We went to a big party yesterday in Virginia. My two youngest grandkids'birthday party.
It was an all you can eat Chinese buffet and the most delightful and plentiful buffet one could attend. It was fun seeing the other side of the family and eating and gorging and having a pleasant time.
No one tries to one up another as at many American parties. No one shows up in fancy clothes or
fancy attitudes. No one is there to brag other than to show off their children or grandchildren.
No one has to cook and clean the house before the party.
Everyone is there to be happy and grateful that they are there. Everyone is delighted to be sharing in this event that is important not only to the three year old but to his one year old sister even though she is probably not aware of it. She sat like a mensh (decent and good) person she already is and ate some Asian food from a chopstick with Mommie helping her and eating her plain old Cheerios with delight.
Everyone is there to be filled in the tummy to the limit and to drive home ( in our case 90 miles) wondering why we ate so much and where is the Tums bottle. Everyone is thrilled to be important enough to say these are my grand babies, these are my grand niece and nephew and these are my main assets in life.
All are one and one are all because we are all there for the same blessing. We are related to these darlings and their parents in one way or the other. In my case, this is my baby and his babies.
This is my second born whose very name makes me filled with pride on what he has accomplished and this is my accomplishment.
From one ( me) joined with my husband to my daughter, to my son ,my baby still in my mind, even though he is forty-three,to their spouses, to the first two grandsons who are teens now to these babies one and three who delighted us in the last three years while my husband and I are in our senior mode, this is our blessing, our gift, our miracles and our love.
So eating at the buffet honoring their both births in the month of August is surely a prediction of our future and lasting happiness. Even though seniors in my mom's time were considered old and aged and sickly, we new seniors are positive, perfect and present. We are here to show our grandchildren that oldsters are still young at heart and we can teach little things from the past and this enhances their lives by knowing what was and what can be.
So the Chinese buffet also included an aisle of delight, delectable and deserving items.The delight in being there and witnessing the blowing out of the candles on the cakes for the two of them, the delectable Asian food and the deserving of the older folks, the two sets of grandparents, a great, great aunt on the other side, and the aunts and uncles of the birthday children.
This is a melting pot of two families, one who happen to be Asian and one who happen to be Caucasian, religions of Catholic and Judaism noted there too. This is America, this is the 2008 moments and this is the most splendid thing there is.
Keep on Living, Loving and Learning...
Elita
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
New Adventures in Eating-Buffet Dinners
Today is the 22nd. My granddaughter's first birthday. Grammie sent her good wishes on the
internet and Mommie read it to her and gave her a birthday cupcake. Tomorrow she and her brother will open their gifts at their birthday bash at a Chinese restaurant in Northern Virginia and celebrating with a buffet dinner.
Buffet dinners or lunches make you want to eat more than you need or really desire . The object of a buffet is for variety and change. So when I went last week to my first Chinese buffet here in Baltimore, I did something I never do. Ordering new things to taste is not my speed.Since I was in the buffet I decided to try about six different food items and really enjoyed all of them except for a bit too much grease but of course the grease, the salt and whatever makes it taste better.
It is interesting to watch people fill their plates with an excess amount of food that they would
not eat normally. Some just go up and eat and go up and again back for more to really get their money's worth as the expression goes.
My adventure there this first time was to acknowledge that I had the capacity after sixty years of eating Chinese food to try something new. My main thing is chicken chow mein, egg drop soup and an egg roll. Recently I started to add General Cho's chicken until one day it did not arrive on the table tasting so good. So I was back to the chow mein.
If the buffet line is not long, it is a good idea to take a taste of this and that and that and this and this enables one to change what they order and not be like me with one or two items.
My daughter-in-law is Asian and she tells us that the food in most Chinese restaurants is not authentic Chinese food like she eats with her family. She says when you see many Chinese or Asian people eating in a particular restaurant, then you know it is good because they know what is delectable and worthy of a meal.
My little grandson Ethan could eat with chopsticks and a regular fork when he was two.
I never eat with chopsticks, just a plain old stainless steel fork will work for me.
Keep on living and having fun and trying new things so senior in your identification means you are a senior in living and not so much being aged. You have the capacity to differentiate between old age and aging. Choose to age with dignity and keep on learning, yearning and loving.
Elita
internet and Mommie read it to her and gave her a birthday cupcake. Tomorrow she and her brother will open their gifts at their birthday bash at a Chinese restaurant in Northern Virginia and celebrating with a buffet dinner.
Buffet dinners or lunches make you want to eat more than you need or really desire . The object of a buffet is for variety and change. So when I went last week to my first Chinese buffet here in Baltimore, I did something I never do. Ordering new things to taste is not my speed.Since I was in the buffet I decided to try about six different food items and really enjoyed all of them except for a bit too much grease but of course the grease, the salt and whatever makes it taste better.
