As I look over the River again, I am reminded of how many times I have thought of it as graceful. Then, too, what could be more relaxing than to watch the graceful seagulls flying overhead; see the white swan swimming; or watching the fleecy clouds form their patterns in the sky. Though it is a happy scene for me it brings with it a certain amount of grief. You see, when I was taking a college course at RCC about ten years ago, I wrote a paper on “How to Grow Old Gracefully”. Though much of it had to do with attitude and philosophy some dealt with the physical actions. Now ten years down the line, I’m laughing at that article. Good thing I have a sense of humor or my present day life would be unbearable. Then, too, I have lots of friends in my boat. 

     There is really nothing graceful about taking a Pyrex dish of wild rice from the oven and having it fly from your hand, hit the sink edge, and then proceed to cover the kitchen and part of the living room with rice. If that isn’t ungraceful enough, watch yours truly trying to clean up all those pieces in places that seem impossible.
How about walking across a perfectly smooth floor and stumbling on nothing but air or taking an hour to dress when you could whip through the whole procedure in less than thirty minutes a few years ago. 

     Then what about getting in or out of cars these days. Did they think most of us were cowboys when they made them so high or SUV became the language of the day? Since most of the population will be living longer and longer, how come most of us are supposed to in the slot called “below forty”. I don’t know about the men, but were the women supposed to be able to buy clothes these days. Recently I had a friend take me to a fancy department store not too many miles hence to buy a spring slack suit and try to get a winter one on sale. Fourteen petit really should not be such a hard size to but, but there was nothing. So, it was home to the catalogs whose owners realize ladies would need clothes.

     It is good that I can still paint my cousin a butterfly quilt and think about how graceful the butterflies are in flight or even sitting on a flower. The country can provide many graceful scenes as we watch flowers waving their petals in the wind or the bluebird soar into their houses. We can even find quite a few ice skating shows on television and awe at the skaters’ gracefulness. 

     Back in my younger days, I loved to dance and have missed it so much these last forty years or so. Who knows, with flat shoes and a strong gentleman partner holding me very steady, there still might be a graceful waltz in me.

     I am told my wavy gray hair looks so graceful and my guests sometimes tell me I entertain with such grace. (They didn’t see me while I was preparing the meal.)

     There is some comfort in knowing that the prose poetry I write these days is among the most graceful writing I’ve ever done. I try to pass on to my children some of the graceful traits in life and this brings some reward as I watch my graceful river flow.

© 2001 Florence Jenkins Muse All rights