Sigrid,

Bummer about the disability. While I don't have chronic pain, I do have an intense problem with not sleeping - since menopause started 13 years ago. I learned from a male cousin who is 77 that he also has the problem as did our grandmother, Renie, and his mother my auntIda. Menopause is finally winding down, but I'm still exhausted a good deal of the time. My writing and my painting have kept me distracted, although creativity is best with sleep. I started painting 4 years ago. Turns out I ain't half bad, and I love it.

How do you manage your pain and disability? How do you get through it all?

One of the things I'm doing to adjust to aging is to write an old lady story - about 4 feisty old women who get into mischief. To be an old lady in my story you have to be at least 90. These are spry old women inspired by some down-home country women in my family. I just started writing it about a week ago. As I did, my paternal grandmother, Renie, and my paternal aunt, Ida, were with me. I felt them standing behind my chair. It was just so cool. And today when I walked I felt them on either side of me, holding onto my arms. Grandma died when I was 7, and I must have been 25 when Aunt Ida died. I think we need heroes now. I'm going to create some old lady heroes. This book is going to be for fun. Yea!

What all do you write? I just found your novel, D'Amour Road on your site - a book based on a tragedy. Sounds interesting. I wrote a book about the crimes my brother committed. After that I turned to fiction.

Something else just occurred to me. Maybe people have thought you are older than you are, not because you look older, per se, but because of your chronic pain. I know when I'm exhausted I look at least ten years older. What kind of surgery is looming? What is the source of your disablity?

Caring about you in Elkton.
Vi