An Invincible Summer - A Woman's Journey

“ What do you do when you’re down Winnie?” I ask. Looking at me with her loving smile, she replies, “Oh, I’m glad you ask. My friends and I were just discussing that. Each of them had a little something to add but we all agreed that music almost always does the trick. I forget that sometimes. I get in the dumps and seem to want to stay there a while.” “What kind of music do you like?”, I ask, curious what 85 year olds listen to. Is she like me and still loves the music from her high school years? Elvis was just getting started but the Kingston Trio were popular in 1957.  Rock and Roll was in its infancy. Tequila, the song, was big but my Winnie, she’s a gin girl so…. She replies that she loves praise music, which I should have known, but other music too. One of her grandsons is a very talented musician and she likes his music. “Do you have a lot of CD’s?” I ask. With a twinkle in her eye, she waves off pesky old cd’s and tells me she gets most of her music from Google Play or Spoti...

I’ve introduced you to my sweet friend Winnie a while back. She’s the most interesting person in almost any room. She’s 85, a practicing life long catholic who is still on fire, a feminist (a catholic feminist, a rare bird indeed), and loving friend. We don’t talk surface.  She is my favorite walking partner but we have not been walking much because of the rain and frigid cold. The local mall offers walkers the chance to exercise inside before the stores open and Winnie and I decided to give it a try. We were not disappointed.  Many people were there and, while not exactly warm, it was comfortable.  After a short car ride, we walk in the big main doors and start our way around. We got about 50 feet from the door and Winnie stops and turns to me with a beautiful smile and says, “So, what’s on your heart today?” That’s where we started and we never stopped. We spoke of gratitude, marriage, children and heartbreak. She doesn’t just try to offer advice. She also shares her st...

Last night my dear sweet Winnie threw herself a birthday party. She knew what she wanted, knew who she wanted to spend the evening with and that’s what she got. It was lovely.   We were not a young crowd but we all shared in our love for this tiny person with so much inner joy. To be quite honest I heard very little of what was being said but I could still share in the laughter and love. Every person there, aside from Boy Scout and I, are from Winnie’s church. A room full of Catholics and us. It was fascinating. I asked the group if this was some kind of weird intervention, were they trying for conversion? They laughed and then invited us to Sunday’s pancake breakfast.  Hahahahahaa. We passed. Instead, I watched the sun rise as Mt Hood supervised. I’d say she did a fine job. 

I was sitting on the horrible kitchen linoleum, scraping up the paint that I dripped while painting the green walls, when in walks Winnie. She says with a big smile, “Want to take a walk to paradise?” I hesitated. I was tired. I’d been awake since 2:30am, after awakening from a bad dream. But then I remember we are only here once so…..live in the moment….be more like Winnie.  “Let me get some shoes on”, I say and off we go.  We walk to Kellogg Creek which is within hearing distance but only accessible about a mile away. We sneak through fences while talking about life and love and faith.  She loves her church. It is her life BUT she sheepishly looks at me and divulges, “I am a feminist”.  No big surprise there. Someone as full of life as she is, how could she not be? She knows that it doesn’t go hand in hand with her faith but she makes allowances for it. Kellogg Creek is achingly beautiful and serene. I felt grateful that I could still hear the water making its way ...

So, my sweet Winnie has the home of her dreams (and no, it isn't ours). Winnie (Rozee) and Cooper We met my childhood friend half way between our homes in the O.C. (Orange County). I had not seen Jeannie for 39 years but through the power of Facebook, we reconnected. She came with her son and her mother....it was wonderful to catch up. They reminded me of things I had forgotten. I had forgotten how Shirley, Jeannie's mom, used to yell at me, "Where is your sweater and get some shoes on?"  I never wore shoes unless it was a requirement. Tomboys don't need shoes silly. Jeannie reminded me how I had once tried to get her up on the back of Jaspar, my sister's pony. I'm not sure why he was in our back yard but he was a mean old thing. Apparently I helped her on up and then right onto the ground on the other side.  I was probably 8ish which would make her 5. The funny thing is I know for a fact my sister Pam would have killed me if she knew I was near ...