Flamingos at the San Diego Zoo
Ok, so I just realized that I don’t have as much energy or staying power as I did 10 years ago. I also never thought I would have as much energy and staying power as I do, now that I am 70! I don’t think us older birds fit the stereotypical grandmother image any more.
Well, at least I don’t and most of my friends don’t, either.
Birthday dinner - me, Betsy and Ava
The Big 70 birthday came and went in what felt like a frenzy of activity, as Georgia’s birthday was just 4 days before mine, and there was an endless stream of friends and well-wishes coming to the house. Add wonderful dinners and a trip to the zoo and Betsy and June staying overnight, at the end of it all, I felt like the stuffing was knocked out of me - hence being “in recovery”!
And now, it’s all quiet on the home front; it’s just me and the kitties as Georgia is back in Maryland for a couple of weeks.
My schedule is firming up a bit for the summer. San Jose in April, back to San Diego most of May with Betsy and Barry tying the know on 11th, a 2 1/2 week sit in Encinitas in June then heading up to Washington to see Mardelle and Jim in Port Townsend and Janet and Pat in Chelan. I have a house sit in Seattle at the end of July.
Then I will go to Montana to see Cody. It’s been too long since I saw my grandkids and it’s time they spent time with their “inappropriate” grandmother! Although I don’t have any confirmation that they will be there, I am going anyway. It’s summer and Montana is gorgeous at that time of year. Besides, there’s are several distilleries close by that I can visit and write about.
And South Africa - the longing is there, but logistics are not easy.
Through a WhatsApp group of old school friends, another Susan and I are contemplating getting a place there together. She currently lives in Italy, but like me, misses the friends and community we both know we need in our dotage. So there are a lot of things to figure out but I wouldn’t go until the end of September or October.
My ideal is to be able to share a space with someone in a warm, beach town like Durban. It would be a comfortable lock-it-and-leave-it sort of place where we could both come and go as we please, but also share the expenses and responsibilities. I would want to be able to come back here and go to New Zealand at least once a year for a month or two.
So now it’s time to get my head back into the computer and get the women’s underwear site live and running and keep the other one going and productive. Have to fund the future travels.
