I’m changing my idea of a charmed life.
I knew a whole mess of girls in high school (a hundred years ago) of whom I would have said their lives had been easy. Pretty, smart, two-parent households, seeming grace on the playing field, good grades — and likable. They possessed that air of entitlement that I lacked and could never have acquired.
For decades, I resented folks with perfect teeth, straight limbs, investment savvy, and rhythm.
But I’m changing my view of the parameters of a charmed life. I don’t have cancer — check. I can manage to pay my bills on time every month (more or less) — check. My car starts in the morning, I make it out of the driveway, I don’t burn myself when I brew coffee. Check, check, triple check.
Sandy Thomas Dixon and her husband Chuck read my blog every day — check check. Same for Andrea Sununu, Pat Reynolds, Brenda Dingley, Phil Carrott, and Joyce Kramer. Smiles abound.
The light switch works; the dryer starts; the dog’s seizures seem to be under control. Groovy.
My kid calls me every couple of days and seems to be thriving. Ditto my shared children. Marvelous.
Twice a year, with a little finagling, I get to sit in an old deck chair on a sidewalk above the ocean and watch its waves crash against the rocks. No matter that I’m within hailing distance of the medical facility that regularly tests me for a growing number of barely contained viruses. I can come and look at the sea, thanks to the help of a few nameless ones and that eight-hundred dollar bill which I plunk down each month for kick-ass medical insurance that makes those Stanford gurus in-network.
it’s all good. Life continues.
And me! I read your blogs every day too & realize how much I enjoy them….and you!
Oh, Katrina — I knew that I would forget someone! And you, too; though in truth I did not know you read it every day! Thank you for all your support. You notice that I gave your employer the nod!
CC
Well, I come mighty darned close to every day! I don’t need credit in the press, but just wanted you to know . . . I’ll follow your blog anywhere – to the edge of the world and beyond!
See how an old broad like me re-evaluates her definition of “charmed life”? How can I not feel touched by grace, with such friends?
Now that I have reestablished myself on fb, I fully intend to read it every day. I may read a day late once in a while but no more than that. Your eloquence is so charming to me.