The Shew View

Getting Old Still Ain't for Sissies

The U.S. population age 65 and over is expected to double in size within the next 25 years. By 2030, almost 1-out-of-5 Americans — some 72 million people — will be 65 years or older. The age group 85 and older is now the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. (Stats from census.gov)

But most older adults, especially baby boomers (76 million born between 1946-1964) already know what the challenges of growing older are. As with so many other things, we are learning through our parents. They are tackling aging with the same courage that got them through two world wars, a whipsawing economy, and rock-n-roll music inflicted by their young 'uns.

This has been brought home to me and my husband over the last four years. We each have one parent still living, and each parent has just enough health issues to require help with and oversight of their daily living needs.

Not only that, but dealing with the today's physicians, hospitals, and medical insurance systems requires a clear head, patience, determination, if not downright courage on occasion.

When my mother was hospitalized during the last month of her life, her doctor actually forced me to argue with him over the phone in her room. I had asked him for some explanations about the discharge process, and he kept putting me off to the nurses--they take care of all that, he said. Without raising my voice I told him that I wanted to hear it from HIM. He finally complied.

Do you have someone in your life who will take the time and energy on your behalf to probe, question, push back, explore and demand better care for you when you are not able to?

If you don't, what will you do about it?

This is something I'm working on too.

Quilting a New Year

My beloved Aunt Dorothy (my mom's sister) has always been a crafter and set the stage for my lifelong interest in similar hobbies. Besides buttons, the last thing I sewed was a dress to wear to a friend's wedding in the late 70's. Afterwards, I put my Singer sewing machine in mothballs and took up more portable hobbies such as crocheting and counted cross-stitch. 

Thanks to my friend, Minette, I discovered quilting in late 2003 and have not looked back. She has since set quilting aside and believes it was her destiny to bring me to quilting, though initially I went into it kicking and screaming. I already had more cross-stitch projects in progress than I could finish.

But, thankfully, she just ignored me and put together a little quilt kit for me from her own fabric stash and BeeHappyQuilting.com, her sister Barb's online quilt store. The kit was my birthday present that year.

In my usual style, I didn't dive into the project right away. I borrowed books on quilting from the library and bought quilting magazines. The magazine that convinced me this new hobby was for me is Fons and Porter's "Love of Quilting."

In early 2004 I completed my first quilt, shown above, from a Fons and Porter pattern. It was for Charlotte, the first child of the first child, Lisa, of my dear friend, Dale.

Since then I've made about 10 more and given all but 2 away. That seems to be the way with quilters.

One of my quilts has been in progress since about Oct 2003. It's a traditional pattern called Grandmother's Flower Garden (its "flowers" shown at right). It's best made by hand using hexagon templates around which you wrap and baste the fabric into shape. Then you sew the hexagons together. Once the fabric is cut up, it's a mindless project requiring only needle, thread, scissors, and very simple hand-sewing. Working on it is a perfect respite from my business, from technology, and from the world.

On the other hand, when it's finished, it will have over 5,000 hexagons in it, as I'm making it into a king-size quilt. This part continually teaches me that it's the journey that counts, not the finish line. It also teaches me how much progress you can make in an hour here and there over time.

This quilt project has sustained me through several years when we experienced heavy losses of family members and friends due to cancer or other illness. Making the 85 "flowers" has also accompanied me through great times. This quilt literally represents the many colors and pieces of my life. And it will help me quilt together the pieces and parts of this brand new year.