SILLY GRACE & WHIMSY - - Everything I Know About S-aging...

 

Silly grace & whimsy - two qualities that stood my mother in good stead throughout her life, along with a knack for making the most of any situation.

BACKGROUND:  Following Dad's death at a way-too-young 62, Mom, my sister Mim & I lived as a tight little trio in our wonderful house, a converted stained glass studio.  The living room was a total charmer, with a long 2+ story window, stained glass in the doors & a massive stone fire place.  

 

Returning one Saturday night from a crushingly disappointing party - featured refreshments were cheese puffs & root beer - was further disappointed to discover Mom already in bed, well before her usual midnight beddie bye.  I'd hoped the three of us could salvage the night with a late night trip to a local diner for a cup of coffee & a big slice of pie.

Mom urged me to head out with Mim.  Nah, wouldn't be the same.  But no big bother, we could cozy up on the comfy living room couch for a good gab.  Which was what we did, Mim debriefing me about the party as the two of us swigged coffee & scarfed down Oreos.   Neither of us expected what happened next.

The door between the living room & dining room swung open.  There was Mom,  standing in the doorway, in a floor-length turquoise evening gown!!  

"I realized it would be fun to go to Suburban, but didn't want to bother with a girdle."  

For a woman who never wore slacks or jeans her entire life, that left the only solution...  an evening dress!  

So, off the Lockhart Ladies went, nipping up to the Suburban Diner, mugs of hot coffee & slabs of banana cream pie!

Let's see.... I was a kid of 25, so that would have made Mom a young old 67.  Both Mim & I were button-bustin' proud that our "old biddy" mother acted with such whimsy & silly grace.  

Those two qualities - a penchant for whimsy & silly grace - combined with her openness to head in unexpected directions, stayed with Mom to her very last.  They helped make her final hospitalization - first at INOVA/Alexandria, then closer to home at St. Mary's/Langhorne, and then her last week in her own home, in her own bed, in her own home - a downright enriching experience, for herself & others.  

Whimsy, silly grace & a bit of ingenuity - Mom taught me to value those qualities, as well as to know what I want, see what's complicating it, find a way.  Could be as simple as a turquoise evening gown!