile to think of that description.

I cannot ignore the fact that I am also aging. If I lived in the UK, I would qualify for a bus pass; over here, I am now able to get the senior citizen price on a movie ticket at certain theatres. I now qualify for collection of our national retirement fund, Social Security. However, it is very much in my interests to try to hold off a bit. The longer one waits, the greater the amount of the monthly check. I soon will be 64. This astonishes me, as I still find it easy to identify with much younger people, and carry within me the rebel potential, rather than the conservative tendency.

Let me conclude my seven traits with healthy. For the most part, I think that I am healthy in my body and my mind. (Some might detect a hint of a lyric from the Kinks.) I am truly thankful that I am holding up so well, particularly since I have some dear friends who are not so lucky. Of course, I haven't had a proper general check up in several years, so I might be living in a fool's paradise. A mid-September appointment has been made for said check up and I will know more about which words that doctor will use to describe me then.

The rules might encourage me to tag more people to try to select their own magnificent seven; however, I will gently suggest that if anyone reads this post and would like to give the challenge a go, plunge in!

Best wishes to all.