The Emancipation of Jersey Girl

I was a young mom in the Eighties...I really wasn't into music the way I was when I was a kid in the Sixties...I grew up with Motown, then the British Invasion...I saw the Beatles twice in person...I was (and still am, at heart), a true rock and roller. But it's impossible not to appreciate the majestic talent of Prince...his music is timeless, I feel people will be "party-ing like it's 1999" well into the 2000's....a great talent, waaay too young to pass...rock on, Prince Rogers Nelson...

Some people have to smoke or toke...some have to imbibe alcohol....some do drugs...some seek sex here, there, and everywhere (with everybody).... My addiction....what I need every day....is my paints, my brushes, my pens and pencils, my sketchbooks.....it calms me, centers me, gives me peace....

No more Facebook account....I'm not into being "social" right now...I'm seeking privacy and autonomy....just getting away from negativity that is constantly fostered in the community I live in....and I am freeing myself from it. I have dissolved the account, and little by little I will evaporate all my info and pics. And I am also decluttering my world in other ways....reducing my material possessions, my hoard of stuff....and removing negative and unwanted people in my life.....sorry if some of you good people that I have enjoyed being in touch with are gone...I will miss some....but I need my freedom of thought, of speech, and of myself. I can't have that on Facebook....and, frankly, I don't want to see any more baby pics and anniversaries and trips to Russia....I don 't give a shit. And I know, nobody wants to hear from me.

Life in the Finger Lakes, Summer, 2015 It's August 12, and as I predicted (to myself), this year is flying by. And...I am beginning to want Time to slow down....for years and years, I kept thinking ahead...to...when Allison starts school...summer vacation....when Allison goes to middle school....when we move....when the husband retires...when Allison graduates high school...Bryn Mawr....Yale....when Allison moves to Ithaca to teach at Cornell...when Allison gets engaged....when Allison gets married...when Allison and Sam go on their honeymoon to Paris and London....when they get back, because it's been two weeks of me taking care of four animals....two cats at my home, a cat and a very active Boston Terrier at her place....now....it's....when Allison and Sam have some personal business come to be....won't say yet, because, if this ends up on Facebook, then....I has to be still and quiet on this for ju st a few more weeks. And when all that begins to tra...

If I were asked to name my greatest accomplisment, in my life,....I would have to say it was my daughter, Allison....if ever I gave my heart and soul to someone...it was her. When you're pregnant, and you wonder and hope...if this child you are carrying is going to be healthy, happy and wise....I am very very grateful that all of that was true in her case. I wanted the best we could ever give her....and I hope, we succeeded in that way. I enjoyed being her mother....I treasure this as my greatest duty....and it has given me the most joy of my life.

Today is my birthday....and on this day I honor and thank my parents, Lou and Carmen, who gave me every opportunity to be a child....to grow up and live in a loving, safe environment...and to be myself. I still depend on their love and guidance, even though they have passed....they are always with me, ever in my heart.