College Reunion

My College Reunion is taking place this weekend. Hard to believe I've been out of college---not high school---for nearly 30 years!

I had planned to attend, however, Ohio University was unwilling to pay for my travel expenses to come speak as a representative of the school of Journalism. I guess if my name had been Matt Lauer, there wouldn't have been an issue. Oh, but wait a minute---Matt didn't even graduate and I DID. So what's wrong with that picture? I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Bragging Rights of a Baby Boomer Diva Grandma

When my daughter was younger, I used to love to show off her advanced learning skills. She was walking at eight months, speaking coherently at a year and a half and writing her first and last name at the age of three (and I have the picture to prove it).

Now I have a grandson and, just as I did with my daughter, I take great pride in showing off his advanced skills. At seven months, he started taking steps. As a matter of fact, he started trying to walk before he was crawling. Now, he’s trying to walk all over the place and is into EVERYTHING! No, he’s not speaking yet but I’m convinced he knows the five vowels and shortly he’ll be able to count to ten in Spanish thanks to the TV show Handy Mandy.

My “public” bragging moment came yesterday when I took my grandson with me to Harris Teeter. We were the checkout line when he apparently caught the attention of another little baby and her mom. June, I learned, was seven months old. She just seemed to be in awe of my little man. Maybe because he was dressed to kill in his Duke Blue Devils outfit complete with matching hat. Anyway, June’s mom brought her over to our line to interact with my grandson whose attention was elsewhere. Eventually, their eyes met and he let out a great big smile which revealed his two bottom teeth. He also waved at her and she tried to wave back. June’s mom could not get over the fact that my grandson knew how to wave correctly.

Now let me explain this. When you see babies wave, they tend to wave backwards. What I mean by that is the palm of their hand faces them instead of the other way around. Why? Because when parents are trying to teach them to wave “bye-bye”, their palm of their hand is facing the baby’s eye and that’s what they see. So what I did was turn my hand around so that the back of my hand faced him as I repeatedly said “bye-bye.” He processed what I was doing and got it right!

OK…this may seem like a small deal to you but if my grandson is going to be a future president, he might as well get that wave thing down early! Next week I'll be teaching him about the Law of Attraction.

A Baby Boomer Diva's Guide to Shopping for Mother's Day

As long as I can remember, Mother's Day has always been the second Sunday in May. It's one of those holidays where the DATE might change but the time of the month NEVER does. Since this is a well known fact, why is it that people choose to wait until "D" day to go out and buy Mother's Day gifts and cards?

I was one of those people. I went to Wal-Mart today to try to find a nice little gift for my mother-in-law. I didn't want to get her anything too fancy because she would just end up hiding it---never to be found again (she has Alzheimer's). I thought flowers would be a nice touch. It would brighten up her bedroom and maybe trigger some memories back to the time when she used to care for the flowers in her own garden. Well, that was a bad idea. Everybody in the world was obviously thinking the SAME thing. The flower buckets were nearly wiped out. I had to be creative and try to mix and match flowers---without getting caught.

Then I went over to the card section. You would think Wal-Mart was having some kind of special on cards. The racks were empty. The only few cards I saw were some that had June Clever on the front and that just wasn't going to work for my mother-in-law. She may have had a June Clever like image back in the day---but the card company could've at least had the decency to make another June Clever image look more "soulful."

I figured I might have better luck at the dollar store down the street from my house so I went there. It was also JAM PACKED with people purchasing Mother's Day items. It was CRAZY! While I was in the store I had to play mom to someone else's children because they were getting out of line.

So what did I learn today?

1) If you have to wait until the last minute, don't shop. Give the gift after the fact. It'll mean more.

2) Buy silk flowers instead---even if the price is jacked up. They last forever.

3) Shop around for cards that fit the "image" you're looking for. June Clever ain't it and neither is "Florida" from Good Times.

4) A mother is a 24/7 job--no matter whose children they are!

OK...I admit it...This Baby Boomer Diva is Computer Illiterate

I never thought I would ever go more than a few hours without being on my computer. It has become an addiction over the past year. I would rather be on the computer than clean my house. But on Monday morning, I got a major reality check when the machine crashed on me and kicked out all of the email contact data I had worked so hard to build. Plus, I was unable to do any of my normal networking. What's worst is I didn't (and still don't) have a clue as to how to fix the problem.

This frustrating situation got me to thinking about my life. What has happened to my life that I can't seem to live without a computer? It wasn't that long ago that I didn't even want to be bothered with the damn thing.

This frustrating situation also got me to thinking about how much more important it is to remain positive and focused when negativity and disasterous circumstances occur around you. The forces of negativity can be very powerful if you let it and it will seep into your own spirit and change your positive energy before you know it.

I must go back to the drawing board and re-examine my priorities.

A Baby Boomer's Look at Death

I was driving past a cemetary the other day and observed a graveside service. I assumed the person who died was old because all of the people paying their last respects were old. But what struck me even more so was the fact that there were so few people there. Was it because the deceased wasn't liked very much or maybe it was because the majority of his or her friends were already dead?

It got me to thinking. We spend a whole lifetime building and cultivating relationships but the longer we live, the fewer friends we end up having in the end. It's a morbid thought for a baby boomer diva who, at this moment, is so full of life.

But we, as baby boomers, must come to terms with the fact that at some point all of is will also travel down that road to final rest. Maybe it's time to make some new "younger" friends.

Beverly and the Baby Boomer Usherettes

I'm a member of the Women's Usher Board at my church. I joined the group because I wanted to carry on a tradition my father started. He was a member of the Usher Board at the church I was raised in and this was my way of carrying on that tradition and being of service to God.

To be perfectly honest, I don't feel very connected to the majority of the group. I actually feel like an outcast and often question why I don't just quit. Maybe because I'm relatively new and the majority of them seem to have known each other for years and have deep ties. But on this particular Saturday, I must admit I did have fun. I discovered through this group that there really are just six degrees of separation between us. I was surprised to learn that some of my fellow usherettes and I were connected through other people I've known a lot longer than them. I also learned some of us shared things in common like bowling---an activity I used to participate in regularly some years ago. I discovered I was in the company of teachers, researchers, HR Specialists, retirees, police officers and fellow baby boomer divas who, despite, all of our other differences, all have a true love for God and can share a good laugh. And yes, some of us can relate to hot flashes and menopause.

So the next time we all usher together at church, I'll be looking at them in a different light and I'm hopeful they'll see something different in me as well.

Is it Gym Sweat or a Hot Flash?

I just returned from another invigorating 40 minutes of aerobics at the gym. This is the only place where I can sweat like a pig and not freak out about it being a hot flash.

I must admit, working out these days is quite a challenge, especially when a hot flash seems to be the order of the day. It's also tougher since I seem to see little or no results for my efforts. My doctor says the weight gain is all a part of growing older and that I should keep exercising for health maintenance. WHATEVER! I want more than maintenance. I want to see some pounds drop off EVERY TIME I go into the gym. When I've finished my workout, I want to pick up my towel and water bottle and leave about five pounds of fat on the gym floor. Well actually I would have the decency to pick it up and throw it away because just leaving it there would be gross!

I'm really not complaining because I really do thank God that I'm able to get up and go workout because I know there are others who can't for one reason or another. And yes, the sweat is good because not only am I releasing toxins...I finally realize the gym is about the only place I can enjoy my "personal summer!"

Hello menopause! Welcome to MY world.