I am Wonder Woman. I wonder how time flies more quickly as an adult. It seems as if watermelon and new white sneaker season lasted ad infinitum. Brand new blue loose leaf folders, colored tabs to divide social studies from algebra and colorful pencil holders already? Do you remember new commercials for Fall tv shows advertised in July? Did Ginsburgs and Wechslers sport alpacas and madras blouses second week in July? Help me out on this one Julia’s . Did the street lights go on so much earlier in the summer then they do now? Father Time slow down dude we need to take a breath. I wonder when self help books turned into “recalibrating the soul” GPS style. If you don’t say that this could happen, if you do this perhaps a better outcome. No one taught us life on lifes terms when they waited to pay for our new dress to wear to Temple for the holidays. We now speed dial our way to becoming more evolved. Hot rock massages, bikram yoga and acupressure lead the way to mojitos, Guacamole toast and red velvet cupcakes. 

I wonder where the days of climbing the monkey bars, wearing very tight white rubber bathing caps to ward off the chlorine effects when we swam and ring dings went? 

If the line was busy you called your friend back to tell her about the new colored bangle bracelet you got and how well dressed your Barbie will be the next time she comes over to play. 

So as the Sunday before August rears it’s head why not “turn the beat around and “stop thinking about tomorrow,”- hey look how far it got us. I think I’ll i tune my way through the half an hour on the treadmill, eat my half of everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and “let the memories live again.” Only this time I’ll sing along as Frankie Valli croons late December back in “63” in my ear. Make it a good one “peeps.” “Oh what a night.”

Unapologetic and ambitious with a rich inner self. The parlance of my inner voice often gets out bid by insecurity, self blame and a low sense of worth. Well you know what-with a mustering up of strength and determination I move to say “look the other way mamala,” kick the crap out of those random flies at Your picnic in life. Let’s do it Monday!

Mah Jongg My Mother’s Game?So many of the old adages are now living at my front door. Cliches that I never got, couldnt internalize or just wasnt ready for have now come into play with regularity. Fortuitously, they serve as the bettor at our Mah-jongg table. More forgiving and grateful, less verbalizing differences seems to be our new posture. We sit down and the magic occurs. First game out we adjust our seat, call on our strategy and throw “the dice.” We leave so much more to chance. No more rebuffing what is, just fact and acceptance feel like the right path to take. We flinch at the first interference in our game of Life–and in turn almost welcome it. A phone call from someone’s kid sharing the joy over their daughter’s ballet recital is typical. An interruption because the deocrator went to the wrong place, perhaps. The bell ringing when the handyman comes to prepare the terrace for planting. We pool our woes and share our joys. Are we lucky or have we turned happenstance into “sheer” delight?

My parents had an activity with their weekly group of couples called “Coffee and…” I am now getting that the “and” was so much more than cheese danish or chocolate babka.

I love our “and.” When I was younger and had a piece of chicken. I would eat the wings last. I savored the best for then. I now sit down to our chicken lunch and go for the wings first. I decided it’s because I cant wait to get back to what we came for. I know that the real reason I enjoy this activity is because it recapitulates my parents activity of continuity. Well here’s to so many more days of Mah Jongg “And.”

I woke up had oatmeal and was 65. The good times like the bouncing dots of a text message being replied to have flown by. Luckily, I have built a lovely little corner for them in the attic of my mind. They are always there to call upon. Reliable, friendly and filled with warmth. Haven’t you read a book twice? You know what’s coming, but for the race of your heart and the a-ha moments that gentle recapitulation offers. The cost of admission worth every penny heads up that I’ve saved to gain entrance. Through very little provocation I tap into them. I share the euphoric recall thru a posted picture that I carry with me in my eyes only. That one moment in time that brought pink to my cheeks, that offered a glow to last a lifetime. Her look, his smile like a first kiss, daring and passionate. A job well done and a memory worth the wait. And then, like the fleeting moment of the Robin Red Breast sitting upon your lawn who just stopped to announce Spring it goes.Luckily a new day to create a new moment. Polaroid that feeling  that lunch with your old friend’s offers. Document the look on a young child’s face when they jump into a cool swimming pool on a hot summer day. Today I will steal a glimpse when my #niecestopieces bites into her “Instant Heart Attack” with turkey sandwich from the Second Avenue Deli.. Don’t worry that picture is all mine! Make a memory today that will last a lifetime. 

Three’s on the Fourth. In fairy tales three is considered the magical number. The third test or the third try deemed the moment to overcome difficulties when presented to heroes and heroines. In rituals, actions are performed three times. The tripod of Life is represented with three joining rings, known as the Borromeam Rings. They symbolize the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. In Irish folklore, if you catch a Leprechaun and set him free, he will grant you three wishes. The Rosetta Stone is written in three scripts used during ancient Egypt. The three wise monkeys, also know as the mystic apes- hence, the proverbial principle “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.Adages galore- three on a match, threes a crowd, three is company- third times a charm, three coins in a fountain-counting to three. Hip, hip hooray. Away we go.

