Other Goals and Such Adventures

One of my other goals for 2012 is to learn to play the piano.

I had a few years of lessons when I was around 7 and 8 years old, but hated it, of course, as most kids do. Now I totally regret not learning the piano, of course, as most adults do. I have wanted to learn for awhile and this year I decided to start taking lessons again. Luckily my 1st counsellor, Dani (shown on the right in the picture below), plays and teaches piano (check out her blog because she is also an amazing photographer!). Perfect! I've already had two lessons and am learning the notes. My goal is to at least be able to play the hymns in the simplified hymn book. I have a long way to go, but am learning fast. I can play a really simple version of Jingle Bells already!

Onto the current events! On Wednesday the YW made headbands and hair accessories. They love this activity. We have some creative girls.

The girls and their wears.

The 2 hair clips I made. Super easy and fun.

Last night David and I saw The Iron Lady.

David had been wanting to see this movie for awhile. It is all about Margaret Thatcher (the first female prime minister of Britain). The movie was very good. Not everyone's cup of tea (British humor intended), but very well done. Meryl Streep plays an uncanny Margaret. Seriously, she is so good.

Meryl as Margaret:

Margaret herself:

Surprisingly, this movie was very emotional for me. The way it was done was very touching and made me really think about the life of a woman. Every old lady you see has a story. A whole life of experiences that most people will never know or understand. All we usually see as youth is an old person who is out of touch with what is going on in the world today, when in actuality that old person understands more about the world than youth will for years to come. The elderly are, in most cases, written off as spent and of no use, doomed to live out the remainder of their years in a "home" or with family who undervalues them and doesn't know how to relate with them. The irony of that is, who better to relate to you and understand you than someone who has lived through most things one can live through in a lifetime? What we don't realize or think of is the amazing life that has been lived. Years of invaluable experience and knowledge that are hidden behind wrinkles and thinning hair. Thousands of untold emotions, feelings, experiences, thoughts, and stories.

As I get older (and I am by no means old), age is something I think about more and more. Aging is something that has been twisted in our society to mean something bad. If you are old you are somehow ugly, of no use, and senile. The reality is that with age comes wisdom, knowledge, acceptance, patience, calm, and endurance. How are these bad things? Now I'm not saying that getting old isn't without it's pitfalls. My mother would be the first to tell you that having your body fall apart on you is no fun. I've had other older folk express to me the strangeness of passing by a mirror and not recognizing that old person reflected back as themselves, but that is why the aged require the youthful and the youthful require the aged. We need each other. Youth needs the wisdom that can be passed down to them from decades of living. Age needs strong legs and hearts that are willing to listen and help with work that is still required.

Both of David's grandmothers are alive and in their 90's. I love talking to them. They have both lived and are still living extraordinary lives. I have grandparents that are alive today and some that passed before I ever knew them. I have loved getting to know the ones I have had the chance to and can't wait to get to know and hear the stories of the others in the next life. I guess this is all way journaling and genealogy is so important, right? So we can learn from each other.

Anyway! Random tangent over. The Iron Lady was a good movie. The end.