I read recently that Ted Kennedy wanted a good ending- a worthy aspiration for all of us.
I judge a book, fiction or nonfiction, by the strength of what it teaches me. And so many years ago when I read Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, it soared to the top of my favorites list based on Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind. Covey taught personal vision by picturing the words expressed by significant others at one's funeral. What a powerful, potentially life changing vision: to live our lives so that the ending is good! This mindset would become the road map for a life of personal choices determined by integrity.
Kennedy was no saint, and some would argue that family connections and wealth were the secrets to his success. Family connections and/or wealth often do pave the golden path. Examples of individuals given unwarranted positions of authority through this pathway quickly come to my mind (just from my experience in working in our local school system). The number of these individuals in politics, which relies on connections and of necessity wealth, must be staggering. And so an assumption that Kennedy's success was owed to family and wealth would not be a stretch.
Those who viewed his funeral service witnessed the unravelling of this assumption. In his life Kennedy erred as humans often do, and greater than most of us ever will. He reached a turning point later in life when he publicly admitted his past mistakes and poor personal choices. In a touching and heartwarming eulogy his namesake, Edward Kennedy, Jr., said that his father believed in redemption. His father's path to redemption began with a public acknowledgement of personal failure and ended in eulogies depicting a man of integrity from both his sons and President Obama. Others who had gathered to remember him nodded assent.
I don't know if Senator Kennedy had read Covey's Seven Habits, but he got his good ending.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Living Large or Largely Living
One of the pleasures that I have discovered in life post retirement (which I will refer to hereinafter as PR) has been a reawakening of my love of cooking coupled with the tasty fare that usually accompanies my visits to the kitchen and its implements. (In some ways it is like rekindling a relationship with a passionate lover.)
I say the fare has been usually tasty because I am going to admit I have had some scandalous disasters in the kitchen PR, but I will keep some sense of Southern grace and gentility and not belabor the point. Instead I am sharing an especially scrumptious ending for a hot summer meal. I found this recipe in a magazine years ago. I can't remember which one, but I do want to give credit when the memory returns. I am sharing the memory rather than the original because I no longer have the copy. My memories tend to be better than the original anyway.
Rhubarb and Blackberry Afternoon Delight (or evening, however and whenever the mood strikes you)
Ingredients
2 cups rhubarb, about 2-3 stalks, depending upon the size (Trust me; try the rhubarb before you turn your nose up. I know your mama probably said, just like mine, that sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. Well, this is the prince. And don't worry; if you buy more than you need, you're gonna love it so much, you'll make it- again and again.)
2 cups blackberries (If you can find wild ones and have a pickin' party, it's more fun.)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (Do not substitute something you think is healthier...Hello, you're eating this over ice cream.)
all the vanilla ice cream you can stand (I prefer vanilla bean for store bought, but if you can persuade someone to make homemade in the old fashioned hand crank machine from my generation, you and everyone with you will be living large.)
Mixing It Up
Rinse and pat dry the fruit. (Be gentle; you want the fruit to remain firm.)
Chop the rhubarb in about one half inch cubes. (You may have to peel the rhubarb first, depending upon how large the stalks are. Whatever you do, do not include the leaves. They are poisonous, I've been told, and we do not want to lose you this quickly into the session.)
Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan until it foams. (This takes some attention so it doesn't burn.)
Add the rhubarb and swish it around in the butter. (I prefer a wooden spoon because it makes me feel like an expert cook, and it's probably better for the fruit because you don't want to bruise it.)
Save a handful of blackberries and add the rest to the pan. (I know this depends upon the size of your hand, but work with me. Pretend your hand is smaller or buy more blackberries.)
Swish the blackberries in the butter.
Cover the pot tightly and simmer over low hear for about 8-10 minutes.
Uncover the pot 2-3 times while the fruit simmers and stir the mixture. (This is the best part of the process so take your time and savor the aromas. I hope you're retired, but if not, breathe deeply and pretend you are.)
Serve over a generous amount of the aforementioned ice cream. (This recipe will serve a decent amount to a party of four.. And if you don't know what a decent amount is, maybe you should give up your political career.)
Now do you see what I mean it's like rekindling a passionate relationship?
Enjoy!!
I say the fare has been usually tasty because I am going to admit I have had some scandalous disasters in the kitchen PR, but I will keep some sense of Southern grace and gentility and not belabor the point. Instead I am sharing an especially scrumptious ending for a hot summer meal. I found this recipe in a magazine years ago. I can't remember which one, but I do want to give credit when the memory returns. I am sharing the memory rather than the original because I no longer have the copy. My memories tend to be better than the original anyway.
