Old Friends

Now is the time...

today is the day...

what are you waiting for???

I have recently gone on a journey backwards in time, for I have come to the realization that time is passing me by without so much as a warning.  OK, perhaps I have had some clue; a few gray hairs, a couple wrinkles (laugh lines, I'd like to say, but most are truly worry lines), and I surely don't move as quickly as I used to.  

When I look back to where I came from, I can hardly believe that I am even old enough to have 3 grown children.  I just keep telling myself, "the children are getting older, but I am not".  I remember thinking with my oldest child, Kindergarten is so far off...And then WHAM!!!    Moving up day...High School Graduation...Move away to college...College Graduation...Good Lord...I am soooo not ready to be a grandmother!  Thank goodness, she is not either...

Slow down...you move too fast!  And then of course, there goes child number 2, and here I am with the last child graduating high school and I still haven't figured out what the hell I want to do with my life!!!  Oh, don't get me wrong...getting married to a wonderful man, 25 years ago this month, and having this beautiful family is exactly what I wanted for my life.  I believe I am exactly where I belong.  But, I haven't figured out what the ME part of MOM/ME~MOMMY is supposed to do now!

I still have a job that I love...most of the time.  I have some wonderful friends and I especially love to create things with my hands...outofhand...that's me.  I don't have a particular art skill, but I like to learn new things.  My favorite items with which to create are papers...I am very passionate about old books and vintage papers.  I absolutely love when I buy an old book and find some vintage piece of paper tucked away inside just waiting for me to find it.  If it is an old letter, I envision the writer and the recipient, as I hold it gently between my fingers to keep it safe.

Old books are probably the most intriguing item I can imagine.  My home is full of them.  They have such character and each is unique in a very special way.  Their bindings and covers are intricately designed with such wonderful detail.  Old books have a story that is not written on the pages within.  I wonder where they have been on their journey, who was the first owner, how many people have actually read them.  I am quite fond of books that have been written in by the owner in that lovely script handwriting from the old days, whether it be just to take ownership of the book, or as a way of gifting this special book to a lucky person on the receiving end.  And if it is dated at the same time...ever so sweet, indeed!  

• Books support us in our solitude and keep us from being a burden to ourselves. (Jeremy Collier)

Yes, as I have gone back and re-connected with some old friends from back home and beyond, I find myself comfortably at home with the many, many old friends I have acquired over the years...old books...old friends!!! 

Time to turn the page...

for I guess I have my own tale to tell...