This and That and Who I Am

I began this blog with the intention of writing everyday. Now, on the second day, I am already looking at the blank blog space and wondering what to say. I will take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am old enough to be a grandmother, but since I never married, never had any children I am looking forward to being a grandaunt instead. This summer both of my sister's children have married and one couple is expecting their first child, a boy, in the Fall--near my birthday in fact. We are all quite excited and praying for a healthy baby.

When I was six years old, six days after my sixth birthday to be exact, I contracted Polio. I like to say the Polio virus "caught me", after the custom of an African tribe I read about in the only Anthropology course I ever took. It was graduate school and the University of Chicago was like an intellectual smörgåsbord. Once a student matriculated in one department or school, the whole university was open. I accepted the invitation and studied how different people viewed illness. It was eye-opening. The cold caught me. The polio virus caught me. It had a certain charm and made sense. Why would any of us catch a cold or any illness for that matter? It put the illness in its place--as an interloper, an intruder in my life that had temporarily won. (I don't remember after nearly three decades if that was how the tribal members viewed it, or if I am making the concept my own as I write this. Quite probably it is the latter.)

Illness, disability in particular, has shaped my life, defined certain things that I can do and others that I cannot do. But I am not the illness or the disability. I will write about this more in the coming blog posts, I am sure.

Over the last few months, as I prepared to become a blogger, I have been reading other blogs. Several are by women who are caring for special needs children and they have touched me particularly so that I hope to link to them and comment from time to time. I was a "special needs" child before the term was invented. So there will be more about that too.

Gardening is a passion, color is a joy and it manifests itself in knitting, sewing, photography and digital editing. Cooking, which I once loved enough to be a passable gourmet cook, has become a chore as I age and I fight the calorie battle that is so much worse for a sedentary person. I will write about all of these things. I will tell you more about myself tomorrow.

I hope to post once a day and will try to make sure to come here at least two or three times a week. So please come back and visit my blog often.