First Blog - bear with me, hopefully they'll get better.

First Independent Blog

It seems that I have been swept up into the social media experience and I am rather glad to be here with you all in the e-ther.

One minute I was reluctantly contemplating my dotage, I had retired and was taking it easy.  Now I am working occasionally and am all over Instagram like a rash and hopefully this will be my first of many blogs.

So, tell me, what would you like to read about?    What do you want to know?   I am, after all, an elderly, never married woman who had no kids but has lived a somewhat colourful life.

I have always been something of an outsider, an observer if you will, because I continue to be me. I never lost my name by becoming 'mom', 'the wife' or 'the other half' so I am still happily living in my own skin and am fiercely independent.

Life takes us down a variety of paths, our early experiences certainly shape our futures and the choices that we make, but they don't have to define us.   For me independence has been all important.  I consider myself to be a pessoptimist - one who is optimistically challenged in that I tend to expect the worst of people but am still able to recognise good things when they happen.   It is my default stance and has stood me in good stead and initially I applied it to Instagram, expecting it to be very 'not me', having found Faceache aggressive and confrontational.

By contrast Instagram seems to be populated by some very interesting people, you are talented, observant and pithy and I find myself warming to social media because of you.

The community is diverse, some are wounded, some are possibly a little blinkered, but you are all creative and dare I say it 'nice' in a good way.   I don't mean the nice of so-so soup or the nice that is used to refer to someone when you can think of no other suitable word to describe them.   I mean the nice of goodness and warmth as you follow people and like their posts.  

As a seriously mature critter, I find there is freedom out there among you that is not afforded to me in the real world.   There I am an old woman who is often invisible, written off for simply being old, even though I am one of the least invisible creatures out there.   I am a pensioner, my hair is seriously grey with a streak of bright blue to remind me that while little old ladies have blue rinses this badass old bugger still has attitude in spades.

In a few short weeks I have made a few Instapals who are younger than my earrings but they speak to me freely and with candour.   It amazes me that so many of you have chosen to follow me and I can't quite get my head around why you do, but I find it all rather comforting.  Although I am alone I am not lonely, whatever the time of day, if I can't sleep there is someone out there doing something and I like knowing what you are all up to.     

I admire the pluck of so many of you, after all, we are all walking wounded in some way or other, but you are sharing your worlds with each other and hopefully I can be a part of that and may even be able to offer a little help here and there.  

I gather that some of you find my life intriguing and I have to admit that you couldn't make it up, but for me what doesn't kill you most certainly makes you stronger.   So, if I can be there for you in the same way that you have been there for me I am happy to share my experiences and in the process perhaps you won't feel that you are isolated, unless you choose to be.

I will talk about life as I see it, you may not agree with me but I am happy to explain why I feel as I do, although that does not mean that I want to convert any of you to my way of thinking.    I will give you glimpses of my home because I am seeing it with fresh eyes because of you and I gather you are interested in my rather quirky little house.   My ramblings and rants may touch a spot with you and hopefully we can learn from each other and grow with each other. 

Life is still deliciously interesting to me, it is as good as ever it was and I continue to be happy to be here among you. 

Ask questions please, tell me what you want and I'll see what I can do.

Remember that I am a blog novice so be patient with me please, I think this might be a pleasant and interesting journey for all of us.