Stephanie's Studio

 "Moonlight Beach with Gulls," pastel, Stephanie Rose Bird, 2015                                                                               Gathering with family, being with friends and loved ones--what could be better? My in-laws are getting on in age. My mother-in-law just turned 85. I had the pleasure of celebrating her birthday with her, a bit early but still, along with the rest of the family. There is a gentleness and knowing that comes with age, at least in her case. It's very touching. I hope to get there. In addition to celebrating with her, I also spent time with my husband's father, brothers and my sisters-in-law. His older brother and our sister-in-law came all the way over from England. We had fun reconnecting. All of my children, apart from one who is working on the...

I've been reading about calorie creep, as I try to stave off the 52 pounds I've lost over the past year. (More in posts to come). What about age creep? We've heard about age creeping up. Is there anything we can do about it? Are we victims of the process? Can we be willing, joyful participants? I hadn't really thought of myself in conjunction with ageing much until I applied and was accepted into the anthology  Age Ain't Nothing but a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife . The anthology edited by Carleen Brice, features the works of 43 contributors, including highly regarded authors and poets such as: Nikki Giovanni, Alice Walker, Susan L. Taylor, Rita Dove, Terry McMillan, Gloria Naylor, Maya Angelou and Pear Cleage. It was published in 2003--12 twelve years ago! Yes, age has steadily been creeping up on me. I've always loved T.S. Eliot as you can see by my post:  Celebrating Poetic Genius: T.S. Eliot , posted around this time last year. What did he mean...