my life . . .
Who am I? What am I? (where am I and what was I going into this room to get?) These are some questions that you my readers, might want to know. So, let’s start simply … where am I? Well, my husband and I are recent transplants from Memphis to Nashville, TN, which was excruciatingly hard at my age. Leaving my friends, my church and my neighborhood was like doing surgery without anesthesia BUT I am in love with Nashville. I love our 100 yr old colorful craftsman bungalow with the best neighbors ever, where I can walk to the library, (nirvana) farmers market, shops and cafes. I love all the quirky, creative and friendly people that surround me, and the music and food scene here is outstanding.
But Who am I? I’m a woman on the downside of life chronologically and yet I’m in my prime in so many other areas. I have a daughter recently graduated from college who is trying to find herself (aren’t we all) and two complicated and beautiful children who are not speaking to me at the moment. So, I guess the cat is out of the bag. I refuse to pretend that all is always well. I’ve certainly had my share of disappointments but the good and the bad is what makes life rich. I believe it also helps to develop the skill of seeing beauty in an imperfect world. And like it or not, it grows patience as we wait, but not without hope. That’s the gift of the God life.
I’ve worked in various jobs but mostly as an RN for 30 years working part time and part time doing the hardest work of raising kids and making a home. I love to cook and garden, and I will invite you into my kitchen and garden from time to time. Maybe I should share my recipe with you for my “second place” chili recipe. I can be fairly humble, but I have to say that my chili is pretty wonderful. My husband calls it “complex” and I have to agree. But overall, I am very domestic by nature, and I make no apologies for this.
In my early, early years I worked at a cosmetic counter, and this nurtured my girly side. I am what they call, “faux fancy” always looking to pamper myself but in a thrifty way. I’m always on the lookout for the perfect grooming items that won’t break the bank. I’ll be sharing some of my “faux fancy” items in future columns. The newest one I’ve discovered is what I call “snail snot.” I have in the past been known to indulge myself a time or two. I’m a huge fan of LaMer face cream but I am not a fan of the $400 price tag so I am trying out different kinds of face cream and I will let you know what I find out.
And speaking of thrift… This is my favorite thing to do. I have furnished our home (and also my closet) with mostly secondhand items, and I will look forward to sharing with you the “junk I have in my trunk.” Recently, I picked up a fabulous mirror in Mississippi for $6.99. I’m going to put it in my downstairs bathroom, but one thing leads to another and now I need new lighting. I can’t wait to show you the final results but for now I’ll show you the mirror and the one I have currently. And check out this shower curtain that I made out of some fabric I found at goodwill. I put it together with iron-on tape as I am mostly allergic to sewing. My bathroom is in an awkward and visible place, so I tried to make the shower curtain look like a real curtain. Faux fancy folks!
But in the end, I am always in pursuit of what is good, what is true and what is beautiful. I confess that I am a beauty snob and believe wholeheartedly that we need it desperately; maybe to different degrees and maybe we can disagree to a certain extent of what defines beauty but perhaps we can also agree that we live in a culture that seems to despise beauty. You only look around at the careless way people dress, or like Duchamp’s urinal we elevate things like a banana duct taped to a wall and call it art. The emperor seems to have no clothes these days, but I’m probably going to call him out for walking around naked. We are starving for meaning and I hope that we can discover more of this together in a lighthearted way, in the ongoing pursuit of the good and beautiful life. Not a perfect life but a meaningful life and if you’re a reader and a pursuer of the good life we may become kindred spirits along the way….
