My Oldest Daughter is Having a Big Birthday this month. Helen Dow Matheson Hilliard was born on February 24, 1963. (just after my 21st birthday ) Second of our children. She was born in Charlottesville, VA at UVA Hospital. Her dad was in the Architecture School at UVA. We were thrilled to have a girl. Our family was complete. A Mom and Dad and two children, a boy and a girl were the ideal in the 1960s. But in fact,…
Marriage. I believe in marriage. When it is good it is very, very good. The day I married Charley remains in my memory one of the happiest days of my life. Walking down that aisle, surrounded by guests seated in the lovely wooden pews. and with every third pew bedecked with a beautiful white rose, and a baby’s breath floral arrangement. The flowers hung on a wrought iron stand– a tall, narrow base– so that they could be easily visible….
Do you want to live a long and healthy life? If you are taking care of yourself, you should be seeing someone besides a typical “western” doctor. They are not trustworthy and cannot be believed any longer. Many people have lost all faith in them. Do not allow yourself to be sucked into the “system.” See an alternative healer like a chiropractor, naturopath or herbalist. Acupuncture and even hypnosis can heal you without side effects or drug dependency. I opened…
His father used to say this after spending time alone with Murdoch. My son Murdoch is good company. Not rambunctious or argumentative, not boring or scary, not noisy, rude or disruptive, just fun to be around; he is active and athletic, but peaceful and intelligent. The fifth of our children and the last, as it turned out, we may have spoiled him at times. But other times he raised himself. We were busy, and he was so unobtrusive we did…
When he was born, I was 20 years old. It was thrilling. But I was clueless. I knew nothing about babies. I had never even babysat a child. Everything was new. The first time my pediatrician came to my house, I was embarrassed that I did not know how to change a diaper very well. I was such a baby myself. That was in the days when doctors still did that. And he encouraged me to nurse Charley, saying it…
When I was 16 I got my driver’s license. It was one of the greatest days of my life. Freedom. The ability to just go and do it all by myself was like a miracle. Because I was given a car this really was an option. The feeling was thrilling. Empowerment was not a word I had ever heard back then, but it describes how I felt. Empowered. Hurrah! At the height of my ecstasy, it occurred to me that…
It was a cold clear Christmas Eve and we were living at a house we called BonnieBrae. We had not been living there too long, only a few months. We believed we had sold our wonderful farm, Heathfield. It was supposed to go through on January 1 of that year Was it 2000? Or 2001? So we bought another house and moved into it before the actual settlement of the sale of Heathfield. A word to the wise: Don’t ever…
We had dinner every Monday night for years. She liked to have two drinks before dinner. So that meant there was a lot of chatter and conversation between us as we sipped. As we got to know each other well. A mutual feeling of friendship grew between us. I LIKED her. It was fun to see each other every week. I looked forward to Mondays. I had come to Washington DC to live with my aging mother. I needed an…
My favorite time of year! That time in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. It lasts nearly a week. The day after Christmas is traditionally my absolute favorite. It is no longer as much a necessity as it was in those chaotic days when we had five children still in school. While they were all still living at home, Christmas was extremely hectic. Charley, Helen, Lilla, Robert, and Murdoch were as excited by Christmas as I was. I loved it….
We had three special birthdays this year. In January I turned 80 and my oldest son turned 60, my second-to-youngest son is 50. Amazing ages! We are all in excellent health! We celebrated these milestones with wonderful dinners. And we are grateful to various businesses, and for our many family members. Chisholm Vineyard and wine tasting venue is serving their wonderful wine and welcoming those who wish to taste their prize winning wine in their scenic localle. My family is…
Ice and snow were predicted for Wednesday. Yikes! If that happened, what could I do to protect myself and finish as many tasks as possible? In our family, there are some traditions that are simply carved in stone. Family gatherings for one thing, and decorations, christmas cards, presents, and at least one but more likely several family meals. There are five family birthdays this month. Those birthday people MUST have different presents, not just their gifts from Christmas. Decorations come…
Fifty Years Ago, I had a Baby!! I was thirty, and we decided to have another baby. We already had three lovely children. But many of our friends were just getting married. It just looked like so much fun to add to the family. After all, Charley’s family had two sets of children separated by seven years. And we started so young with the first ‘set .’We were twenty when our first one was born, and I was still twenty-two…
On the night before my debut, in June of 1960, my mother went out into the night down the driveway to the street after dark. The florist, Walter Sharon, who helped decorate the tents wanted her to see how they looked lighted at night. The tents were pink, dramatically illuminated by glittering small lights. They were hung with birdcages filled with flowers and each had a fake bird or two, adding to the glamor. It was “other-worldly,” the way the…
This season is so necessary and so healthy. We should all be grateful for the idea of Thanksgiving. It is so healing and beneficial for the world. If you are breathing, you are probably thankful. Besides that this holiday does not require presents, greeting cards, long church services or even elaborate decorations. Just food. It is traditionally a feast day. The reason for the feasting is gratitude. What could be better? There is so much to be thankful for. When…
My hat is ancient. It may be 30 years old, but it is more like 40. It was a nice straw hat from the beginning. However, age has mellowed it, and it has a patina that can only come with many years of use. For a long time, I kept it in my car all summer. It was always near in those years when we regularly drove a ‘four-in-hand.’ It sat on the back shelf below the rear window of…
