Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Okay, Now I'm Old


I'm still using my 49th year, and I got my invitation to join AARP, the big senior citizens lobby. To underscore the point, my baby turned 16. I remember him when he a a sweet chubby-cheeked baby, and now he's a hard-edged local rock star. Here's a clipping from a newspaper story about a recent gig. I was cool at one time, now I'm cool's mom.

That's my baby with the microphone.



I had a wonderful time at my Labor Day reunion with my circle of college girlfriends. (That's me in the back with the pink blouse.) The years mean nothing when you're with people who shared important times with you. We were undergrads together at a fancy schmancy women's college. Out of a student body of 900, there were never more than 20 Chicana (Mexican American) students there at any one time, so we were drawn together by our common experiences as working class daughters of immigrant parents or grandparents and by our shared experience as first-generation college students. Few people expected us to end up in college in those days, much less at the fancy schmancy women's college, but with each other's support, and with the support of our teachers and mentors (the grayer folks in the photo) we have all done well. We knew the responsibility we bore to our communities as college grads, so many of us work in education as teachers, librarians, or administrators. It's wonderful to realize how stong the bonds of friendship are after all these years.

In the quilting department, I'm working very slowly on my hand embellished crazy quilt. I'm not sure I want to finish it, so I'm not hurrying to work on it right now. I've also been trying to catch up on my journal quilts for this year, and I've "made up" 3 months that I'd not yet done. I wonder if it counts as a journal entry if you do it 3 months late? I'll have pictures soon.

4 comments:

Debra Dixon said...

I hope you are ready for the day Rocker Dude comes home with his first tattoo. Each one of my sons' tattoos have been a crying spell for me & then I get it out of my system & we move on.

It's wonderful that you have kept up with your friends from college and that you all have made a difference. Breaking the cycle is so important. Bravo!

Nice to have you back blogging too!
(I had to use madonna gals because of your settings. I switched to beta blogger.) ~~~Debra

Rian said...

Great photos! Love the one of Baby Rocker. We all know looks are deceiving, especially with the tattoo'd generation. I'm sure he's as sweet and lovely as can be.

That crazy quilt will be there waiting for you when the time is right.

Granny Fran said...

Honey, You are definitely not old, in spite of Cool Rocker Dude(who is pretty cute)and AARP. Fine group of college friends, good for all of you doing what you did!

I love the unexpected embellishments on your CQ, such as the flowery steer head (we can call him Ferdinand).

allie aller said...

Nice to see you back here, Barbara!
Your son looks full of passion
for his art...pretty darn great.

You gals look so stong there collectively. What an inspiration you all are...

...and as for that CQ...you know, they have the capacity to hibernate for many months or even years between stints of embellishment. In fact, they don't like to be rushed!

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