I don’t have a lot of time as I have to go get my driver’s license renewed this morning. I discovered yesterday that it had expired on my birthday last Tuesday, which I had not realized. I look like a Monday morning after a heavy duty weekend, but actually it is just old age digging in and sucking all of the once active collagen out of my face and body. I’m telling ya, my face has aged about 10 years in just the last month. I saw a recent photo of myself Saturday evening and – well – I’m really looking my age. I think.
Bless his heart, Tom tells me he thinks I look great, even for women much younger than me. (Would that be 64 1/2, perhaps?) Watching the Academy Awards last night with all of the gorgeous (although some not so) older women in beautiful gowns didn’t help. Of course, plastic surgery and botox would do wonders for me, too, I’m sure. But, I suppose “reality” is where it’s at with God, right. He knows and it is what’s inside that matters, not the outside. This earthly body is rapidly shutting down I think some days.
I’ll try to remember all of this as I go get my picture taken in a few minutes at the Department of Motor Vehicles, where the cameras are not known to be flattering to begin with.
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3:30 p.m. Monday
Didn’t finish here. Had to go. Got my new driver’s license. The picture isn’t nearly as good as last time. But, hey – I smiled! Don’t look like a 10 most wanted criminal, anyway.
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I didn’t finish answering all of the questions from Friday. Here are the rest.
To Wendy: There are several Dodd families in Picayune and I know some of them, but not Irene Dodd. I even looked in the phone book. I’ll ask Tom to see if he knows her. Interesting question!
To Janice (Garrison): I stopped practicing law in 2002 after losing my last full time job in 2000. I free lanced after that, but my health, due to my diabetes, took its toll, so I went on a “leave of absence” from the Louisiana Bar Association, during which I had 5 years to be re-instated. I couldn’t afford to keep up the bar license fees or continuing education.
All in all I practiced law about 10 years, plus 2 1/2 years in school as a law clerk for a solo practitioner in New Orleans. Those years were full of challenge and sometimes were very rewarding.
The case that means the most to me was one I took on in a post-divorce situation to get a 30′s something young black mother of 3 child support. I blogged about it here on Jan. 7, 2009. There were other several memorable cases, but that one meant the most to me in feeling like I helped that young woman come into her own after years of being down-trodden and emotionally abused.
Thanks for the great questions, Janice!
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I got the following in an email from a good school friend and was very touched. I’m feeling not only very protective, myself, today for my daughter and for my Mom, I feel sorrowful over my mom, who at 88 is rapidly losing her short term memory. I am making plans to go out to see my mom in about 3 weeks and to stay for a while. At the moment I’m feeling like I’m mothering both my sweet children and my sweet mom. I’ve become the mother to the world in some senses and ask you to pray that God may grant me the graces I need, wisdom, strength and fortitude to carry on in the face of many obstacles.
May I be the kind of mother portrayed below.
GOD’S WINGS
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers
began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno’s damage.
One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched
statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat
sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.
When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under
their dead mother’s wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of
impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the
tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing
that the toxic smoke would rise.
She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her
babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her
small body, the mother had remained steadfast …because she had
been willing to die, so those under the cover of her wings would live.
‘He will cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you will find refuge.’
(Psalm 91:4)
Being loved this much should make a difference in your life.
Remember the One who loves you, and then be different because of it.
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May God bless us all. Dee
you don’t need any of that stuff!
your interbeauty is like a prism , making your outerbeauty even more!
I feel the same about my age-defining wrinkles – especially on my neck just above my collar!
But I could put up with that a lot better if I only had the money to have eyebrows done in permanent makeup (is that a tatoo?). I’m one of those aunts with the drawn-on eyebrows that Jeff Foxworthy talks about!!!
I used that story once in a sermon. I hope it is a true story. Preachers often pick up on things like that and never check them for truthfulness. As for your beauty … I think you are beautiful person and would say that having never seen you. You have a great spirit and have been a wonderful friend to me. You and Tom are blessed to have each other.
Josh is 28 and still has his 16-year-old picture on his Driver’s License.
Dee, I agree with Jel, your inner beauty shines through with the warmth of the summer sun. I think it is natural that we tend to worry over how we look, but society hasn’t helped matters any.
I’m still trying to lose a few more pounds. I have lost 25.5 since last July but have been at a stand still for a couple of months. Thankfully I haven’t put any of it back on. Now that the weather is starting to get nice again I can start walking and hopefully shedding a few more.
Oh, I forgot, I love that poem! Beautiful and touching.
Dee, I won’t get a cent if I you buy the product I am going to tell you about to give to your mother!
) PREVAGEN It is made from a jellyfish protein called aquaeporin (not sure of that spelling but can find out if it is important). It was actually developed with the thought of helping people with alzheimers. We all have that particular protein in our brain but as we age it is depleted. This happens to be the only dietary source. I had a rather young man buying it the other day. I could tell he’d used it before by reading his body language as he walked into the store and went right to the product. I asked if he could tell that it was helping. He said, “Lets just say that I can tell if I don’t take it” so I know he is getting some benefit from it. If you get it for her or have her to get it, I hope it helps with that short term memory problem.