CAREFREE
This is a VERY OLD portrait I did while in college. See....the paint is already peeling. Definitely NOT archival. Even though I was "young and "CAREFREE" in those days, I still have a fairly serious look about me, don't I? Just trying to look "mature" I suppose.
I'm feeling a bit melancholy at the moment. I just came back from visiting my 93 year old mother. There is definite evidence that in the past few weeks a few more lights have dimmed, for lack of a better term. I'm an only child, it's not easy to watch. I know it is all a part this thing we call life.
Sometimes it helps to see what other people think.......I traveled the net to find some quotes on aging. These are just a few that I wanted to read more than once. It's a mixed bag.
"Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been." ~Mark Twain,
"The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left." ~Jerry M. Wright
"The great secret that all old people share is that you really haven't changed in seventy or eighty years. Your body changes, but you don't change at all. And that, of course, causes great confusion." ~Doris Lessing
"There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age."
We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations. -Anais Nin
"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?" ~Satchel Paige







17 comments:
HI Karen- it is hard to see our parents dim a bit, especially when you love them so much.
Wonderful quotes....
D.
Let me give you a big virtual HUG !
Life is not easy .. sometimes ... Take care ...
love this post...love my wrinkles...love my life...good post...please stop by my blog for another giveaway today...blessings, rebecca
I am equal parts 7 and 70.
My father passed away a few
weeks ago after years and years of
illness ~and i really
feel there are no words for this
sorrow ~ just feelings.
(warmest hugs)
we KEEP doing this!
posting
about similar things...
:-)
are you Aquarius?
was just wondering...
oh,
yes, now i remember,
we both have aging-quickly-moms...
we are looking BACK at life
differently now,
aren't we
both?
PS--i can still see
the young girl in you there
in the *about me* portrait,
i do.
93 what a wonderful age, your mother is certainly an elder of excellence (Louise Hay). My mother is 84 and is fantastic on her good days, but is very sad to see on her not so good days.
I love the quotes, they are very apt.
Ro
xo
Oh Karen how hard that must be to see. I believe it is true that we don't change, just the body changes. Which must frustrate and enrage at the same time, the person in the body. Thinking of you and your special mom right now. They are amazing creatures, moms.
xo
Gillian
Dear Karen,
Sending a hug to you too! I'm very sorry for this time in your life. The quotes you chose are all good ones.
You and Somepinkflowers have dealt with something hard. Because you have had to say goodbye to a person who was, and meet a different person.
xox
and with love,
Constance
Seeing the parents that were for us as children the invincible grow frail, weak and start to dwell in another world with their thoughts is difficult. It almost becomes a reversal of roles. They become the child and their child becomes the carer. I hope you can find comfort in the wonderful memories you must have of time spent with your mum through the years. how fortunate she is to have such a caring daughter. I do like Sophia Lorens words. thoughts with you.
Mxo
karen...you are right. it is hard to travel through this part of the journey as an only child. always remember that the prayers of others travel right along with you.
Oh Karen that portrait is so gorgeous...and you honestly could've painted it of P's sister Pina, who I just adore. You share thoughtful, caring if serious eyes--I only wish I had a photo of her to send you!
Sending many virtual hugs during a difficult time and always :)
Hey Karen,
in case you are checking in, I'm thinking about you@@
xox
Constance
Thanking you all sooo very much for your kind thoughts. It means so much.
My mother is doing ok. Some good days ....some not so good.
So good to be back over here... lots to catch up on! This post has so many levels of looking forward, looking back, looking at now from all the vantages... This parent thing is not exactly easy... and we, this generation, do not have a manual for this turn in life... I love the quotes as well as the painting... so young and yet the paint is peeling what a powerful metaphor...
thinking of my mom all day long...
our lifes are passing by so quickly...
the memories never fade. so clear!
my thoughts are with you karen...
stopping by to say hello to my sweet friend!! and it looks as though you may need a hug!
thinking of you~ watching your loved ones growing old can be such an awakening of our own immortality~
xo!! ~Bella
Stopping by to say Hi.
Can't wait to hear of your tales!
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