For years, I didn’t even wear panties. Gross, I know. But I was young and stupid and evidently gross. But then in my late 20s, someone turned me on to white cotton “granny” panties.  (They didn’t turn ME on, but they turned HIM on, so I wore them and continue to do so today…even though HE is long gone.)

Some people obsess over panties—to the point that they match their panties to their outfit, and they only buy designer brands at certain stores. I’ve seen some of those string things they pay lots of money for. But that’s just not me… I consider them utilitarian: something that needs to function well but nothing more.

So this year, I decided to UPSIZE my cheap Fruit of the Loom undies from a size 7 to a size 8.  The top right corner of the package reads:

X-LARGE

E-GRANDE

T-GRAND

Now, I’m not bilingual, but I’m smart enough to know what the tag means. It was bad enough having to upsize, but do I really need to be reminded in 3 languages that I’m FAT?  :(

If you’re an occasional visitor to my blog or you don’t know me well, you might assume I think everything about getting old is funny. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m actually serious most of the time and can cry at the drop of a hat. (Okay, maybe that’s menopause…who knows?)  Anyway, if you’re expecting my usual humorous post, come back some other time because “humor” isn’t on the menu today.  And if I’ve blogged about this before—well, I don’t remember doing it so I’ll blame that on menopause, too!

I’ve been thinking about serious things lately—perhaps partly because my mom would have celebrated her 82nd birthday next week. Partly, too, because I’ve been praying for my friend Greta (aka YaYa), who lost her mom not long ago, and my friend Susan, who recently learned she must have brain surgery.

I’m not sure about Greta and Susan, but I am guilty of avoiding serious conversations. Before Mom died, I didn’t tell her often enough how much I loved her. Oh, sure, she knew. But I didn’t say it enough. I didn’t tell her how much I’d miss her when she was gone. Even when she was in the hospital and still conscious, I wouldn’t let her talk about dying when she wanted to. I justified that by thinking we should remain positive, but in retrospect, I think she knew her time was up and I was unwilling to accept that.

The point of my babbling is simply to encourage you to leave nothing unsaid. Tell people you love them. Tell them what you love most about having them in your life and what memories you treasure most. Tell them something they don’t know—how you’ve secretly always wanted to write a book or that you once took belly dancing lessons. These are the conversations they’ll mentally replay over and over someday.

It doesn’t hurt to also throw in some less significant things, like your Facebook password or where the important papers are or how to load the dishwasher (if you’re like me and anal about things like that).

But please—tell them the good stuff.  Soon and often.

• a disorderly heap or assemblage; litter
• confused noise; clatter
• a state or condition of confusion

I’ve gradually reached a point where I am beginning to clear the clutter in my life. Some of it is simply an accumulation of things—too many objects gathering dust. Each of these things must have brought me joy at one time or another or I wouldn’t have hung onto them. But now the joy is gone. They have become litter, and I’ve begun to aggressively thin out these “things” by selling or donating them.

Another type of clutter that has bothered me recently is technology. I realize the world is changing—and far too rapidly for my liking—but I’m rather tired of being “connected” all the time. Watching husband struggle with learning to use a laptop at work, combined with my own inability to keep up with the latest gadgets, makes me wonder, “When will it stop? Why can’t we just go back to the old days when things were simpler?” So I’m clearing out the technological clutter, too. I recently cut way back on our TV choices, and I hope to downgrade our cell phones this week. I’m even considering putting up a clothesline. Seriously!

Finally, I have grown weary of emotional clutter. I’ve worked long and hard all my life, and I’ve dealt with more nastiness than I ever thought possible. I simply don’t have the energy (or desire) to deal with people who thrive on confusion (you know the type: they routinely stir the pot), so I started early last year to free myself from some of those relationships. It’s an ongoing process…  If that means I grow old alone, so be it. At least I like myself  (most of the time), so I’ll enjoy the company I keep!

Do you have clutter in your life?  Are you doing anything about it? Think on these things…

The air was crisp and the moon provided just enough light for me to watch him walk away. As he did, I sobbed out loud, and the salty tears stung my flesh as they traversed their way down my cheeks and dropped onto my coat.  He returned a few moments later, cradling our smallest furbaby. Despite her size, she had the biggest and flashiest personality. She knew she was cute…and she knew he liked her best.

Her favorite spot to sleep during the winter months was nestled in a pile of hay in the back of the pickup when it was parked in the garage.  It seemed fitting, then, that husband thoughtfully arranged a bed of hay in the shallow hole.  He laid her small body atop the hay before slowly dragging the soil back over to fill in the grave.

We walked back to the house in silence. So long, Fluffy Girl. You were a beautiful kitten that grew into a charmer.  You stole our hearts.  We will miss you.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,100 times in 2010. That’s about 12 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 59 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 314 posts. There were 21 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was September 24th with 61 views. The most popular post that day was GLAD about this.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, edensgang.blogspot.com, blogged.com, mail.yahoo.com, and boards.cruisecritic.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for women over 50, naked women over 50, hairy over 50, hairy women over 50, and www.womenover50.com.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

GLAD about this July 2008
1 comment

Hairy women over 50 (and more)… April 2010
3 comments

Getting naked November 2009

Welcome to “Old Lady-dom” September 2009
1 comment

Why old women need old men March 2010
3 comments