Mid-Life


Here’s the thing about grief: one minute you’re drowning in it, thinking you’ll never resurface. And the next, up you’ve popped and you’re feeing the sun on your face.

My moods seem to change on a dime.

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Right now, the work day is nearly through and it’s my birthday.

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Okay, technically it’s not until Monday. But it’s a big one.

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So I believe it’s appropriate to begin the celebration now, and continue at least through Memorial weekend.

Just FYI, I am a big fan of cupcakes.

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Way better than almond butter and bilberry jam sandwiches.

I got a letter in the mail today. I know I turn 50 in 9 days, but holy crap. I am now eligible to join AARP.

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Old man, there’s no need to feel down.
I said, old man, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, old man, cause you’re in a new town,
There’s no need to be unhappy.

But I’m eligible for A fracking ARP! I thought that was for old people.

Cinque Terre, ItalyMay 17, 2012

Cinque Terre, Italy
May 17, 2012

I’ve spent my nights since I returned from Houston drinking wine, eating, and watching Downton Abbey with my neighbor. I keep referring to it as Downtown Abbey. My English neighbor corrects me but I’m too tired to remember my error. I keep waking up at 4:00 and 5:00 in the morning and lying awake for hours. I repeatedly open the box of work I brought home and toss the lid back on. Yesterday I was uncharacteristically restless. I began cleaning out closets, cedar chests, dressers, and cupboards at 9:00 a.m. I stuffed four trash bags with clothes and various odds and ends for my cleaning lady. I filled three more with towels and sheets for my mother. I finished at 6:30 p.m., not pausing to eat or rest. Then we put a ham in the oven, along with roasted potatoes and asparagus. It was delicious. Comfort food.

Today I was supposed to work at the office, but I feel too wiped out. I look in the mirror and I see a woman who appears to have aged ten years in a week. I’ll be 50 in exactly 50 days. I’m beginning to look more and more like my sister, who’s 6 years older than me. I don’t like her at all. She’s a cold, cold woman. Seeing her face staring back at me when I look in the mirror is depressing. I’ve spent my day today staring at the computer screen and Googling things like, “Death ages you.” And makes you look like your bitch sister.

So here I am: both brothers are dead. My father is dead. I’m left with my mother and sister.

All the men, dead.

This is so fucked up. Now I can see why women marry their fathers. Or their brothers. It’s comforting. I feel no comfort. The closet-cleaning, drinking, eating, sleeping, and tv are my attempts to avoid my pain. But it’s always there. All day. All night. My chest feels like an anvil is sitting on it. I can’t breathe. I keep sighing. I’ve got bags under my eyes. My skin looks washed out. Ashen.

I  forced myself to go for a Pilates session on Saturday. The instructor kept talking about imagining my breath filling my lungs, gathering the energy in my core. As I slid up and down the reformer, I thought, “My brother’s body is dead. He can’t breathe. He can’t gather energy in his core. I can. But he’s gone. He’ll never breathe again. His body stopped breathing fifteen minutes before I got to the hospital. I didn’t get to say goodbye. I could have been with him all weekend. My brother was dying and I wasn’t there.”

My family has been wiped out in the space of eleven months. Brother. Father. Brother.

Thanksgivings and Christmases are no more. They didn’t dwindle one by one over the years; they were wiped out all at once. I don’t have my own family to take their place. Instead I have three cats. Sally sleeps lying across my neck. I love that. It makes me want to never leave my bed.

And there’s that ache, expanding in my chest again, making it difficult to breathe.

Things will never be he same. I’ll never be the same. I was so lucky a year ago. Blissfully ignorant of this kind of pain. I’ll never be blissfully ignorant again.

Until one week ago, I still had my brother. I was grieving my father. And my brother. He was grieving our father and brother. I looked at some texts I’d received from him before he got sick.

“I miss Dad.”

“Be extra nice to Mom. Remember, she’s going to be 77 this year.”

He was sober. He had a chance for a happy future. Stolen from him by leukemia seven days ago.

All of my male family members are gone. In the space of 11 months. How do I make sense of this? I don’t. There is no meaning or explanation. Everything does not happen for a reason. It just happens. This universe is random. There is no grand plan for any of us. We are not predestined. My brother did not die Monday because we needed to learn some lesson.

My brother died for no reason other than he had leukemia.

It would be easier if I believed a god orchestrated this. I would have something at which to direct my anger. But there’s nothing. Nothing other than the arbitrariness of this world.

Yes, there are things to be grateful for in the midst of my despair. His agreement to enter rehab in late December gave him three months with his children. They have those three months to remember their dad as he really was. He died of leukemia, rather than an alcohol-related disease. (There is no connection between alcoholism and AML. I checked.) He didn’t kill himself with alcohol.