It is interesting to watch people fill their plates with an excess amount of food that they would
not eat normally. Some just go up and eat and go up and again back for more to really get their money's worth as the expression goes.
My adventure there this first time was to acknowledge that I had the capacity after sixty years of eating Chinese food to try something new. My main thing is chicken chow mein, egg drop soup and an egg roll. Recently I started to add General Cho's chicken until one day it did not arrive on the table tasting so good. So I was back to the chow mein.
If the buffet line is not long, it is a good idea to take a taste of this and that and that and this and this enables one to change what they order and not be like me with one or two items.
My daughter-in-law is Asian and she tells us that the food in most Chinese restaurants is not authentic Chinese food like she eats with her family. She says when you see many Chinese or Asian people eating in a particular restaurant, then you know it is good because they know what is delectable and worthy of a meal.
My little grandson Ethan could eat with chopsticks and a regular fork when he was two.
I never eat with chopsticks, just a plain old stainless steel fork will work for me.
Keep on living and having fun and trying new things so senior in your identification means you are a senior in living and not so much being aged. You have the capacity to differentiate between old age and aging. Choose to age with dignity and keep on learning, yearning and loving.
Elita
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Aspirations and Dreams
Today is the 21st of August. Where or where did the summer go? I love the fall except for the neighbor's leaves off of their many trees falling on our property. They are not diligent about cleaning them up waiting instead for the wind to blow them even more in our direction. We cut down our trees many years ago for that very reason. People who have the lovely trees should be more respectful of their neighbors and when possible several times in the season to pile up their leaves instead of letting them pile up on their neighbor's property. Oh well, nothing to do about that except have an argument with them.
I have always loved that song Autumn Leaves, but not in the true meaning of that word.
We are going to celebrate younger two grandchildren's birthdays in August this coming Saturday. It will be at a Chinese buffet restaurant where they live out of town. It is a long trip but worthwhile. One will be one and the other three. We bought the three year old one a Thomas wooden train set with 49 pieces. It is so cute, I am having trouble not opening it up and playing with it myself. He knows about it and cannot wait to get it on Saturday.
At this age, senior age, little things like birthday parties are really big things in our life. They are not things, they are events. Events are meant to be celebrated and loved and honored especially happy events which this will be and is.
When I was thirteen, my mom was about to turn forty. To a kid that age, forty is old age and I worried that she would not be the same sweet and dear and good Mom if she got old at forty.I waited all that day, May 8th to see the changes in her. There were none.She remained the same wonderful person. Funny, how kids think of things. Now days kids are so preoccupied with electronics, dvd players, sports and etc that they rarely I am sure would think something like I did.
I owned about three books and the rest of the time we went to the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland for our reading habits. I worked there for forty-five cents a hour putting the returned books back on the shelves. It was a special job and you had to be on the waiting list to get it. I worked Saturdays mornings and one afternoon and when that paycheck arrived for about five dollars net every other week, I would await Dad going to the bank to cash it. I was rich. I was rich because I had caring parents, a clean home, delicious home cooked meals and aspirations and dreams of the future.
Keep on Enjoying Living Every Day of your Life.
Elita
I have always loved that song Autumn Leaves, but not in the true meaning of that word.
We are going to celebrate younger two grandchildren's birthdays in August this coming Saturday. It will be at a Chinese buffet restaurant where they live out of town. It is a long trip but worthwhile. One will be one and the other three. We bought the three year old one a Thomas wooden train set with 49 pieces. It is so cute, I am having trouble not opening it up and playing with it myself. He knows about it and cannot wait to get it on Saturday.
At this age, senior age, little things like birthday parties are really big things in our life. They are not things, they are events. Events are meant to be celebrated and loved and honored especially happy events which this will be and is.
When I was thirteen, my mom was about to turn forty. To a kid that age, forty is old age and I worried that she would not be the same sweet and dear and good Mom if she got old at forty.I waited all that day, May 8th to see the changes in her. There were none.She remained the same wonderful person. Funny, how kids think of things. Now days kids are so preoccupied with electronics, dvd players, sports and etc that they rarely I am sure would think something like I did.
I owned about three books and the rest of the time we went to the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland for our reading habits. I worked there for forty-five cents a hour putting the returned books back on the shelves. It was a special job and you had to be on the waiting list to get it. I worked Saturdays mornings and one afternoon and when that paycheck arrived for about five dollars net every other week, I would await Dad going to the bank to cash it. I was rich. I was rich because I had caring parents, a clean home, delicious home cooked meals and aspirations and dreams of the future.
Keep on Enjoying Living Every Day of your Life.
Elita
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Surprises
Surprises should be coming in jewelry boxes.I heard this slogan on a tv show this morning.
