LEARNING LIFE'S LESSONS

Stained glass window by Marge
approx. 5'x3'

I spent a delightful two hours the other day with Marge, a 92-year old friend of my mother's. I've known Marge and I've admired her since I was a kid but I never paid attention as to why until now.

I remember my mother speaking with admiration (and, yes, a small amount of envy) as she told me about Marge. I sensed from the timbre of my mom's voice that a woman as deer hunter was beyond her comprehension. (She finally gave up deer hunting at 90.)

Marge played the organ and the piano...because she wanted to. She's an excellent artist. I still have the apron she painted for my bridal shower 46 years ago. She took up stained glass as an avocation. She's now relearning the banjo.

What I admired "back in the day" but was too young to figure out was that Marge was ignoring stereotypes of who those  women during the 50s and 60s should be. I listened with avid attention to stories my mother told me about Marge's golfing and hunting adventures. I was a child of a blue collar family in which women were subtly but inexorably urged to fit the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval mode. It was Tales of Marge that let me see beyond that cliché.

But what I admire most now is that Marge hasn't lost her enthusiasm for life. She's had many of the same challenges that others in their ninth decade have endured. She's now tethered to oxygen 24-7. Nevertheless, she's still the curious, interesting, involved woman I remember.

What a role model!