I thought with the intervention I had saved my brother. I thought I had helped him save himself. I had fantasies of spending time with him when he was feeling better. I wanted to take him for long healing walks in nature. I wanted to help him heal his heart. I wanted to talk with him about all the painful things that happened as we were growing up to help him lay them to rest. I dreamed of being close like we were as we were growing up and in the early days of our adulthood, before the alcohol came between us.

I had dreams that he would finally get some happiness.

But life is not about happiness. It’s not about anything. There is no reason for any of this. Or if there is, none of us know what it is. Will we find out when we die? That’s a nice thought. And it’s quite possible that’s all it is. curse

My words aren’t profound. Countless people have lost loved ones under tragic circumstances. Countless people have shaken their fists and cursed the universe. Or god. Or cancer. Or alcoholism. So what? People will continue to be born. And then each of them eventually will die. Some, like my father, will have long full lives. Others, like my brothers, will die much too young.

(I chose the cat photo not because of my love of cats. Well, that too. But it neatly shows my irreverence for all of this.)

I wonder if there’s another solar system out there where people (or some type of conscious beings) know the day they are born that there is a meaning for their lives. I wonder what it would be like to live knowing what that meaning is. I wonder what it would be like to know exactly how long we all will live and why we are here. Some of you might be thinking, “Regardless, you should live like today is your last day.” But I can’t really do that. I have to plan for the future in case I’m still here. And what if all that planning is for naught? What if I’m worrying about paying for retirement when I’m going to be dead next week? I should be out looking for a new home for my cats, not worrying about paying my bills when I’m dead. I should be eating Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk, and not worrying about my expanding mid-life midsection. I should be sitting outside watching the birds in the feeders, not sitting in here fretting over the box of work the office courier dropped off earlier.

This post has devolved into a meaningless ramble. Which sums up nicely how I feel about life right now.

Yes, I do realize I’m in the anger stage of grief. And that matters because?

Yesterday I wrote of some brainstorming my friends and I engaged in as we discussed how we were going to remain independent as we aged. Turning 50 in 86 days has me facing the fact that I won’t feel 30 forever. This morning I read a post asking the question: If you had no family obligations and unlimited resources, what would you do? It made me realize that Sunset Place is more a practical solution than a dream solution.

My dream solution would be Sunset Sanctuary. My vision of Sunset Sanctuary is based on Cleveland Amory’s Black Beauty Ranch.

image Black Beauty Ranch consists of 1300 acres located about 80 miles southeast of Dallas. It was founded in 1979 by Cleveland Amory, who was an American author and animal rights advocate. image

imageThe sanctuary is home to 1400 domestic and exotic anmials, including horses, llamas, chimpanzees, tigers, bison, ostrich, elephants, kangaroos, burros, pigs, cows, camels, emus, bobcats, iguanas, rhesus macaques, cats, and dogs.

They were rescued from research laboraties, agriculture, and the “entertainment” industry, among others. Many of the animals were abused and in need of veterinary care. Most of all, they were in need of serenity. The ranch is not a zoo. Cleveland Armory said, “These animals are not to be looked at. They are to be looked after.”

Taking Cleveland Armory’s vision a step further, if I had unlimited resources, I would make the sanctuary a place for friends to live as they grow old. I’d provide medical care for both man and beast. Together my friends and I would care for the animals. And for each other. And we would borrow the motto of Black Beauty Ranch, which visitors pass under as they come and go:

image“I have nothing to fear. And here my story ends. My troubles are all over, and I am at home.”

A friend turns 50 tomorrow. I met her along with several other people for dinner last night: five women, one man. The group ranged from late 40s to early 50s in age. All but one is single. Three of the women (including me) have never been married. Two in the group are divorced; one (the male), recently. The sole married woman was married for the first time two years ago at 52. No one in the group has children. All but one (the married woman) has at least one cat. We spent a lot of time last night talking about our cats. Sharing photos. Even the male among us.

The birthday girl recently had a double mastectomy. Many friends, along with a breast cancer survivors group, pitched in to help during her recovery. She has much support. But what happens when we’re all 70 or 80 or 90? Who will care for the singles, then? Some of us may have nieces and nephews who will help. But we cannot rely on that. And honestly, I wouldn’t want to put that burden on them. And the burden with me could be fairly substantial. Because my father had Alzheimer’s, the odds seem to be greater that I will, too.

PlanI need to make a plan.

