HER STORY

The amateur musicians on the stage broke into Alberta Bound, and everyone in the room sang along and smiled at us. This memory visits me often. The love in that little inn in the middle of nowhere Virginia was palpable. The fact that it was coupled with the music I grew up listening to still makes me emotional.

Odin is a huge dog who will only live a few more years. I don't want want to wish his life away, but I'm looking to the future without a dog. This midlife and beyond woman is ready to dog-sit her grand puppies and go on happy rambles with no worries about who'll care for my dog.

I now find myself unemployed at sixty-one and unable to retire financially. Frankly, I don't feel done with the workforce yet. Retiring at this age for me feels incomplete. I am not ready to get out of the game for at least five more years or longer, but what's next?

A friend convinced me to join her ice hockey team on my 49th birthday. It was love at first glide! I was energized and out of breath, and afterward, all I could think was, "Hockey, where have you been all my life?" 

I’ve been mulling over my new identity as a retired person and contemplating who I am. Without work filling a significant portion of my time and energy, I feel like my teenage self, with fewer responsibilities and more time to pursue interests.

A swimmer treaded water and one-armed waved. Was he showing his friends how far out he could go? Or was he in trouble? I couldn’t tell. As the current took him further out to sea, he waved again. Did I hear him cry for help?

Learning to be comfortable on this super-light bike with clip-in pedals got me out of my comfort zone. I also bought some cool riding jerseys and shorts. Still, I felt a creeping imposter syndrome, wondering if everyone could see that I was really bad at sports.

A loop was running through my head. Would it be awkward? Would they like us? I reminded myself that our toes had to be presentable since shoes are strictly removed before entering someone’s home here. 

My daughter's name is Annie. She is named after my grandmother. What is absolutely astonishing about this is that when I first contacted my birth mother, Helen, she told me that she had named me Annie when I was born, after her grandmother!

My Oma would begin weeks before Christmas. Stocked with special spices from Germany and pounds of ground almonds, she would start baking everyday until she had made enough Christmas cookies for the whole family. 

I will never be a vegan but I want to learn about vegan desserts because many of our guests are vegan. I don't want to be the chef who responds, "give them sorbet" when asked for a vegan dessert.

In December of 1987 we went to Bethlehem around Christmas. There were no carols, twinkly lights, or gift-giving. We were living in the country where Jesus was born and there was minimal mention of the holiday. What was I missing?