tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post3154894651794032493..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: Past Lives (#nostalgia #youth #NewEngland)Ashe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-12460808933705951272017-04-17T22:53:57.689-04:002017-04-17T22:53:57.689-04:00It's really a question of urban versus rural, ...It's really a question of urban versus rural, rather than high versus low-tech. <br /><br />I was reviewing my photos from our trip last night. New England is still exquisite. Tugs at my heart.Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-17412944346963234222017-04-17T22:52:52.428-04:002017-04-17T22:52:52.428-04:00What a great comment, Fiona! I clearly remember my...What a great comment, Fiona! I clearly remember myself at ten. But I'm not sure I could "become" that person again, even temporarily.Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-1683952559084589842017-04-16T20:57:30.033-04:002017-04-16T20:57:30.033-04:00Well said, Fiona. Lisabet, it's interesting th...Well said, Fiona. Lisabet, it's interesting that your life in an Asian country seems so much more convenient and high-tech than your previous life in the U.S.A. I remember a time when American (and Canadian, to a lesser extent) kids wanted to join the Peace Corps to see the world beyond the industrialized West. (Here in Sask, we have modern transportation & well-insulated houses in towns, but there is still enough raw wilderness fairly nearby to satisfy anyone who wants to visit.) Your feeling about the past, & your past self, seems sensible. IMO, youth is rarely a happy time.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-47105681088837842812017-04-16T20:10:29.941-04:002017-04-16T20:10:29.941-04:00I have told my own kids, and those I sub/tutor, th...I have told my own kids, and those I sub/tutor, that every age I've ever been still lives inside of me. I can "revert" and "be" that person again, if I want to. But usually I'm content to be the person I am now. <br /><br />When my kids were much younger, they really liked "10-year-old Fiona" to come out to play with them at the park. Then I'd make a big show of looking at my watch and saying in dismay, "Oh no! Time for dinner soon. Mom has to come back." They'd all chorus that they didn't want Mom back yet, but wanted to keep playing with young Fiona. I'd point out that unless Mom came back, we'd none of us get any dinner. Then they'd sigh and agree that food is a good thing.<br /><br />So you were revisiting the person you were at that age, but it's not who you are now. I don't think you need to judge yourself as "soft and lazy," or a "wimp." Instead you should smile with nostalgia at the younger woman you used to be, and be glad you can still access who she was. The pain of dementia is that it robs you of those previous selves. I saw that first-hand with my mom.<br /><br />There is a Doctor Who episode, "The 5 Doctors," in which the big bad guy of the episode is stealing all of the previous incarnations of the Doctor, and using them to play a forbidden game. With the loss of each one, the Doctor gets weaker. He says, "We are all the sum of the people we have been. I'm being diminished."<br /><br />So rejoice in your connection to your previous selves, without recrimination or guilt. And rejoice in who you have become. I didn't know you then, but I know you now. And I think you're pretty cool.Fiona McGierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13495707848048468428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-79052948455709875962017-04-16T08:17:51.991-04:002017-04-16T08:17:51.991-04:00That's an interesting notion, Garce. There'...That's an interesting notion, Garce. There's some continuity, but I do feel like a different person than the woman I was even fifteen years ago.Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-24333131557858505002017-04-16T08:17:05.375-04:002017-04-16T08:17:05.375-04:00Ah, Quabbin. Actually if anyone wants a taste of m...Ah, Quabbin. Actually if anyone wants a taste of my nostalgia for the area, they should read my paranormal novel NECESSARY MADNESS. Big chunks are set in Petersham, right on the shores of the reservoir.Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-82065975084140601342017-04-16T08:15:33.655-04:002017-04-16T08:15:33.655-04:00Thanks, Annabeth. I find a good deal of comfort in...Thanks, Annabeth. I find a good deal of comfort in the Buddhist idea that attachment causes suffering. Clinging to the past prevents us from moving forward. Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-69495435681104429682017-04-16T08:14:09.217-04:002017-04-16T08:14:09.217-04:00We were hardly pioneers. Though I do have chilly m...We were hardly pioneers. Though I do have chilly memories of several January nights when our furnace broke down (it always chose the coldest nights of the year!)<br /><br />It's scary how dependent we've gotten on being connected. I remember when DH and I used to travel for weeks at a time, with no contact whatsoever with remote friends or family. Didn't bother us at all.Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-75546519462899420132017-04-12T06:19:34.565-04:002017-04-12T06:19:34.565-04:00Everything in life seems so transitory at our age ...Everything in life seems so transitory at our age in a way it never can when we're young. Everything seemed so important then. I've always thought this was the best evidence of reincarnation, just the fact that we've already been so many different people even in just this one life.<br /><br />Garce<br />Garceushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11160407485298015371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-42094330197625490132017-04-11T21:39:18.571-04:002017-04-11T21:39:18.571-04:00I'm firmly rooted in almost the same area as y...I'm firmly rooted in almost the same area as you were, as you know, Lisabet, but closer to Amherst (5 to 10 minutes) and with miles of woods behind me, first Amherst watershed land, and then Quabbin Reservoir. But for all that this is my home, my dreams are much more likely to take place in the home I grew up in many miles away. (Often with my mother still alive, and my dog, and, oddly, the stress of getting to the school bus on time.) Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-25883641123101711502017-04-11T08:27:57.591-04:002017-04-11T08:27:57.591-04:00"I had a sense of loss, but no desire to go b..."I had a sense of loss, but no desire to go back."<br /><br />As Rhode says, the piece is beautifully written, and I'm moved to read it. I am also impressed by what I quoted above. I wish I felt that way more often, but I'm usually attempted by a desire to go back. I think it speaks to a strong sense of self-possession and identity to feel secure in the way things are now and who you are now. <br /><br />Also, no need for machismo. All the driving and such is hard, and exhausting, and worrying. It makes sense to me to feel relieved that you don't have to do it anymore!Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-67116428612235712612017-04-10T20:52:07.003-04:002017-04-10T20:52:07.003-04:00During our twenties Momma and I also lived as pion...During our twenties Momma and I also lived as pioneers in 70's Mendocino county without electricity, nine miles from the nearest pay phone. Yeah, it was a pain in the ass to get anything accomplished, but energy wasn't the commodity it is now, so it was a terrific experience.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-62937736459654428232017-04-10T13:44:22.616-04:002017-04-10T13:44:22.616-04:00Hello, Rhode,
Thanks for your comments and compli...Hello, Rhode,<br /><br />Thanks for your comments and compliment. I agree completely. I've had an amazing life, with many changes. I cherish all the stages, but I wouldn't want to go back. Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-91393450453426487512017-04-10T08:41:53.751-04:002017-04-10T08:41:53.751-04:00Beautifully written. And a happy thought. Too ofte...Beautifully written. And a happy thought. Too often our culture teaches us to think of youth with a sense of loss only. I suspect just as with relationships, jobs and homes, each part of life was both good and bad and not deserving of ceaseless mourning when it's over. Rhode Redhttps://mobile.twitter.com/rhoderedpvdnoreply@blogger.com