Planting sunflower seeds with Grandpa

Last year’s sunflowers are already enjoying a new beginning.  Their precious seeds are being planted and a whole new cycle will begin.  And thus they continue to live on and on.

Bonnie Fatio

“It’s cruel” Maggie said.  “No one has a name tag.”  But we soon discovered that name tags weren’t necessary.  Old friendships are too strong.  People we didn’t recognize rapidly were gracious in sharing their names and we were off into discussions about what life has brought them in the past 50 years.  There was too much to learn to be concerned about a forgotten name.

Old friends remain old friends.  Heaven knows that our paths have branched off into numerous avenues, but the journey that we began together has united us in some small way for life.  It is still easy to laugh and tease each other.  Only the topics of that laughter and ribbing have changed.  It is comforting to know that our common journey continues to bond us.

Renew and keep old friendships alive at every age.  Old friends are precious.

Bonnie Fatio

How we feel inside is what is really important.  So why do we give so much weight to outside appearance?

This morning Maggie and I had breakfast at the Grove City Main Street Diner.   As we looked around us we wondered if any of the people eating at nearby tables were here for our class reunion.  The guy behind us looked rather familiar, though seemed too old to be from our class.  Eventually Maggie asked him if he was here for the reunion.  “Nope”, he said.  When Maggie added that we wondered if he was from our class of 1960, he all but jumped out of his chair insisting, “Certainly not.  I graduated in 1969!”

Oops!  Will the classmates we meet for drinks this evening seem even older?.

Of course when Maggie and I look in the mirror, we see ourselves as dynamic, fun loving, relatively healthy and even sensuous.  Is that why we see others as older?  The older people we saw this morning probably think of themselves as dynamic and active too.

And that’s really all that matters! – How we feel on the inside.

Bonnie Fatio

My best friend Maggie Dull

As we age, best friends continue to hold their special place in our lives.  As children our best friend may have changed daily, but best friends from our teen years remain solid.  Even though we may have little else in common today, our “best friend” relationship continues to unite us.  Maggie, my best friend from High School, and I plan to spend the reunion time together.

Maggie was the Chief of Police’s daughter and I was the Methodist minister’s daughter – so together we could do no wrong.  Heaven knows we tried!  We wanted to be bad, but when we did do something stupid like knock the head off a snowman our guilt drove us to rebuild it almost before the head hit the ground.  Now, 50 years later we still laugh just at the joy of being together.

Contact your old “best friends” today and renew your relationship if you haven’t already done so.  Friends are precious at every age!

Bonnie Fatio

In preparation for the reunion the organizers asked us to send any photos or memorabilia that we might have.  To my surprise, I uncovered an old scrap book waiting to be revisited.  So I have already taken a short trip back to these old friendships and events.  -  And I have found it to be an interesting experience to look back on those high school years as one of the building blocks in my life as I realize how far my journey has taken me since then.

High school memories are wonderful to revisit.  They are important in our lives.  But what is more important is all that we have done following those years to build on them and create the lives that we have today and the dreams we have for tomorrow.

Take a look at your own life.  What lessons did you learn as a teenager and what experiences did you have that have influenced the life you live today?

Bonnie Fatio

Look out, here I come!  This next weekend my 50th High School Class Reunion will take place in Grove City, PA (population 8027) and I will return to my teenage roots in small town USA.

Have 50 years really passed since we walked down the aisle to receive our diplomas?  So much has happened since then.  Will I recognize ‘old’ classmates?  Will they remember me?  I guess the only way to find out is to attend, so I’m on my way.  Chances are that I will even win the prize for coming the furthest, since most have remained closer to the town where we learned together.  Geneva, Switzerland will seem very far away to most.

I am convinced that it will be a wonderful experience to reconnect with old friends and to renew precious friendships.  And an opportunity to say “Thank you” to those who have left lasting imprints.

Bonnie Fatio

July is a month of independence.  And not just for the United States and France.  It is also the month of the independence of Burundi, Rwanda, Algeria, Cape Verde Islands, Argentina, Solomon Islands…

Independence is a key word when it comes to age esteem.  It is a major concern as we age. – To lose our independence and become dependent on others.  It is a real concern, one that we should take seriously. – Especially since much of our independence is based on our attitude.