Succulents, sunshine, sushi– bubbles, bangles and beads–perfume, parties and pizza, fantasies, flowers, friendship- candy, carousels and contentment-

My three wishes, going forward on this fourth day of July is for Faith, Wisdom and Courage. Sounds like a winning trifecta in the trimester for –The Land of the Free, because of the Brave. 

I love tapping into “us” in our shorthand language. A minute turns into our lifetime. Minutes not fleeting as they become etched somewhere in our hour glass of never ending sand time. Wishful thinking – as that’s how so many evolved dreams begin, albeit  seldom seen through to reality. Here’s to always opening our door on the coattails of closings. 1967.

Norman Lear’s line in Carl Reiner’s documentary on aging “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast,” says so much. His credo is find your “hammock” and live in the “now.” As he sees it the transition of time in between the “ok it’s over, to what’s next, is when his productivity kicked in. 

HBO launched the show, catch it if you can. Mel Brooks is funny, Dick Van Dyke dances, Norman Lear is brilliant,  Carl Reiner hosts. They are all Nonagenarians.

A big take away message is if you spend too much time working off disappointments and complications you will be one miserable soul. Excuses hold no water when they are used without discretion. Limiting your “woe is me’s” gives you more time to go for the gold. Get hugged, get attention where the tariff is reciprocal and strong. “And I love you so.”

The future might be an assumption but when you “find yourself in times of trouble ,” find your version of Mother Mary and become the ambassador of your estate. One thing the long “livers”had in common, whether or not eat chopped “liver” and french fries was a mainstay, is that they fell in love with lots of things. They attached passion to many things a lot. Cole Porter, hit it- “The night is young, the skies are clear/ So if you want to go walking dear. / It’s delightful, its de-lovely, its delirious. Shout out to Yo for the blog title. Make it a good one!

Dear G-d- I hope your plan is bigger than my dream. When you can’t see you can see even more. When the debris floats to the top and you are making your way through murky waters remembering what you didn’t do for others is tantamount to collecting injustices. High road always has less traffic. Can’t get to the good for a split second in time, rather than getting nailed in place go to neutral. Often you won’t make decisions in neutral that you will regret after the storm. Working off mistakes and living through complications either takes you down or adds another flower to your branch, another branch to your trunk. With an added ring at your base, you have the opportunity to stand taller, breathe deeper and embrace adversity as a growth spurt. We may not live forever but learning how to fly gives you your own sense of “Fame.” 

“We’ll meet you in the middle, we’ll meet you in the air.”Vibrations count! Find your table of people – 4-5 whatever the number. We root when someone else wins- and don’t view it as our lose. We cry when one of us is challenged. Big smiles when we learn the news of success. Our homes are opened, our arms never too full. We regal in stories of children and ah! grandchildren. Our mitzvahs multiply, our sorrows divide. We often donate anonymously hoping to change our challenges into success’s along our journey. As we walk around the block and down the street together, we share knitting stores, doctor suggestions and where the best craft store is for 7-10 year olds. Happenstance turns to luck and then some. We’ll greet each other at the door, lace kindness with respect and call it a tender moment. Our admiration is not kept a secret- “I love those shoes.” Nothing is too much to ask when we are in need and boy do we love to celebrate. Pipe dreams perhaps, realized and this time not soon enough. We play the obsequious card when one of us needs a pep talk. We turn away when it’s deemed inappropriate to pry. During the holiday of Shavuot – read the book, pass it along and make someone else’s day a little less cloudy. 

Summertime and the living is easy, fish are jumping and the cotton is high. After A Hard Day’s Night – I want Breakfast at Tiffany’s with a Splendor in the Grass chaser. As I approach the Autumn of my Youth- I ask what kind of fool am I? I have no damn fool left in me. “I want to come home to you and find the things that you do will make me feel alright ah! Paul . So as we roll out the hazy, lazy, crazy days of summer, the days of soda and pretzels and beer, (well maybe Pinot Grigio), I’d like to go to the” drive- in on Friday night.” In August, as we see the pyramids along the Nile, standing near Moon River we feel grateful to be out of the “heat wave.” Could this be magic, as the lion sleeps tonight in the jungle, the mighty jungle? Who knows, could be it’s only just out of reach down the block, on a beach, under a tree. Tonight? We call on wishful thinking as we put on our yellow polka dot bikini and set our sights on the beach boys. We find ourselves dancing in the streets, eating icicles, popsicles and simply remember our favorite things. Are there lilac trees in the heart of town. Can your hear a lark in any other part of town? Does enchantment pour out of every door, no it’s just on the street where you live. Wouldn’t you like to ride in my beautiful balloon? We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky we can fly, we can fly. Girl I heard you’re getting married, heard you’re getting married this time you’re really sure. So, we’re going to the chapel of love. Love summer weddings. Got those good vibrations, cause G- d only knows at any point, in the still of the night – tomorrow may rain so I’ll follow the sun.