Dear Diary,
It certainly feels as if I am writing in a diary, dear blog readers. This time it has been almost two years since my last blog entry. As we proceed together, you will see how I have spent my time. My followers know that my dear husband passed away three years ago. What you may not know is that I published a second book just before he died, which I have not launched, publicized or marketed.
The book is titled The Key, the Turtle and the Bottle of Schnapps and it is a tribute to my parents and grandparents who survived the Holocaust. It is a good book. It chronicles one way that ordinary middle aged people resisted and succeeded in escaping the Nazi terror and how my grandparents continued their positive, forward looking personalities in the twenty-two years we had them with us after the war.
But I wrote it to honor my wise, strong, courageous, resilient, persistent grandmother. I think of her still whenever I have a challenge to meet. My go to saying to myself is "If Oma could survive the challenges she faced, I can find my way forward, too."
My greatest challenge this past year was to jump over the hurdle of turning eighty. This is one challenge my grandmother did not meet. She died at seventy-five from the effects of emphysema, brought on by years of smoking cigarettes. I have been worried that my good health and my memory would not continue to serve me well. I have felt embarrassed by my worry. I "know better" than to be anxious about stuff that hasn't yet happened.
During this past year, I have met fifteen women who have or are about to turn eighty. They are vibrant, active, yoga, dance and exercise partners. They love to attend films and plays and are active politically to restore and maintain our civil rights, our environment and our sanity in these troubling times.
And, on July 9th, I celebrated my eightieth birthday!!!!
It certainly feels as if I am writing in a diary, dear blog readers. This time it has been almost two years since my last blog entry. As we proceed together, you will see how I have spent my time. My followers know that my dear husband passed away three years ago. What you may not know is that I published a second book just before he died, which I have not launched, publicized or marketed.
The book is titled The Key, the Turtle and the Bottle of Schnapps and it is a tribute to my parents and grandparents who survived the Holocaust. It is a good book. It chronicles one way that ordinary middle aged people resisted and succeeded in escaping the Nazi terror and how my grandparents continued their positive, forward looking personalities in the twenty-two years we had them with us after the war.
But I wrote it to honor my wise, strong, courageous, resilient, persistent grandmother. I think of her still whenever I have a challenge to meet. My go to saying to myself is "If Oma could survive the challenges she faced, I can find my way forward, too."
My greatest challenge this past year was to jump over the hurdle of turning eighty. This is one challenge my grandmother did not meet. She died at seventy-five from the effects of emphysema, brought on by years of smoking cigarettes. I have been worried that my good health and my memory would not continue to serve me well. I have felt embarrassed by my worry. I "know better" than to be anxious about stuff that hasn't yet happened.
During this past year, I have met fifteen women who have or are about to turn eighty. They are vibrant, active, yoga, dance and exercise partners. They love to attend films and plays and are active politically to restore and maintain our civil rights, our environment and our sanity in these troubling times.
And, on July 9th, I celebrated my eightieth birthday!!!!
I admire your acts of publishing your two books, and am deep into reading the first one. Took The Artist's Way class with Julia Cameron ten years ago, and am working with one of her books "The Vein of Gold." And now I have just bumped into a relevant quote from Natalie Goldberg: "Finally, one just has to shut up, sit down, and write."
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