You can be visually impaired, deaf, or lacking normal mobility and still be independent.  Yes, you will have to accept care and guidance from others for some of your daily needs, maybe even most of them.  However, you are the one to decide how you will accept this help and what your relationship with the care givers will be.  Will it be one of appreciation and reciprocation?  Will you make it agreeable for others to help you, and maybe even make it a highlight of your care giver’s day?

Independence comes through doing what we can.  That may be listening actively, smiling, sharing, giving your support and encouragement, being grateful…   Independence is manifested through our own positive attitude.

Teresa Kaufman, 56, France

When I heard the term AgeEsteem the first time I thought it is truly learning or knowing how to get older in life and enjoy it and respect it. – And enjoy yourself as you get older.

It probably brought that to mind more than anything else because I’m here in Chamonix, France at the foot of the Mont Blanc where you have some of the greatest athletes in the world of mountain climbing and trail running, paragliding, delta planning, base jumping and sking.  I’ve seen so many people here afraid to get old and who do everything that they can to hide it.  It’s sad to see because they’re not going to win that game.  All they can do is fool themselves, but they can’t fool their surroundings.  Instead of fooling themselves, they should flaunt it and get older more beautifully in a handsome way.

Teresa’s Tips: The wording of age esteem and self esteem is so appropriate because I think you have to truly love yourself in order to hold your head up high through all different points in your life.  It’s something that I always appreciated seeing.  You can see it in someone walking down the street, just by the way they walk, the way they hold their body, the way they present themselves to other people.  It’s the way they present themselves to themselves in the mirror in the morning.

Our esteem comes and goes with life and good days and bad days.  Yesterday I said to a friend, “Today I’m in love with life.  I’ve got to take a picture because it won’t be like this tomorrow.  Let me take this picture because this is how I feel today.”  It’s being sensitive to the wonderful things in your life.  That could be a breeze.  It could be the light just before the sun goes down.  It could be birds singing in the morning.  It’s as simple as that.  That will help you enjoy your life.  And you can do that anywhere and under any conditions.  It’s about being sensitive to your environment. It’s my recipie for getting old in life.

Teresa Kaufman is a photographer whose photos capture the essence of life.

June 26, 2010

Today, 45 years later, we remain committed, continue to have dreams – and love is still alive.   We have grown together while encouraging and supporting each other in our separate endeavors.   Our family now includes two precious granddaughters.

Neither of us would pretend that there have not been difficult moments during the years.  That is part of  life.  And marriage is a relationship; it  takes commitment, understanding and dedication on both sides to flourish.

We celebrated this 45th wedding anniversary with a simple barbecue among friends and family, people who share our values and rejoice with us in the blessings of the moment.  Each of them has played a positive role in our lives over the years.

45 years is neither the beginning nor the end.  However it is a happy event to celebrate.

June 26, 1965

Forty-five years ago my husband Gerard and I committed ourselves to growing as a couple and founding a family together.  We were full of dreams.  We were in love.  Nothing would ever change that.

We met while I was doing my student teaching in St. Joseph, Michigan where he was working for a year with Whirlpool Corp. to learn the American way of doing business.  He was Swiss and had just finished his Engineering studies at the famous University of Technology in Zurich.   It wasn’t necessarily love at first sight, but there was a definite bonding that grew as we got to know each other and sparked that love .

He didn’t win me over with lavish gifts and flowers.  He did it fighting off imaginary dragons, flying kites, sailing, and blowing bubbles from the life guard stand.  Sunsets and walks on the beach gave us ample opportunity to get to know each other and to talk about the future.   It was often with laughter since his English was still rusty and my French was what I had learned in high school.  We learned to give the other the benefit of the doubt if something came out oddly. – Like the romantic evening that he told me I was a “witch” when he really meant that I was like a fairy God mother.

It may sound odd to younger people today, but this all created a solid foundation. – One that is lasting.