Well, life intervened...

So much for good resolutions. I haven't posted in days and really haven't been thinking about the blog much. But here is the central issue: how does one get from 18 to 80? I remember being 18 so clearly, I've had the chance to revisit the time with my daughters, both of whom have moved through the age. We all know what it looks like, lovely thick plump skin, glossy hair, and slender waists. In my line of work I also get to see plenty of women in their seventies and eighties, the skin has changed, lines have appeared that seem indelible, the skin now hangs in folds, the plumpness gone even when the tissue has more fat beneath it, and as for the waist... The hair has lost it's color, thickness and texture, it feels dry and brittle. Probably like the bones beneath the flesh. So how do we negotiate the transition? And are we aware of these subtle changes?
I think some of this will sound like narcissism, and while I don't deny the truth in this, I really am interested in how the internal girl moves through time while the woman changes and evolves. And that is not to say that the girl isn't changing, she does... But how does all this happen? And what does it feel like?

The basic information

A little about me. I am 55, the mother of three children who are mostly grown, 26, 24 and 19. I'm divorced, and I am sure there will be more about that later. I lived in New Orleans for most of my adult life, although I originally came from the UK, and yes, I have one of those ridiculous 'Upstairs, downstairs' accents which is obviously ineradicable. After Katrina, a landmark in my life, and plenty more about that too, later, I moved to Richmond, Virginia. so I've been here in Richmond for about 3 years and I am adjusting. I work as a nurse practitioner in a Neurology clinic and I find it satisfying and rewarding. Work is very important to me but not for this blog. This blog is about the girl I was, and still remain in my heart. It sounds as though I haven't moved on, and while I'd agree that I am stuck in certain places, I do believe I have grown and matured pretty well. But, I do believe that we remain in our hearts the people that we were when young, and somehow our external being does age, and our mind matures and garners experiences, and yet there we remain. Eternally youthful in some deep part of ourselves.

I'm open to disagreement on this one... but it is from where I write.

I don't know exactly how this blog will evolve, but I'm interested in anyone's input...

Beginnings...

I have always thought that writing was a good thing but I was always paralysed by the idea of someone else reading the material. Goofy, I know, but this is my attempt to leap over the fear and anxiety and reach out to the world. Grandiose but here I go...