So I am dealing once again with another loss. Grief truly is a more constant companion as I age. I have lost friends, lovers, family, and pets.

I retired at the end of May and two weeks later lost one of my two 17 year old kitties. This hit me and my remaining kitty very hard. I tried my best to comfort my remaining kitty (as well as myself). There is something quite unique about the loss of an animal companion (I intend to write more about this at some point). And this week I found out that my kitty who is still with me now has liver cancer and the prognosis is not good. I feel such a deep ache inside that cannot ever be adequately described with words. With my kitty that I lost in June, I feel that I allowed the vet to talk me into putting him down too quickly. It was the perfect storm – a weekend night (so I was at the emergency vet and not my regular vet) . I could not go into the clinic due to COVID. The clinic was swamped, so I waited outside in my car all night long, to be told that my kitty was very sick and it was time to let him go. I believe that he was sick, but I also think that I could have brought him home and done it differently. I regret that. I now have my other kitty who I can see slowly declining. The vet and I talked about my just continuing to watch him to assess if he gets uncomfortable and then to talk about when it is time to let him go. That’s something else I will write more about – how do we make such a decision…? When do we allow a natural death? When do we hasten death?

So I have the gift of spending a bit more precious time with my sweet fur companion. Pets have taught me a deeper kind of love than I had known (I have no children). They have come into my heart in a way that no one else can. I am in grief, and in gratitude for the time we have spent together. I dread losing him before the holidays, but tell him to just let me know when it is time. I don’t want him to suffer. I will miss him so deeply.

This is one of the challenges that we take on when we bring a pet into our home and our lives. One that I do not regret, although this is such a painful process to go through. I live alone so the loss will feel so very intense as my house will feel empty. Will I get another kitty? I don’t know yet – I need to grieve this loss first, and then decide if I want to sign up for this process once again. I am thinking that I may…..I love living with pets and coming home to them waiting for me. I love sleeping with their warm furry bodies next to me. This ache is becoming so familiar…the ache of loss, the ache of death.

Indeed, I am working on getting my own affairs in order….working on my Advance Directive and what my wishes are for when my time comes. It’s so strange to be making plans about my own death. And yet I know it is important, so that my wishes are hopefully followed.

Each loss, each goodbye, each ending – all make me realize more and more how precious each moment is. How I need to fully live while I still can. And appreciate it all. I think that the grief carves out room in our hearts to really open. It hurts to open that deeply. And yet…I believe that it hurts more to stay closed and shut down. So, here I am …..in grief, and feeling the ache of love. And grateful for the experience and for being able to feel all the feelings. It is part of this ride of life that we are on.

It’s Monday morning after the election results have finally been formally projected. We will have a new president. And he (and we) will have much work to do. We are a nation divided, one group against another. This will not sustain us or move us forward. We must come together, slowly, carefully….but deliberately. I respect all of our rights to our opinions and to vote for who we choose. The choice has been made (and I am grateful for that particular choice) and it is time to get to the work of becoming Americans united again. This is where our power lies. This is who we really are deep down. A country that has formed from all different people from all nations….not perfectly, for sure…..but it is our heritage and history and dream. There is so much more power in love than hate.

It is the same with all the various divisions and groups that each of us may belong to. I am a women, aging, daughter of immigrants. To see a woman in the White House as a Vice President is something that brings tears to my eyes. She is a woman of mixed race, daughter of immigrants. She is all of us. She brings us all with her.

I see an older president. To take on this job at the age of 78 is mind boggling. And yet he does. And it is, from what I perceive, a man with a heart, soul, compassion, persistence, kindness and patience. A man who has known pain in his life and can understand and empathize. A man who, I believe, really does have the greater good as his purpose. Our country (and the world) has been starving for this. He has a hard road ahead of him, but at least he is on the road. His age brings gifts – patience, understanding, and a quiet persistent strength. He did not give up. Neither should we.

We all have much to contribute and say. Let’s begin coming to the table and listening to each other. Let this Thanksgiving be the time we come to that table as a country that needs to sit down together…all generations and colors and beliefs and genders…..we have so much more in common than those things that divide us. We can do this.

So we are still waiting to find out the election results. I know that we are all aware of the tumultuous times that we are in, and this is another example. And so we wait…and wait….and wait – because that is all that we can do.

This makes me think of the patience that we can acquire as part of the aging process. It’s interesting for me to notice that the older that I get, the more patience that I seem to have for the important things as well as for things that I cannot control. And I notice the less patience I have with things (and perhaps some people) that do not seem to nourish my soul. But…for the important things, I have lived long enough to learn that waiting is a part of life, and also a part of wisdom. You cannot rush some things. You must wait.

And so one question becomes how do you wait? What quality do you give that time? How do you navigate the space of waiting? Can you be patient and trust that the process takes whatever time that it takes, and have trust and faith in the process? Can you remember that there are things and circumstances that you cannot control? To obsess about these results in only more stress for you, but doesn’t help the situation. How do you navigate the uncertain and in-between parts of your life? How can we learn and be gentle and kind with ourselves and others? How can we live life in the times of uncertainty? Because, and I see this more with my aging process, life is full of uncertainties. And how we handle that helps define our character as well as how we get to experience our lives. And how we learn how to connect rather than to allow tensions and uncertain times divide us from each other. We are together in this process of life. Take a deep breath. We can and will get through this…..together. This too shall pass and life will go on. May it do so peacefully, with kindness, grace and human compassion.

It’s Monday morning….the Monday before election day. I have anxiety about the outcome and anxiety about possible reactions to whatever the outcome will be. It is a tense time for our country and for the world. Election year in the midst of a pandemic and much civil unrest as well as raging fires here in California and other environmental disasters everywhere. I believe that our country is in deep trauma. The world is experiencing deep trauma. And it will take us time to heal in every sense of that word.

We are a resilient people. We are survivors. Although divided, I believe (and want to believe) that we can come together again. That we can heal the divisions that have been encouraged. That we can rise to become what we are capable of becoming. Becoming what I see every day in small acts of kindness. Random acts of love. We have much to heal. We can do this.

As I continue on my life’s journey, I can recall how much we have healed throughout history, and I throughout my own history. We have more that connects us than divides us. We just need to remember that. Democrats, Republicans…. Black, White, Asian or Hispanic….women, men,….older, younger…. We are all human trying to do what we can with the lives that we have been given. We can do this. Together.

So I was part of a zoom meeting recently where different ages of women come together to offer their perspectives and experiences, which is lovely. One of the women, who is actually a few years younger than I, referred to herself as “older than dirt”. I, when it was my turn to speak, blindly went along and referred to myself that way as well. It felt awful, but familiar. It was not until another women of our generation spoke up about it and refused that label…it was only then that my awareness woke up. It saddens me that we (I included) can so easily accept derogatory labels in the name of laughing at ourselves. We hear what we say to ourselves. Our Spirit hears this. It’s time to speak lovingly to ourselves, to appreciate our years and wisdom. Yes, of course we all need to laugh at ourselves, but not in ways that slowly erode our self concept and definition and invite others to see us this way as well. We need to be careful of our language, especially toward ourselves. We deserve so much better. Yes, I am older -and will write about all the ways that this shows up. But, I will not call myself names just to get a laugh….not at the expense of how I define myself. Not any more.

As an aging woman, and a writer, I am here to explore and share this journey with all of its many flavors…pitfalls, sorrows, joys, challenges, delights, surprises…all with a dose of humor along the way. And I encourage and welcome others to join me, share their journeys, and be part of a community of support and shared experiences.