Community Chat

[golding76]

I attended a cousin's funeral today at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, D.C. To get there, I had to drive through Georgetown, where I created many pleasant memories years ago when I lived there and in nearby Glover Park. Of course I hated closing the chapter of my cousin's life (actually my second cousin, but he was close to both my mother and me). As I drove through Georgetown, though, I saw how many of the lovely and chic restaurants and shops on Wisconsin Ave. that I once knew are now gone. Their replacements are truly a world apart from those that once thrilled me. Fortunately, when I went up 33rd and down (later) 34th Streets in G'town, I found the homes still looked wonderfully maintained, reminding me of the past. Driving down Prospect St. made me think of "The Exorcist," of course. Anyway, it was a remembrance of times past today.

How I hate endings.

[raven-blackbird]

but....................endings bring new beginning.........................................raven

[serenity4ever]

Goldie, I am sorry for your loss.

I do understand exactly what you mean. The longer I live, the more I see the world changing around me. I guess that just comes with age but it still can be hard sometimes to accept change none the less.....

[Elstongunn]

As with all of us, OUR endings are just bringing NEW beginnings for younger people. When they become our age, they'll bemoan the changes in their environment, too.

When you think about it, those chic stores and restaurants you remember from your younger years most likely replaced buildings that your parents/grandparents/other neighborhood people were attached to.

Hopefully, the area's changes are for the better. Or at least it doesn't get run down into a slum. That is what makes me sad.

[voyager1980]

(((Goldie))) I'm sorry for your loss but glad you have good memories.

[MickD]

Goldie ~ Oh sorry for your loss....as others have said, think of all the happy memories you have.

[golding76]

Thank you, all, for your caring and wise words. You are so right. We get "out of the way" so that the new generation can have their day. It is the way of the world. My dear late husband was so accepting of the inevitable end of everything. Obviously, I have to continue working on this. We all have our day, don't we? But of course, the young have to have theirs, too.

[Mominohio]

So sorry for your loss. It seems the older we get, the harder it is to loose those close to us. I imagine it makes our own mortality even more real.

I totally understand your sense of loss in the changes in the "old neighborhood". I feel much the same way when I visit my old stomping grounds. Change is inevitable, but it's the decline that bothers me. Some areas from my past have made some slight recovery after their decline, but never to the grand memories I have of them. It makes me try to appreciate the now, as it all goes by so quickly, and what is today, will one day be gone as well. It helps to try to look forward to changes coming in the future, and plan for them with some excitement, rather than dread them.