tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post6735970584196826439..comments2023-09-29T06:00:09.242-05:00Comments on Julie Pippert: Using My Words: For my friend, on the occasion of her 37th piece of trying newsJulie Pipperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169574697104642479noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-54127895553050881182008-03-11T22:54:00.000-05:002008-03-11T22:54:00.000-05:00When did you start reading my thoughts and express...When did you start reading my thoughts and expressing them so much better?<BR/><BR/>Great post.Cathy, Amy and Kristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01472486650115997239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-80818063354598662342008-03-11T21:51:00.000-05:002008-03-11T21:51:00.000-05:00julie--i did totally got your point, and it was a ...julie--i did totally got your point, and it was a wonderful post. I think i am just morose by nature sometimes and it is hard for me (sometimes) to dig out a dark place once i go there... i went there reading this post and sort of got stuck.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://runningonempty-christine.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">Running on empty</A>Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04662448292809451387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-17001275232785490692008-03-11T21:31:00.000-05:002008-03-11T21:31:00.000-05:00I remember being really happy to turn 30, to be do...I remember being really happy to turn 30, to be done with my childhood, as I saw it. I don't feel nearly as sanguine about turning 40 in a couple years. But I have a sister who is 46 and she is just the same person I've always thought of her as, only better, so much better, that it gives me hope. So much of life is loss and the dealing of that with grace, however we can find it.Gwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12526629366170486737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-42364412220136266882008-03-11T13:37:00.000-05:002008-03-11T13:37:00.000-05:00*at 40*at 40Jennifer Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16239563357592230711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-26353532101198377932008-03-11T13:36:00.000-05:002008-03-11T13:36:00.000-05:00I feel all of this that you described so eloquentl...I feel all of this that you described so eloquently. Yet there's a sense of relief, too, that some things are behind me. <BR/><BR/>I will say, that when I was young I might have imagined what I would do or feel like at 20 or 30, but I never imagined what life would look and feel like and 40. I'm quite sure I couldn't have speculated on it with any accuracy.<BR/><BR/>I play poker tournaments quite a bit, and sometimes I'll hear impatient players complaining about how long the game is dragging on. My answer, always, is "If you're lucky." <BR/><BR/>You know?Jennifer Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16239563357592230711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-70530454825638658672008-03-11T12:44:00.000-05:002008-03-11T12:44:00.000-05:00Personally I think I might take a page from my fat...Personally I think I might take a page from my father's book of growing old and just refuse. He has said for as long as I can remember that he's Peter Pan, and that the take-offs are still easy but it's the landings that are getting hard.<BR/><BR/>Heh.<BR/><BR/>Is there a female equivalent to Peter Pan?Chicky Chicky Babyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18056206889322232109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-86907012839486047462008-03-11T12:30:00.000-05:002008-03-11T12:30:00.000-05:00I still wonder what I'm going to be when I grow up...I still wonder what I'm going to be when I grow up. I still feel young.<BR/><BR/>But then I look in the mirror. Or I visit my mother. My mother is now old. And sick. And watching her age before my eyes is shocking, and makes me feel old. <BR/><BR/>Good post Julie.Magpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15460136246441367993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-81489748274758085442008-03-11T12:28:00.000-05:002008-03-11T12:28:00.000-05:00Yes, you may use my limerick anywhere you would li...Yes, you may use my limerick anywhere you would like to. :)painted maypolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06446625015003854710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-18463420238032410122008-03-11T12:19:00.000-05:002008-03-11T12:19:00.000-05:00Suz, NPR is a total swiper! I shoudl have trademar...Suz, NPR is a total swiper! I shoudl have trademarked. Ages ago I called 40 the second adolescence because it's such a physical and emotional transition period. Swipers I tell you. ;)Julie Pipperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03169574697104642479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-16152882309554441612008-03-11T11:58:00.000-05:002008-03-11T11:58:00.000-05:00On NPR, I heard 40 described as the "youth of old ...On NPR, I heard 40 described as the "youth of old age."<BR/><BR/>I don't know why, but I like it.<BR/><BR/>This, this growing older, it's a strange new world.Suzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14382885000205172615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-63784788704239155402008-03-11T11:19:00.000-05:002008-03-11T11:19:00.000-05:00i know the transitioning you speak of well, with i...i know the transitioning you speak of well, with its small but vivid losses and yet...sometimes hidden...its promises, compensations. i am not sure that the equation is truly equal...but it IS. it requires acceptance, this growing up and with it the inevitable growing old. but as you are saying, it does not mean the rocking chair...just a sometimes very painful forced change in how we perceive horizons, and ourselves.<BR/><BR/>a lovely post, Julie, for a lovely person.Bonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14403701620708365171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-84557297113496484822008-03-11T10:16:00.000-05:002008-03-11T10:16:00.000-05:00Really briefly...I want to clarify something, the ...Really briefly...I want to clarify something, the main point, which I think has gotten missed here and there:<BR/><BR/>This is not about hating growing old; it's about transitioning, which always brings loss (sad for passed phase) and excitement (for new phase).<BR/><BR/>That's why I said epiphany and loss, and added note 2.<BR/><BR/>***********************Julie Pipperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03169574697104642479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-85886435204644231892008-03-11T09:14:00.000-05:002008-03-11T09:14:00.000-05:00I'll try not to come away depressed, but I'm not s...I'll try not to come away depressed, but I'm not sure that's possible. <BR/><BR/>I'm really feelin' it this week. And not just because I just had a bday. Sigh...Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14599462281364463565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-67899799595501413072008-03-11T09:11:00.000-05:002008-03-11T09:11:00.000-05:00I'm turning 32 soon, and I guess I haven't hit thi...I'm turning 32 soon, and I guess I haven't hit this yet. I do have more aches and pains now. I can't drink like I used to (probably a good thing). I can't stay up quite as late as I used to. I never get to go dancing anymore. But all of that is fine with me. I think I have a strange attitude about aging. My mom was 36 (old in her day) when I was born and my dad was 44 (ancient), but they seemed so young to me. Age never seemed like an issue. <BR/>Also, I have been to SOOO many funerals in my life that I realized death really has nothing to do with age. AT ALL. My parent's buried my sis right before her 9th birthday. My good friend died at 21 from cancer. Another friend died at 22 from a heart infection. Still another died in a car accident in high school. Then I add in all of my grandparents' funerals, family friends, and acquaintances and I realize the ages are all over the charts. It can hit at any time.<BR/>I'm still wondering how I'll handle 40, but something tells me I'll be fine with it. Because sometimes I do miss who I was in my 20's, but most of the time I'm just excited to be where I am. And I know each decade will have something else to look forward to. <BR/>But again. Maybe I just haven't hit this yet. <BR/>Great post!Kathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14339665205284492242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-33757878820859764322008-03-11T08:12:00.000-05:002008-03-11T08:12:00.000-05:00I've had that same TV experience. I graduated wit...I've had that same TV experience. I graduated with Kevin James, the star of King of Queens. Didn't know him in high school, but he is there, right in my yearbook.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-27458758579905711972008-03-11T08:03:00.000-05:002008-03-11T08:03:00.000-05:00Beautifully written, my friend.And I think I'm in ...Beautifully written, my friend.<BR/><BR/>And I think I'm in on the hump day thing this week (on Mama Drama). If I can find 10 minutes to write, that is.Jenny, the Bloggesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13718481135182612620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-5411074944972861592008-03-11T07:13:00.000-05:002008-03-11T07:13:00.000-05:00i know i am not supposed to come away depressed or...i know i am not supposed to come away depressed or sad, i know that wasn't your intention, but. . ..<BR/><BR/>so i'll be light: baby carrots are killing me. i eat them they are free points, but damn i just want french fries.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://runningonempty-christine.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">Running on empty</A>Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04662448292809451387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-89141251557470934432008-03-11T00:07:00.000-05:002008-03-11T00:07:00.000-05:00Wow - looking back at the posts I have missed this...Wow - looking back at the posts I have missed this week it has been a BIG WEEK for you anyway, without the feeling old aspect. Any particular reason why you are feeling numbers at the moment?<BR/><BR/>Growing up is very hard to do, indeed - some people seem to do so graciously but some of us notice every bump in the road.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-25890783001614312122008-03-10T23:02:00.000-05:002008-03-10T23:02:00.000-05:00tragedy doesn't have an age limit.tragedy doesn't have an age limit.flutterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11828689769747130419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-33010245865208430012008-03-10T22:40:00.000-05:002008-03-10T22:40:00.000-05:00Too many deaths have hit people close to me this y...Too many deaths have hit people close to me this year. So far, I'd say you can have 2008. Beyond that, I have always felt a great sense of the fragility of life, and only recently have appreciated the joy of life through the eyes of a child - my own children's eyes. I am too used to seeing the dark underbelly, the missing half of the glass, the fleeting nature of existence.<BR/><BR/>All that said, I still take joy in life. What I may have wanted once, what may have passed me by, those are nothing to the joy of being with my children every day, with my wife. Money is a means to an end, but not something I would give up the time I have with my family for. And I don't live vicariously through their accomplishments. I just enjoy seeing the joy in their eyes with each new experience, each new skill gained or word learned. And the time that has passed is not such a big deal anymore.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04826309601023733396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-12956666694125983052008-03-10T22:26:00.000-05:002008-03-10T22:26:00.000-05:00Heh. Logan's Run. I might have had to click on the...Heh. Logan's Run. I might have had to click on the link there. ;)<BR/><BR/>Still, in some ways, I know a bit about this. Maybe not in so many physical ways quite yet (although, yes, hamburgers and all beef is off the list of digestibles), but in the myriad of emotional ways. I know just a little. My body might be 24, but my life is not.Kylahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03311014761113076785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-33298684733500275992008-03-10T22:11:00.000-05:002008-03-10T22:11:00.000-05:00I've been thinking about Sarah all evening. It doe...I've been thinking about Sarah all evening. It does seem that this reality hits some people harder and faster than others.Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416585771017767796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-22383851919028243312008-03-10T21:57:00.000-05:002008-03-10T21:57:00.000-05:00Oh, Julie. This is really just...perfect. I desper...Oh, Julie. This is really just...perfect. I desperately needed someone to say all of this right now. You've no idea. It's all very frightening this letting go and growing older and watching certain doors close. You use the word fragile, and yes, that's it..that's how I feel. And now, I feel less alone in it. That is something wonderful. Thanks.....Angelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08013834612284846819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-88834333511813877362008-03-10T21:25:00.000-05:002008-03-10T21:25:00.000-05:00I agree. This growing up thing, it is really not e...I agree. This growing up thing, it is really not easy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13083972.post-19510631140614464512008-03-10T21:13:00.000-05:002008-03-10T21:13:00.000-05:00I'm so touched by this. Thank you.Today my intern...I'm so touched by this. Thank you.<BR/><BR/>Today my internist punched me in the arm, lightly, jokingly, and said, "Girl, what took you so long to come see me?"<BR/><BR/>And I responded, equally lightly, "I was stalling. And I guess I thought that if I waited long enough, it'd go away."<BR/><BR/>And on the way home, I realized how childish that was of me, on two counts. Both to stall, and to believe that a medical issue could just go away, magically, poof. The time for that kind of magic is long gone.<BR/><BR/>This growing up thing, it IS hard to do. You're right.Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05602868040771218507noreply@blogger.com