RE: Letters from a Recluse in the Desert, Part 3 "Wispy clouds coming in like angel wings"
I already treasure her, so that deed is done, mission accomplished. ;-)
"That aunt lived to be nearly a hundred, as I recall. And the older these women in the family would get, the more assertive they became."
Yes. This. In our youth, my sisters and I, not to mention our mom, were too often people pleasers, and too seldom inclined to honor ourselves rather than being walked on.
But getting older is in many ways an amazing and wonderful thing, and Carol and I both found that, after we turned fifty, neither of us gave much of a damn what other people thought any more. Take me or leave me, your choice, and either one is okay with me.
Oh, to have had that freedom in my youth. ;-)
I wish I had written my mom as often as you have written Lois. But, like so many of us, even though I was an inveterate letter writer in my youth, I allowed myself to get out of the habit, even though it would have meant a lot to her, and to others I loved and have since lost.
I wrote a poem years ago, called "Writing Letters," which I'll post in response to this post, which speaks directly to that.
Have an amazing and wonderful day!
Every post, every reply, you pack full of so many great things, I can't respond to it all, Cori!
For too many women, it takes a half century of people-pleasing before we realize we've got to please ourselves. We are indoctrinated to be nice. Saying no is so much harder than it should be, so we say yes to hardships others are all too willing to inflict on us. Looking forward to your poem, Writing Letters!