How To Feel Young

Tender, young, spring chickens--

Every second Saturday of the month, I follow the same routine.

I roll my old bones out of bed, put on my duster (that's "robe" to all you whippersnappers), and shuffle to the kitchen to put on some hot water for my decaf Sanka.

To ease into the morning, I will either do a crossword puzzle or--if my arthritis (prounounced arth-uh-RYE-tis) isn't acting up--I'll do some knitting.

Once I've taken the rollers out of my hair and sprayed it into an impenetrable helmet...

I fire up my Chevy Caprice, crank that AM radio, and burn rubber at 40 MPH.

And, even though I prefer to do all my grocery shopping on Saturdays at 6 in the morning, the second Saturday of the month is special. This is the day I make my way to my favorite fabric store for their free monthly sewing class.

Check out some of the hot meemaws in attendance:

(Sorry for the crappy, surreptitious photography, kids...)

This meemaw shared two pieces of info about her ensemble. One, she did not make her Valentine's sweater herself, but they are on sale at the Cracker Barrel, so you can get one for yourself or someone you love ("Ahhhhh," sighed the awe-struck crowd). And two, she knitted this scarf while she was in the waiting room at the doctor's office:

In case you're wondering what I did with the rest of my day, all the sewing meemaws and I had a late dinner at the Denny's--4 pm Early Bird Special--and I capped off the night with a little warm milk and "Wheel of Fortune."

Bonus: there are free refreshments, a  25% off coupon for everyone (good for that day only), and a raffle drawing for a $25 G Street Fabrics voucher (I've never won, dammit) and bingo after class. YES. I really go to these Free Sewing Saturdays. The information is good whether you're old or not, and this fabric store is expensive but fabulous, so the coupon is also welcome.

And, despite all my joking, I'll be the first to go on record and admit that I bow down to every single one of these hot meemaws. Seriously. The clothes they wear are pretty stereotypical, but during the show-and-tell portion of class, they show things they make for their grandkids and children, including adorable baby clothes, gorgeous prom and wedding dresses, and toys--one meemaw brought in a picture of at friggen TEEPEE she made for her grandson. Awesome.


Said the little boy, “Sometimes I drop my spoon.”

Said the little old man, “I do that too.”

The little boy whispered, “I wet my pants.”

“I do that too,” laughed the little old man.

Said the little boy, “I often cry.”

The old man nodded, “So do I.”

“But worst of all,” said the boy, “it seems

Grown-ups don’t pay attention to me.”

And he felt the warmth of the wrinkled old hand.

“I know what you mean,” said the little old man.

“The Little Boy and the Old Man” by Shel Silverstein