Surprises can be anything from hearing you are having another grandchild as I got last year or they can be that you are dancing in a show at your dance studio and showing off your moves.They can be a good report from your doctor on a test you took, it can be good results from your stock broker or hearing from a long lost relative or friend.
Surprises are what life is made of and even writing on this blog is a surprise to me. I have been writing for over seventeen years in a ballroom dance magazine and for several years on a fine website geared to ballroom dancers all over this country and the world too.
Writing for this blog is an interesting happening in my senior life. It keeps me on my toes ( no pun intended) and it enhances one's mind and soul. Keeping active is what being a senior is all about and keeping the mind active is as important as physical exercise that we all try to do.
Mental alertness is what we all strive for. Mom was sick in the hospital for seventeen weeks before she died. Her mind was there to the end. We were talking in front of her with her eyes closed. We did not know if she could hear or comprehend. I was talking about a man in her office who used to annoy her by saying Hialea because her name was Leah and he was a race track person in his spare time. So he would say Hia Lea and she disliked it.
Out of the blue, her sweet voice came through with her eyes closed. She said yes as we were talking about him'his name was Mr. Trimble'.That showed her mind was there to the very almost last moment because she remembered his name as she heard our conversation.
She passed away several hours later.
That was a blessing, her mind there to the end.We all pray for that blessing.
May you always have your mind and your alert manners. Keep on Living and Enjoying. Elita
Surprises can be anything from hearing you are having another grandchild as I got last year or they can be that you are dancing in a show at your dance studio and showing off your moves.They can be a good report from your doctor on a test you took, it can be good results from your stock broker or hearing from a long lost relative or friend.
Surprises are what life is made of and even writing on this blog is a surprise to me. I have been writing for over seventeen years in a ballroom dance magazine and for several years on a fine website geared to ballroom dancers all over this country and the world too.
Writing for this blog is an interesting happening in my senior life. It keeps me on my toes ( no pun intended) and it enhances one's mind and soul. Keeping active is what being a senior is all about and keeping the mind active is as important as physical exercise that we all try to do.
Mental alertness is what we all strive for. Mom was sick in the hospital for seventeen weeks before she died. Her mind was there to the end. We were talking in front of her with her eyes closed. We did not know if she could hear or comprehend. I was talking about a man in her office who used to annoy her by saying Hialea because her name was Leah and he was a race track person in his spare time. So he would say Hia Lea and she disliked it.
Out of the blue, her sweet voice came through with her eyes closed. She said yes as we were talking about him'his name was Mr. Trimble'.That showed her mind was there to the very almost last moment because she remembered his name as she heard our conversation.
She passed away several hours later.
That was a blessing, her mind there to the end.We all pray for that blessing.
May you always have your mind and your alert manners. Keep on Living and Enjoying. Elita
Remembered By Our Jewels
My grandaughter is going to be one on Friday. When she smiles or coos at me my heart melts. To those of you who have grandchildren you know that these are our real jewels. We may have diamonds or emerals or pearls or anything else, but they do not matter in the scheme of things when you are fortunate to have grandchildren.She is our first girl and we have three other grandsons.
When her brother calls up and says "Hi Grammie, where are you, I love you" then you know you are richer than you ever believed you could be.
Someone once said that jewels are the orators of love.An Arabian proverb said that orators make men see with their ears. If that is so, then grandchildren make us feel with our hearts more than we ever imagined. I have a friend who says she chose not to have children. Her doggies are her children and I respect her decision long before I knew her. They are quite elderly now and they have no one to ever remember them with fondness as their friends are also quite and more elderly.
Our jewels mentioned above will remember and love us and that is as fine as it can get.My children remember with awe my mother who passed away twenty-four years ago. They recall and rejoice in her love for them and them for her.
What better inheritance can we give our grandchildren other than monetary or jewels than that they recall us with love.
Elita
When her brother calls up and says "Hi Grammie, where are you, I love you" then you know you are richer than you ever believed you could be.
Someone once said that jewels are the orators of love.An Arabian proverb said that orators make men see with their ears. If that is so, then grandchildren make us feel with our hearts more than we ever imagined. I have a friend who says she chose not to have children. Her doggies are her children and I respect her decision long before I knew her. They are quite elderly now and they have no one to ever remember them with fondness as their friends are also quite and more elderly.
Our jewels mentioned above will remember and love us and that is as fine as it can get.My children remember with awe my mother who passed away twenty-four years ago. They recall and rejoice in her love for them and them for her.
What better inheritance can we give our grandchildren other than monetary or jewels than that they recall us with love.
Elita
Monday, August 18, 2008
Positive Days
Today is the second day on this posting. I as you well know am a senior citizen ballroom dancer who promotes and explores everything about ballroom dancing long before Dancing With The Stars became so popular on the television.
We who have danced for over thirty years have known this from day one. We have learned, love, lived and longed to dance even more than we do or did. We have never loathed it, we have adored it. It is a big part of our life and our life means more to us because of dancing.
