My friend G brought up a great topic on our Sunday walk. Can we all agree not to talk about our aches/pains and parent issues at our social gatherings? Her last dinner party seemed particularly focussed on talking about losing parents, recovering from surgeries, elder care issues etc.  “We don’t want to become the crotchety seniors we always complained about.”  Agreed.

What’s new in our lives these days is not always fun/good stuff but we don’t need to wallow in the bad stuff, either. Despite that, we’re still capable of cooking and sharing great meals, going out to movies, taking interesting trips, enjoying the new pleasures of our adult children, etc. Talking about my sore knee won’t make it feel better but talking about The King’s Speech which we saw last night triggered so much more interesting conversation about contemporary politics, history, war, overcoming adversity and, the movie’s staggeringly good performances.

So, let’s button up on the bitch & moan and let’s grace our friends and family with scintillating conversation, new ideas and shared humanity.