Rhubarb and Blackberry Afternoon Delight (or evening, however and whenever the mood strikes you)
Ingredients
2 cups rhubarb, about 2-3 stalks, depending upon the size (Trust me; try the rhubarb before you turn your nose up. I know your mama probably said, just like mine, that sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. Well, this is the prince. And don't worry; if you buy more than you need, you're gonna love it so much, you'll make it- again and again.)
2 cups blackberries (If you can find wild ones and have a pickin' party, it's more fun.)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (Do not substitute something you think is healthier...Hello, you're eating this over ice cream.)
all the vanilla ice cream you can stand (I prefer vanilla bean for store bought, but if you can persuade someone to make homemade in the old fashioned hand crank machine from my generation, you and everyone with you will be living large.)
Mixing It Up
Rinse and pat dry the fruit. (Be gentle; you want the fruit to remain firm.)
Chop the rhubarb in about one half inch cubes. (You may have to peel the rhubarb first, depending upon how large the stalks are. Whatever you do, do not include the leaves. They are poisonous, I've been told, and we do not want to lose you this quickly into the session.)
Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan until it foams. (This takes some attention so it doesn't burn.)
Add the rhubarb and swish it around in the butter. (I prefer a wooden spoon because it makes me feel like an expert cook, and it's probably better for the fruit because you don't want to bruise it.)
Save a handful of blackberries and add the rest to the pan. (I know this depends upon the size of your hand, but work with me. Pretend your hand is smaller or buy more blackberries.)
Swish the blackberries in the butter.
Cover the pot tightly and simmer over low hear for about 8-10 minutes.
Uncover the pot 2-3 times while the fruit simmers and stir the mixture. (This is the best part of the process so take your time and savor the aromas. I hope you're retired, but if not, breathe deeply and pretend you are.)
Serve over a generous amount of the aforementioned ice cream. (This recipe will serve a decent amount to a party of four.. And if you don't know what a decent amount is, maybe you should give up your political career.)
Now do you see what I mean it's like rekindling a passionate relationship?
Enjoy!!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Gigi's Introduction to the Good Life
Retirement...
It's not a four letter word, but for so many years, it has seemed just as forbidden. A portal through which only the worthy can enter.
The journey begins well before the golden date with the invitation from AARP. I didn't join immediately, not out of denial, but because I was still working fulltime in education, pursuing a master's degree, running a home business, and renovating a house (read that as not a 9-5 job) and many invitations, timely birthday cards, visits with family and friends, always fell by the wayside.
The thirtieth birthday had been the traumatic one for me. I had been a believer of the media mantra that vibrant life ended at 29. In the seventies no one preached that thirty was the new twenty, forty was the new thirty and so on... as we are led to expect today. No, thirty was over the hill. Actually, it was more over the river and through the woods to grandmas' houses while juggling demands of work, young children, and husband. There are some warm memories from that period, and life did not end at 29.
As the dreaded fortieth approached, the old panic emerged. Thirty had not been the end of the world, but surely forty would be. I braced myself for the onslaught of old age. Then something wonderful happened. I was cultivating those fears when suddenly I realized that in my future I would be dreading another decade and wishing for a decade do-over. I made a decision then to embrace every age. I have kept that promise to myself and now in my "sexties", life is good.
So I joined AARP and continue to accept almost every benefit that senior citizendom affords me. The almost qualifier is that the senior final expense plans still go in the trash.
And now I am retired with so much more in life to embrace.
It's not a four letter word, but for so many years, it has seemed just as forbidden. A portal through which only the worthy can enter.
The journey begins well before the golden date with the invitation from AARP. I didn't join immediately, not out of denial, but because I was still working fulltime in education, pursuing a master's degree, running a home business, and renovating a house (read that as not a 9-5 job) and many invitations, timely birthday cards, visits with family and friends, always fell by the wayside.
The thirtieth birthday had been the traumatic one for me. I had been a believer of the media mantra that vibrant life ended at 29. In the seventies no one preached that thirty was the new twenty, forty was the new thirty and so on... as we are led to expect today. No, thirty was over the hill. Actually, it was more over the river and through the woods to grandmas' houses while juggling demands of work, young children, and husband. There are some warm memories from that period, and life did not end at 29.
As the dreaded fortieth approached, the old panic emerged. Thirty had not been the end of the world, but surely forty would be. I braced myself for the onslaught of old age. Then something wonderful happened. I was cultivating those fears when suddenly I realized that in my future I would be dreading another decade and wishing for a decade do-over. I made a decision then to embrace every age. I have kept that promise to myself and now in my "sexties", life is good.
So I joined AARP and continue to accept almost every benefit that senior citizendom affords me. The almost qualifier is that the senior final expense plans still go in the trash.
And now I am retired with so much more in life to embrace.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)