LOVING YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW

Gigi reading to JA - Omaha in June

I was skimming through the Chicago Tribune today--scanning and opting not to read all the info/tributes to Michael Jackson--and read a bit of a column by Eric Zorn and Mary Smich. What caught my eye was Eric Zorn's reference to his "beloved mother-in-law." Wow! Not the descriptive usually attributed to mothers-in-law.

DISCONTENT

I've had that creeping, nasty feeling surface this week--discontent. I hate it and I think I am ashamed of it. I examine my days and realize that I am blessed with a lovely home and good health. I have a loving husband and fully-fuctioning healthy children, and there are 4 beautiful grandchildren 8 hours away. Eight hours by plane or eight hours by car.

Still, there's that creeping discontent. I think the shame comes from the feeling that I should be doing more--of what I can't imagine. I have been a world-champion multi-tasker my entire life, but don't have the nerves/heart/will to live that crazy-making way any more.

READING

I've been doing a bit of reading--quite a bit. It's really my favorite pastime, but I never do it guiltlessly--even when I can. I choose to submerge myself in books when I need solitude and rest, when I'm traveling, and when I commute by train to jobs in the City. I'm a very fast reader, which is more bad news than good these days. It was great when I was a student and had required assignments, but now I run through about a book a day, and that is expensive and inconvenient.

PICKING A LANE

"Living is like driving," my grandmother used to say. "You have to pick a lane."

Kathleen Flinn

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry

Sage. But, the good news is that you can (and will) change lanes! As an adolescent I remember people saying, "Her (and, yes, it always seemed to be a her at that time in the culture) life is ruined." Un-uh. One event does not ruin a life unless it is a death sentence or a life in prison sentence and then I guess you've got me there.