Homemade Wine and death

My neighbor passed away a few hours ago.  He was in his late 70's or early 80's I think and has had serious heart problems the last ten years I have lived here.  We spent one afternoon together after he saw me on my porch and yelled out "do you want a bottle of wine?" I said sure.  It seemed like only seconds and he was at my front door.

I was in the depths of my depression and isolation and definitely was not thinking about having visitors but there I was on the porch with him.  He apparently made homemade wine.  I knew he was a retired acupuncturist so I asked him why he chose that.  He said he had worked for the DOW company and heard there was a lot of money in acupuncture in Florida. Not exactly what I expected him to say about his chosen field.

We went on to talk about my obvious mental problems and menopause.  He shared with me that his ex wife went through the same thing and left him.  When it was over she said she was sorry and wanted to come back.  He was already engaged to my other neighbor so by that time it was too late.

I always thought I would get to know them better because his wife is very politically active and had the only Hillary sign in the neighborhood.  She has worked for non-profits her whole life and has an amazing track record for fighting for people that need help.  A friendship has not worked out mainly because I have had my own issues.

Today I am staining a ceilings worth of cypress wood that a guy is suppose to install next week.  The boards are laying across three saw horses in my driveway.  I have been sanding and staining all morning and now the hearse has arrived to take the body away.  Very awkward me with my giant face respirator out sanding while they are dealing with death. I have retreated to write this while the body is being taken away.

As far as I know we can't avoid death.  It is something we will all face.  I am not afraid of it and really feel that people are lucky if they have had a long life and in the end they had the people they loved beside them. Just having people that love you is something not everyone has. Experiencing death so young I think that it made realize nothing is guaranteed.  I was thrilled to get past 41 the age my mother died.  I had no idea just how young she was.

Grief is hard and cannot be avoided but it is part of the celebration of some one's life. You loved them and they meant something to you. It can feel like a warm blanket if you don't resist. Nobody understands what you are going through until they experience it themselves.  Everyone goes back to there lives after two weeks and you are left to lay down with the grief and deal with it your own way.

In my experience it takes three years to come back to life when you lose someone you love.  You get back to life quicker than that but it still lingers in the back ground. Be kind to yourself if you have lost someone or even if you have lost a dream. It is okay not to get past it in record time.  It means that it was important to you and worth the sadness.

To my neighbor who left us today.  You brought love to the people that loved you and they will celebrate their loss with grief and maybe some homemade wine.

A real artist - Three glasses of wine

It has been nice taking a little more time off from work. It has given me a chance to take a look at many things that have been neglected in my personal life. This week I actually went back to my portrait drawing class and then last night I went to one of my fellow artist art opening.

I was in a very small store front which made it intimate. The lighting was very good and her oil paintings looked great. A few of us from the class showed up and we were all packed in there pretty close. Luckily the weather was great and we were able to stand outside and let the real customers inside.

We went to dinner afterward it was a pretty upscale place. Ironically a place my husband and I would go to for our anniversary in the early years when we were still celebrating. It is in a tourist area near the gallery. It seems sometimes you can never get away from the past.

While the server was delivering three large top heavy glasses full of red wine they toppled over and ended up down my back. Moments before when she was rounding the corner I thought to myself "those glasses look pretty top heavy."  A premonition I guess. If my husband had been there he would have made a comment about wasting perfectly good alcohol.

Our server never recovered and neither will my shirt or my cloth purse that was sitting on the floor. The restaurant didn't even offer to comp my meal. The manager did give me his card and said if I needed anything more let him know.

I left before everyone finished they were all drinking and my nerves were shot. A day of work and then standing around and then ending the evening in a loud restaurant from my past. I was a hour away from home and was glad to have the long silent drive to come back to center.

Today I am matting and framing portraits from my class. They are having an open house next week end and since I decided to go back when I did they ask me for three framed pieces.

This has brought up a lot of issues today that I wasn't expecting. It has stressed me out and I kept stopping and eating instead of just getting it done.

Why is it so hard to believe in yourself and your abilities. I can say I am a good even great designer but I can't say that about my art without hearing that voice that says "what if that isn't true?" Art is so personal. When I was a kid I knew I was going to be a real artist when I grew up.

The one area of my life that I still need someone else to say I am good in order to believe that I am.  I actually got my wish this week when the framer who cut my mats wanted my card. She said she wanted to buy one of portraits I was having matted. Even with that I thought she was just being nice.

Maybe because we are taught that it is wrong to take pride in yourself unless it is to do with work. I could be because I am afraid of what it might mean if I am not really any good. The story I have created around the idea that I am artist would be challenged and I might have to admit that I am not one.

The truth is that my art will better than some of the other students and not as good as some of the other students. If I decide that I want to invest more time towards art I will be better this time next year than I am now.  

Who knows maybe when I grow I will be an artist with a gallery opening. Maybe not. Either way it gives me joy when I just focus on capturing what in the faces of our models instead of thinking about whether I am a real artist.