Welcome back to SOLO at SIXTY!
Did you have a memorable Memorial Day? We had some rain up here…not a total wash out, just late afternoon showers. How many of us really celebrate Memorial Day in the way it was meant to be? I mean, do you even think about those who served, or are serving our country now? Or do you view it as a day off from work, time to have a cookout, go to the pool? Did you know Memorial Day was not even a national holiday until 1971, during the Vietnam War? It is always the last Monday in May and its purpose is to honor those who have died in service. I don’t really know anyone who died while serving our country, but I do know people who have served and are serving our country now. Several friends have children and grandchildren in the military. They are very proud. Rightly so.
“May we never forget freedom isn’t free… deepest gratitude to those who paid the ultimate price.
When my kids were still in school, most Memorial Day Weekends were spent at soccer tournaments, and also getting ready for the PROM! Same weekend. Posed a real problem. Hosted many prom dinners at my house and loved every one of them. Prom was finally moved to the middle of April when it was time for my son to attend. Good thing since he was always playing in a soccer tournament Memorial Day weekend. My older daughter went to 4 proms – freshman year to senior year. Back in “the day” my mother and her sister were mall walkers in Winston-Salem. They would meet at the mall and walk, walk, walk. Funny thing, she was looking at all of the prom dresses on display and bought 6! Brought them up to Charlottesville for my older daughter (freshman in high school at the time) to try on. Now mind you, my daughter had NOT even been asked to the prom, but my mother got so caught up in prom dresses that she “felt” her granddaughter would be asked. And she was! About a week before prom. And luckily, my daughter had a prom dress, compliments of my smart mom. The dress was beautiful, as was my daughter. My younger daughter went to several proms as well. First one she said she was going to wear one of her sister’s dresses because they were gorgeous. But a week before prom, she changed her mind. I panicked, we went shopping, and found the most beautiful dress! I remember she did NOT want to try it on but I made her. It was gorgeous, just like her. She loved it. Of course my son also went to proms, but the biggest problem I had for him was matching the corsage for his date with her dress. Oh those were fun times!
Speaking of fun times, my younger daughter and I started tennis lessons again after work. (Hence the title – Love 40!) Picked up right where we left off in the fall, with the same instructor. Love him! He is so good and patient and I think we might be entertainment for him. He remembered that I have a problem distinguishing my left from my right. The lessons are great workouts as he has us hitting forehands/backhands/approach shots/forehand volley/backhand volley/overhead shots each. We were soaked after our lesson. And enjoyed every minute of it!
“Tennis is just like everything else. Work on it and you’ll improve.”
Charlottesville is a pretty big tennis town. All 3 of my children took tennis lessons with their friends every summer from our neighborhood tennis pro. There were matches on Thursdays against the other clubs in Charlottesville. My younger daughter even played tennis in high school. When we first moved up here, before I went back to work, three of my girlfriends (neighbors) and I took tennis lessons Wednesday mornings with the same pro who taught our kids. That was when our biggest decision was where we would go to lunch after! We had so much fun playing tennis and trying out new places for lunch. Just being Moms and friends.
“When you lose, you get up, you make it better, you try again.” Serena Williams
My daughter looks so natural hitting tennis balls while I am trying to remember all the directions our instructor is giving ME (follow through, elbow pointed straight, step in, step back). And I have a small problem with depth perception (in addition to the left and right thing)! For some reason the ball doesn’t always drop where I expect it to, especially since my daughter always hits with topspin. But I love every minute of it. Plus it is time spent with my child.
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Arthur Ashe
What other fun did I have this past week? Well, one of my girlfriends and I were going out to dinner when her husband offered to cook dinner for us. Topped anything we could have eaten out! Also saw some movies – Book Club (with a friend), Life of the Party (with my movie-loving daughter), RBG (by myself). OMG you have to go see these movies! And get Movie Pass. I had a free month to share with someone and my younger sister took me up on it. She is getting hooked on movies too!
OH and I did go strawberry picking one more time. But due to all the rain we have had, I had to search harder for the strawberries. They were not as plentiful or as big as my last picking. Still, I picked and froze 5 pounds – now I have about 18 pounds of frozen strawberries for a year’s worth of smoothies!
So all in all, this holiday weekend was “right nice”, full, and lots of fun. I used to worry about how I would handle holidays – all the memories and traditions BD (before Divorce). But not any more. Luckily for me, 2 years later, I have moved on. I now find and make my own fun, memories, and traditions. I keep very busy, always looking for fun things to do and special people to do them with.
Find what makes you happy and do it. Make new memories and traditions. Cherish and spend time with those you love, because as we all know, none of us is promised tomorrow. And even though Memorial Day is over, remember the true reason for it. And if you come across someone serving our country and protecting our freedoms, thank them.
“Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it. Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran does not have that problem. As we set this day aside to honor and thank our veterans, let us be mindful that we should do this every day of the year and not just one. May we never forget freedom isn’t free.” God Bless America!
Best,
Leslie
SOLO at SIXTY 
Okay, I can’t guess. Who or what is RBG?
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg! It was a documentary and I loved it!
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