We love our spouse, our children and our grandchildren first and foremost. Next comes dancing, at least in my life. Even when unable to dance like I am now since we were in an auto accident on June 18th of this year, we still yearn for it.
The doctors and physical therapists say it will come soon as we are healing well. We have not danced for many weeks now but the aura of dancing lingers from the last time we were at the studio we go to called The Promenade here in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Promenade is a gorgeous location with a dear owner Cindy Sumida who runs the place and makes us feel happy and at home and is always welcoming to her students and guests. The location is like out of a Hollywood movie on dancing and everyone is encouraged to dance in showcases that surely do show case the dancer and the teacher. They are videoed and photographed and believe me I watch my dance showcase videos from there often.
Cindy has made the Promenade comfortable and pleasant and easy to love. The word in the dictionary means walk, walkway. avenue.It surely is an avenue for people to dance, be happy and prance about. Prance we do when we are there showing off all our 'stuff and moves'.
When we are there,we are away from our troubles, our aches and or pains. We are happy and serene.
That is what dancing is all about, not skimpy costumes, long hair flying and way out steps that normal dancers do not do. (As seen on Dancing With The Stars shows).
We are ordinary people performing an art called ballroom dancing and then we are not so ordinary, we are special and if we are of senior age we are even more extraordinary and exceptional. We are BALLROOM DANCERS WHO LOVE THIS AND WILL FOREVER.
Elita Keep on Dancing
We who have danced for over thirty years have known this from day one. We have learned, love, lived and longed to dance even more than we do or did. We have never loathed it, we have adored it. It is a big part of our life and our life means more to us because of dancing.
We love our spouse, our children and our grandchildren first and foremost. Next comes dancing, at least in my life. Even when unable to dance like I am now since we were in an auto accident on June 18th of this year, we still yearn for it.
The doctors and physical therapists say it will come soon as we are healing well. We have not danced for many weeks now but the aura of dancing lingers from the last time we were at the studio we go to called The Promenade here in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Promenade is a gorgeous location with a dear owner Cindy Sumida who runs the place and makes us feel happy and at home and is always welcoming to her students and guests. The location is like out of a Hollywood movie on dancing and everyone is encouraged to dance in showcases that surely do show case the dancer and the teacher. They are videoed and photographed and believe me I watch my dance showcase videos from there often.
Cindy has made the Promenade comfortable and pleasant and easy to love. The word in the dictionary means walk, walkway. avenue.It surely is an avenue for people to dance, be happy and prance about. Prance we do when we are there showing off all our 'stuff and moves'.
When we are there,we are away from our troubles, our aches and or pains. We are happy and serene.
That is what dancing is all about, not skimpy costumes, long hair flying and way out steps that normal dancers do not do. (As seen on Dancing With The Stars shows).
We are ordinary people performing an art called ballroom dancing and then we are not so ordinary, we are special and if we are of senior age we are even more extraordinary and exceptional. We are BALLROOM DANCERS WHO LOVE THIS AND WILL FOREVER.
Elita Keep on Dancing
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Positive Moments
Golden Seniors is what this column will be called and will encourage seniors, not yet seniors and almost seniors and yes, maybe a few younger folks to go out and ballroom dance weekly.
I started to dance in a serious mode on November 2, 1977 and now almost 31 years later am still dancing even with arthritic knees and a rotator cuff problem in the right arm.
Ballroom dancing is a serious endeavor that demands love, respect and continuation. Some times it will get on your nerves learning a new step or routine, but continue on and you will profit from the exercise to your body no matter how old you are. You will profit because your mind will constantly be absorbing the new information and your mind will be kept alive.
You will go out to a dance and practice what you learn and dress up in nice clothing and you will come home tired and happy that you accomplished this feat for your feet and brain.
Believe me when I say that the word dance makes me think of happiness, movement, peace and most of all achievement and fullfillment.
Future columns will delve into the realization of your goings and comings in the ballroom world and the delight you will have doing this wonderful sport, hobby and love.
I started to dance in a serious mode on November 2, 1977 and now almost 31 years later am still dancing even with arthritic knees and a rotator cuff problem in the right arm.
Ballroom dancing is a serious endeavor that demands love, respect and continuation. Some times it will get on your nerves learning a new step or routine, but continue on and you will profit from the exercise to your body no matter how old you are. You will profit because your mind will constantly be absorbing the new information and your mind will be kept alive.
You will go out to a dance and practice what you learn and dress up in nice clothing and you will come home tired and happy that you accomplished this feat for your feet and brain.
Believe me when I say that the word dance makes me think of happiness, movement, peace and most of all achievement and fullfillment.
Future columns will delve into the realization of your goings and comings in the ballroom world and the delight you will have doing this wonderful sport, hobby and love.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
