Creative Everyday

If you met me at my Club, I would have a Mojito in hand and would tell you that I still feel inspired making art which is why I began this blog long ago. Then my posts turned towards documenting my husband’s dementia, and passing in 2019. I am a widow but his gift of love and kindness healed my deep longing to be loved and to share my life.

My successful professional career began in New York working as a financial person in the advertising agency business and later becoming a commissioned stock broker in Los Angeles. Questioning ethical practices as a broker, I eagerly went to work at Universal Studios for a long time. To be compensated fairly and find a husband with similar roots and values, I moved back to the East Coast, relocated to Northern Virginia by General Electric and became a financial software implementation consultant.  I retired at 64. One paragraph to describe nearly five decades of adventure moving cross country twice and work experience!

I have had many challenges including my escape from childhood abuse and finding a path to live on my own after graduating from High School at 16 ½ in Brooklyn, New York. I completed a college degree by endurance, working full-time attending classes at night, forfeiting sleep. I was determined to find a way. 

I have been a brunette, redhead, and blonde. it didn’t make a difference. If you see me, know that I am proud of my wrinkles and grey hair. I don’’t think that there is any way to prepare oneself for the outward signs of aging but I am grateful for life’s longevity. I am healthy, fit and stronger than ever before, ask my personal trainer (17 years+) and thinner. An eating disorder is insidious and so I stay mindful, aware of my breath, meditating daily, following Buddhist teachings and a pescetarian food plan.  

I could write about years of tent camping in LA as a life-changing experience, but I’d rather tell you about how my life changed, isolating during Covid. I’ve been a  senior waiver (a state program, no fees or grades) student at my local university, GMU, for more than ten years. In 2021, I registered for an introductory course in music appreciation. I found the basic material so difficult that I made a commitment to do the work and joyfully, my ears were awakened to sounds I’ve never heard nor understood in context. 

I learned that intense study provides excitement, satisfies a deep curiousity about the world, and shoves aside feelings of isolation and aloneness. These endeavors sustain and inspire me. I spend time reading, listening to music and podcasts, and connecting with friends in a biweekly film club now in its second year. 

I love making new friends and traveling the world.  Since 2018, I have visited Italy, Vietnam and Cambodia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and in 2023, Australia and New Zealand. My next trip is Portugal and then, Hawaii. I am excited to share some photographs in future posts.

I often hear “I am not done,” these words in my head, that’s an accurate description about me.