So much is percolating right now. With the deaths of my brother and father last year, along with turning 50, I find myself thinking about my future. Retirement. Being alone for the next 20, 30, or 40 years. Yes, I might meet someone to share a life with. Someone who will provide emotional support, and perhaps more security financially. But I can’t count on that. I should have thought more seriously about all this long before now. But it’s so easy to ignore when you feel 30. And when you’ve never been faced with mortality. Until last year, everyone lived forever.

I’m feeling panicky. Earlier this week, I began the process of refinancing my condo. I’ve finally decided I don’t need a house. I’m staying put. A house is a bigger burden financially, and maintenance-wise. I can live here in this condo as long as I’m able to take care of myself. Or longer, with a caregiver. With refinancing, I’ll have paid off my mortgage in 15 years when I’m 65, instead of in 30 when I’m 80. All for only $20 more a month. Yes, the rates have dropped significantly since I bought it in 2004.  After I met with the mortgage guy, I made an appointment with a new financial advisor. During the preliminary meeting, he shared photos of his cat on his iPhone. So I pulled out my iPad and showed him mine.

Cats are the new children.

I’m certain with all the baby boomers out there, my group of friends are not the only ones contemplating our futures. We’re hitting our retirement years en masse. Most of us do not have long-term disability insurance. It is not included in Medicare. Many of us will have Alzheimer’s. Our current healthcare system is not set up to care for us. I found that out with my father. How will we manage?

I will be 65 in 15 years.

MelroseThe discussion about aging last night led to brainstorming about solutions. The solution we settled on (in theory) is to buy a small condo complex (mine would be ideal), and each of us would have our own unit. One of the units would be housing for our caregivers. Sort of like the Golden Girls, only we don’t share a house. The condo complex must have a pool. And a pool boy. So rather than the Golden Girls, it’s Melrose Place. Or better yet, Sunset Place. Drama aside, this sounds ideal. In theory.

Now that the shitty events of 2012 are nearly behind me and I’ve written the obligatory farewell-cruel-year post, I’d like to get back to the topic that propelled me to start this blog: men. I started and stopped several blogs before I settled on this one; for example, The Accidental Sugar Mama. It was an appropriate title, but given that the relationship had no chance of longevity, I knew it was somewhat self-limiting; however accurate. Then again, perhaps not so accurate given that he was ten years older, rather than younger, and suffered from erectile dysfunction. The leech has written me several nice notes regarding the events of the past year, some of which I acknowledged. That doesn’t make him any less of a dick. And it doesn’t make me any less of a dolt for behaving like a sugar mama without receiving the appropriate tit for tat (or tat for tit), so to speak.

Since the end of that relationship, I’ve led a fairly solitary life. There has been interest, but only that which is unrequited. Take my neighbor: 15 years younger, Jewish, and looking for the mother of his children. Yet he has expressed to mutual friends that he’d like to go motor-boating in my cleavage. (Can you tell I’ve only now learned about links? What fun!)

As younger men are wont to be, he is more technologically inclined than I. So on more than one occasion, he has assisted me in hooking up and utilizing various of my electronic toys. (No, not those electronic toys.) I repay him with Prosecco. On one night, he expressed interest in a little something more.

“Mack (my ex) is not the only man who’s good in bed,” he trolled.

“You’re looking for a woman who will give you babies,” I said.

“Not tonight,” he replied, smarmily.

I shooed him out the door with a kiss on the cheek.

Lately I’ve been spending a little time with a boy (now, a man) with whom I went to high school. I’ll call him Dan. Dan is recently divorced after 28 years of marriage. We reconnected on Facebook. We met for the first time over a year ago. Actually, in his case it was re-met, since he remembered me from high school. Apparently we lived in the same neighborhood, only streets apart. He was a Future Farmer of America. This means he raised cows and sold them for slaughter at the Houston Livestock Show. I smoked pot and hugged trees. And football players. You can see why I don’t remember him.

Francis

Francis the Cow–Look at that Face!
(Photo Credit flickr.com)

Turns out, Dan didn’t grow up to be a cow-slaughtering farmer, after all. He’s a lawyer. (I know there’s a lawyer joke in here somewhere, but when we got sworn in we had to take an oath to not tell them.) Although Dan still slaughters animals (he hunts), we do seem to have a bit more in common than we did in high school. So for networking purposes, I agreed to meet him for happy hour. I was on the tail end of my relationship with Mack, who insisted that, rather than networking, it was a trial date. I will allow it was refreshing to have drinks with a man who knows how to select a bottle of wine and has a job that enables him to pick up the check now and again. I had a nice time with him. And have had a nice time with him on several occasions since. But it’s all very ambiguous, for both of us seemingly. Which is fine by me. It’s all irrelevant, however, since he’s allergic to cats. Which is like saying that if I’ve slept with more people than he has, he can’t date me. (Of course I’ve slept with more people than he has–he was married for 28 years. And he was an animal-slaughtering farmer.) Doomed from the start, we were. But he’s great at parties. He even helps me clean up. So as a friend, he’s golden.

