Clinton Township Newsletter

1 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 Someone recently told me, "I hope when I get old I'll be in as good shape as you are." It took a brief second to realize she considered me to be OLD. How totally ridiculous is that? Occasionally I detect a symptom or two of oldness… rising from a prone position during a yoga class, trekking to the bathroom at 3:00 am and dozing in my rocking chair at 3:00 pm. But c'mon, even if the body doesn't come to attention quite as regu - larly as in previous years, the mind is functioning quite favorably. I've made peace with how things are (not so much of what is yet to come). Mostly when I read or hear about how I'm in need of ma- jor repair, it's someone trying to sell a new wrinkle cream or magic inserts for sneakers that would suggest they could run without me. Improving myself isn't on the agenda anymore. Yoga and Tai Chi are for fun and sociability. My bulging belly and I have been best friends for over 8 decades. After all, it is regularly filled with so much good stuff (Breyer's Caramel Gelato, prime ribs and Zinfandel). I walk my 2 miles on the treadmill each morning not to prolong life, but to jolly well embellish the life I have. I get to do pretty much what I want. I've been known to climb out of bed after a sleepless hour or two and, at 2:00 am, indulge in a tasty snack while playing loud music on the Bose or running the Electrolux over my wood floors. (Thanks, always, to Bill Martin). Occasionally I watch Netflix movies or play on the computer. Nobody tells me to stop. Nobody cares! I still venture out in shorts (not the short-short ones) and don't mind the pitying glances from other Stop and Shop customers half my age. If they're lucky, they'll get older too. When I see ads for the "Hot Trends" in fashion for each season, I LOL and embrace my styleless wardrobe with its time-tested, comfortable garments. Gray hairs are the result of too much worrying. I re - gret so much time wasted on guilt for things I'd have done differently – or not done at all! Time wasted on fretting about a future that usually produces more positive results than predicted. The grooves in my face are from laugh lines. Too many folks don't know what a sense of humor is. I've survived teenage acne, menstrual cramps, childbirth, lost loves, the deaths of family, husbands and friends. And I've gained per - spective, strength and compassion. Sometimes I ponder whether to renew my Good Housekeeping subscription for one or three years. Most always, I go for the long run. I'd so like to reach 90!!! "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy Last Christmas, my daugh- ter gave me a beautiful, hand- painted wooden sign which states, "It's All Good." I know that phrase makes some of you cringe. Some of you even outright hate it. You might be on the same page as my analytical husband. He jokingly affixed a sticky note to the sign so that it read, "It's All 11% Good." While I tend to be optimis - tic, I'm realistic enough to know that it is not "all" good, nor has it ever been. And yet, I do believe that it's way more than 11% good. If I were analytical, I'd put the "good" coefficient at more than half the relative mean difference, which would look something like this: This month has me thinking of all of the things I'm grateful for, and the list is long. Topping my list, as always, would be "people." Family, friends, neighbors, our readers... some of you I've known forever, many of you I've never met... I'm grateful for all of you. I'm incredibly grateful that, for this day, my spouse and my kids are happy and healthy. I'm grateful for my parents, step-parents and my in-laws (who are like my second-parents). I'm grateful for Ruth (and her late husband Fred) who feel like yet another set of parents for me – a really humorous set, at that. I'm grateful for my actual siblings – and for the many of you whom I've known for so long that you now seem like siblings. I'm grateful for the chance, interesting short conversations with strangers who I will likely never see or talk to again, yet have been touched by nevertheless. Perusing the news of the day always has me thinking, "Thank good- ness we live in the U.S.A." I know – our country isn't perfect. Far from it. But, my goodness, compared to what's going on in some of the rest of the world, we are extremely lucky to be here... and not there. For that matter, we're also extremely blessed to live in Hunterdon County. You-all are healthier, wealthier and wiser than the majority of people in the entire country. Plus, this county is just flat-out gorgeous, to boot. I try never to get religious on you, but the topic of giving thanks reminds me of a conversation I had many years ago in college with a good friend, Mitch. Mitch was damn-near genius, a bit pessimistic and an atheist. A group of us were discussing deep topics late at night – pretty typical for college. Anyway, the subject at hand was the existence of God. Mitch argued, "How, Julie, can you believe there is a God when there are so many horrible things happening in the world?!" I countered with, "Mitch, how can you believe there isn't a God when there are so many incredible, beautiful and wonderful things happening in the world?" He conceded with, "Good point." I'm telling you this not to sway you in any way religiously. I respect your beliefs... or lack thereof. I just want to remind you that when you feel your life might not be "all good," I'm guessing it is (dare I say it) probably much more than 11% good. Unfortunately for Mitch, he completely lost that realization and, a couple of years ago, decided to end it. So Mitch, I sincerely hope you are resting in peace. I hope the rest of you are truly able to give thanks, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving too. C L I N T O N T O W N S H I P N e w s l e t t e r ® N ov e m b e r 2014 EDITOR'S COLUMN b y J u l i e F ly N N Thankful To Be "Old" b y r u t h K e e s i N g –Julie Fl�nn J u l i e F ly N N, e d i t o r Since 1982 (Just kidding – I have no idea what this means.)

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