Oh, what a lovely calling!

Time can bring wisdom.  And it's astonishing how lack of time can bring clarity!

Take last night, at Barnes & Noble/Willow Grove.  Sipping a hot chocolate as I read Mary Pipher’s Writing to Change the World (devoured Another Country & Reviving Ophelia long ago), looking forward to hot-off-the-presses The Age of Dignity, it struck me that of the many things beckoning me, writing a book is NOT one of them.  Two reasons.

 

1) Who'd read it?  A good 95% of my stories – about Mom & Grandma Rose, Miss Cornelia & Aunt Gay, Ken Stroh & Hubert Synnestvedt et al – are happy, about people who aged well, surrounded by people who supported, loved & honored them.  Readers like high drama – my circle of oldster & elderly friends were remarkable for their lack of heartbreak.  

2)  There is no need.  There are great books out there, written by inspiring authors like Mary Pipher & Ai-Jen Poo, Ram Dass & Reb Zalman (see photo!), Joan Chittister & Susan Moon.  My strong point has always been a deft hand at directing others to valuable resources.  Build on that, keep introducing friends & clients to aging & s-aging treasures like Living With The End In Mind & What’s Worth Knowing to Life Gets Better & The Conversation.  

That is no small talent.  Folks facing the challenges of aging - a parent forced to surrender his driver’s license, a mother needing a walker, a wife with memory challenges - tend to ignore the growing urgency, not take time to read up on it.   

Even if they did develop a reading program on aging, which books would they choose?  Prepare yourself for parents facing dementia & you could be hit with Dad having a stroke, Mom suffering a heart attack.  The loved one kept well-stocked with crossword puzzles & Sudoku could take a fall in the living room.  I help people hone in on books & articles, audios & videos that meet their particular needs. 

So, I’ll never see my name on a best seller list.  Mom’s, maybe – The Velveteen Grammie will get published one of these days.  But mine?  Not my calling.  Too many books to read to spend precious time writing another.  But oh, what a lovely calling that is!