Actually, warlocks are kind of hot.

Actually, warlocks are kind of hot.

So where does that leave me currently? Ah, yes. I’m in the process of taming a stray black cat. Following which, I will live with three black cats. So unless the men I meet are cat lovers or warlocks, I’d imagine I will continue to be on my own for years to come.

Lucky for you, that could mean some entertaining stories in the future. Stories that involve cleavage motor-boating and ambiguous cow-slaughterers.

2013 is going to be a good year for this bachelorette. Here’s to returning to my blogging roots. Cheers!

P.S. I’ve made a dirty double-entendre with the title.

After a fabulous vacation in Tuscany, I am back to the mundanities of life. I’ve spent the past week and a half digging out at work (and getting behind on my blogging). I traveled to Chicago for meetings this week, and while I love Chicago in the summertime, the last thing I wanted to do was get back on a plane. My reward was accepting my neighbor’s invitation to drink bubbles by the pool last night. (Much to my chagrin, I think I may actually feel the stirrings of a requited crush.) The combo of the bubbles and all the recent travel finally hit me, and this morning I stayed in bed until 11:00 a.m. catching up on sleep and recharging.

Okay, okay. I won’t skip over the requited crush topic. My neighbor has been crushing on me for years. The trouble is, he’s nearly fifteen years younger, and wants babies. (“But not tonight,” he said, the last time he made a pass at me.) Despite the fact that he’s charming, sophisticated, well-traveled, single, stable, and has a job (the opposite of my last foray into romance), not to mention a sexy Latin accent, there’s just no point in going down that road. And then there’s the fact that it’s a terrible idea to have a fling with a neighbor. So I shall keep it as a flirtation, and enjoy that. But still, there is a stirring in my girl loins that I haven’t felt in months.

All in all, I’m feeling pretty good these days. But the anticlimactic feeling that often comes at the end of a great vacation has me looking for something more. The something more that comes to mind is getting back to my running. But I’m having trouble running in the heat on the antidepressants. The Abilify warnings state that it’s easier to become overheated while exercising, and cautions against strenuous exercise. I live in Austin. I exercise outdoors in the heat. I refuse to spend my life on my elliptical (sheer freakin’ drudgery). So I’ve made the decision to see how I do quitting one of the trifecta (Ability, Deplin, and  Wellbutrin). I called Dr. McEnroe yesterday to get his input on my plan to quit the Abilify, but he hasn’t yet returned the call. Nevertheless, I’ve decided to go ahead and stop it, cold turkey. I’m sure there will be those who protest, but I’m going to do it anyway. When I’ve made up my mind to quit something, I don’t do it by halves. Including relationships and cigarettes. And besides, having quit smoking cold turkey some years ago, I can’t imagine this could be any worse. Just rip the band-aid off and get through it. It’s the best way. In quitting drugs, and men.

Hopefully once the Abilify is out of my system, I’ll be able to run without feeling like I’m going to keel over from the heat. And just to get it out there, I really want to be drug-free within the next several months. I’m feeling better. And with proper sleep, exercise, and Vitamin D (and staying away from abusive jackasses), maybe I’ll be successful in managing the depression without the drugs.

I think I’ve got this now.

Today is my 49th birthday. My last birthday with a 4 in front of it. I awoke this morning at the Hotel Bernini in Florence. Last night, I had a four-course dinner at a wonderful restaurant, including too much wine. The meal was so fabulous, I’m not even going to try to top it. I’ve also grown a bit weary of getting lost. Florence is a maze! But since I was out the door at 7:30 this morning, I made it to the Uffizi and didn’t wait in line for long. The museum was spectacular. After I meandered amongst the statutes and busts and Botticelli paintings, including the Birth of Venus, I spent the next five hours wandering through the maze of streets that is Florence. I’ve finished being lost, and now I’m sitting in the hotel bar.  It’s lovely, decorated in traditional Tuscan furninishings of purple and gold.  I’m sipping on a delicious chianti and watching people. Not a bad way to spend a birthday.

Ive got lots of photographs left to post, including those from my favorite day of all:  Cinque Terre, the Italian Riveria. The coast was spectacular. As was our cliff-side lunch.

This has been such a fabulous trip. I’m not sure how I’m going to top it next year: 50.  Any recommendations?

 

Here are some sights from my second walk near the villa. Tomorrow, I make it to the top of the hill!

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