If I was a football game I would be entering the fourth quarter of life. I am 76 today. At times I feel like Marvin the depressed robot from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. "Life. Don't talk to me about life."
A lot has happened in these 76 years.
° Eisenhower was President.
° NASA opened for business
° Martin Luther King had a dream.
° Martin Luther King was assassinated.
° John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
° We walked on the moon.
° We are on Mars.
° We fought wars in Korea and Vietnam.
° We elected our first black President.
I came into the world with a tornado hitting the other side of town. The big earthquake in Alaska hit on my birthday. I guess you could call me a force of nature.
I was a caregiver to my mother who never liked me. I was too independent. My interests were totally different from hers. She didn't like the way I cooked. I used too many spices. I wasted time on art that wouldn't sell according to her. When she got old and her health was failing it was her only daughter who put her stuff in storage and moved in and took care of her not the four sons she doted on. It wasn't until the end of her life that she realized her daughter had worth.
I was caregiver to my younger brother Reid. He ignored his diabetes and destroyed his health. I taught myself to cook heart and diabetes healthy to get him to eat right. I am finishing up my first cookbook that I started when he was alive. As difficult as he could be I miss having him around. I was the last person he saw when he was dying and I held his hand for eight hours until he passed away.
My body is slowing down with the arthritis and COPD. My mind remains active. I still write here. I am still creating recipes. I am writing a Steampunk novel. I am selling scarves and jewelry off of my Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/michele.wilson.796. I sell my art and photography at Fine Arts America at https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-michele-wilson
My second grade teacher Mrs. Bluestein wrote on my report card; "Take a look at her art!" For me art is my life. I am always happiest when I have a paintbrush in my hand. I am an expressionist painter. I paint the visions inside my mind. I also do graphic art. You can find some of it at https://artbymichelewilson.com/art.htm
I write poetry. You can find some of it at https://artbymichelewilson.com/poetry.htm.
I write fantasy short stories. You can find some of it at https://artbymichelewilson.com/storyindex.htm
I love to cook. I am a self taught cook. My mother really couldn't cook. Dinner was out of a can or a box. My Dad once introduced me to a friend saying, "This is my daughter Michele. She is the finest cook I've ever known." This was a man who traveled a lot and ate at fine dining restaurants. You can find some of my recipes at https://artbymichelewilson.com/recipes.htm
As I enter the fourth quarter I'm struggling financially. You work all your life and the social security they take out of your check doesn't keep up with the cost of living. I can eat only because I have SNAP.
One thing I do have though is the will to keep on going. I have my cat, the Pampered Princess Pixie, to keep me company.
One thing I am looking forward to is more space discoveries. I want to see a man on Mars. And for heaven's sake get back to Saturn's moon Enceladus since it has the building blocks of life.