MY PRIVILEGED LIFE

priv·i·lege

ˈpriv(ə)lij/

noun

1. a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people.

"education is a right, not a privilege"

synonyms: advantage, benefit; 

I grew up in unincorporated Columbus, Ohio in 1952.  Second child, first daughter.  Soon there were 6 of us children.  Those were the days when only the Dad worked away from home.  He was a carpenter and during the winters, he was mostly laid off.  

It was, for me, a great childhood.  While we were not poor by any means, we were definitely lower middle class. One car.  Hand me downs from cousins.  Never missed a meal but often had beans on toast. (Which I still love to this day!)

Recently on Facebook someone posted a "quiz" to see how "privileged" you are.  Since I am not black and I am heterosexual, I came up with pretty darned privileged!  Here is where I object to being part of a special "advantaged" group.  I could not choose to be any other race.  I am what I am.  Just like I can't choose to be transgender or bisexual or gay.

When I moved away from home, it was a step up in life for me.  I probably earned almost the same as my father did ... by being a secretary/bookkeeper.  Each time I changed jobs, it was another step up in pay and status.  For the life of me, I don't think I am where I am because I am "privileged."  I worked hard, commuted and helped raise a kidlet who is rather ashamed of her "privilege".

Sorry I just don't feel privileged.  I feel very LUCKY to have had humble beginnings and great parents who raised me to reach higher.  To give to community.  To use my talents.

Here's a link to this totally unbiased quiz ..

https://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/how-privileged-are-you?utm_term=.tve92GVgQx&ref=mobile_share#.kr6mglbE7W

See what you think!

BRACE YOURSELF

Yesterday I had Invisalign braces put on!  Yep, 65 years old and getting braces!!

 

Did you know your teeth continue to move all of your life?  In my family, it seems like you either needed glasses or braces.  I was glasses.  But with all the movement (and teeth grinding!??), it was getting harder and harder to floss.  My bite had changed.  So I am changing all of that.  I read somewhere that 40% of ortho patients are over 40!  With continued longevity, I am very interested in keeping these teeth in good shape until I don’t need them any more.

Several other things that continue to grow or change as we age.  Feet!  With age, feet change in shape… they will flatten out and elongate.   It’s estimated that many people over the age of 40 can gain half a shoe size every 10 years.   (So, have your feet measured often and don’t get hung-up on the size on the shoe box but the actual fit of the shoe).

And then we move on to noses and ears.  Bones stop growing after puberty and muscle and fat cells also stop dividing. But cartilage - that’s the plastic-like stuff in ears and noses - cartilage continues to grow until the day you die. Not only does cartilage grow, but the earlobes elongate from gravity. And that makes ears look even larger.

So it’s really true. Older people do have larger noses and ears.  Bad news for me as I started out with a large, long nose. That might just be the ONLY plastic surgery I could be interested in ...

Back to the braces.  What an interesting concept (invented by some Stanford kids).  The company makes a new set of clear, plastic coverings that you step up to every two weeks!  Depending on how much movement needs to be done, you can be wearing these for up to three years.  My dentist is confident that mine will be just a year.

Yesterday they put porcelain "warts" on about 12 teeth so that the plastic things have something to snap onto.  So it kinda makes me WANT to wear the braces for that smooth tongue feel.  These will sure help me cut down on snacking.  You can only drink water with them in.  After you take them out for eating, you need to brush your teeth and brush the braces with water and a kids soft toothbrush.  My car is now equipped as is my purse.  And of course the Gramma pad.  

Wish me luck!