5 Surprising Things I’ve Learned Traveling With My Mother
Let’s face it. The thought of getting older is scary. Being in my sixties feels surreal, especially since I was thirty last week. But there’s one person that always inspires me, leading the way through the dense, thorny thicket of the later years. And that’s my 80-something year old mom, Marilyn.– Since she was widowed two years ago, Mom and I have travelled many places, including Ireland, Florida, Kripalu Yoga Center in Stockbridge, MA and recently, Amherst, to see the Emily Dickinson museum.
I was proud of Mom, up bright and early for breakfast each morning. We took a horse-drawn carriage through Killarney, a boat trip off the Dingle Peninsula, and walked the Cliffs of Moher. The pace was fast, but she kept up. And there among the bodies was my Mom, performing downward dog and spinal twist. She’s been doing yoga a long time and it shows in her toned, shapely body. Damn, I thought to myself as I watched her settle into cobra pose, my mother’s cool.– In Vero Beach, Florida this past spring, we visited my pretty, silver-haired aunt Ann. It was lovely to spend time with two of my favorite women. Each morning we’d do our own thing. Mine was reading. Ann would catch up on her favorite television shows.
As always, we talk about everything. She’s deeply involved with her children, grandchildren, and extended family. I look at her and can’t help think how the later years are what we make of them. And yes, genes and health play a huge factor, but so does attitude. Since my beloved dad passed several years ago, my mother’s had to reinvent herself. She’s had to navigate life on her own terms, for the first time after a very close 60-year marriage.