Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone
by: W. H. Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

My mother is in a hospice facility and she will pass away soon--perhaps in the next few hours, perhaps in a few more days. She has not woken up for 10 days since she became very ill, and will likely never wake again. At 81, she has lived a long, interesting, and sometimes difficult life. But for the past six days, she has been treated like a princess. Nurses and volunteers come in the room to stroke her hands and brush her hair. This morning, her nurse smoothed her long, curly, gray locks into a high bun on her head, making her look like an 80-ish ballerina. The staff calls her "mama", and tells her she must have been "a real looker" in her day, with her pink, heart-shaped mouth.

We wait. We nap, we watch television, we drink hot coffee by the truckloads. We pray and we pray and we pray. I rub my fingers on the rosary my teenage daughter tucked into my purse before I left, "just in case." "It won't be long now. It's finally her time," they tell us. We hope she will find the gate soon, following the light, and join her parents and siblings, whom we picture waiting patiently for the youngest child of eight to arrive in heaven. We pray for peace. For her moment of peace.

If you are looking for a charity, let me recommend, with all my heart, the Hospice Foundation of America. Medical professionals are in the business of helping us stay healthy, and saving our lives. But it takes an extraordinary type of person and organization to help you make the transition from life to death comfortable, when the time comes. To know when it's time to let go, and let God take over.

It occurred to me that my daughter hadn't noticed and that the boys in my life will never notice such things, so I had to take it upon myself to master the art of applying my own makeup to perfection. Or at least better than I have in the past. I wasn't sure where to turn, so I turned to the place I knew would have advice for women my age: More magazine, and I found this article: Beauty Tricks to Master by 40 - MORE Magazine. Let's hope I don't have anymore episodes of looking like a clown in public, in the near future.

• Talk about trying to pay your debt to society. Recently, this story appeared on msnbc.com: Inmates baby-sit tot found alone on highway. Perhaps they haven't completely made up for their crimes, but I'd say it's a good start.
• In these tough economic times, who would turn down $10,000? Check it out: Michigan lottery winner gives prize to charity. Hopefully, good karma will bless him for this generous act.
• A group of college students spent their Spring Break not doing what you'd expect, if you were expecting them to be partying on a beach. Instead, they spent their time spreading their faith in Daytona Beach, where college students have gone for decades to indulge in some very unholy activities. Read about it in: What would Jesus do on spring break?

Fast forward about five years, and I had graduated from college and moved to Georgia. I searched high and low for the best Cuban/Caribbean/Mexican restaurants, and was always excited to meet young professionals that spoke Spanish, so I could practice my other language a bit, which I feared I would lose after I moved away from my family. So I guess it's true--you don't really miss something until it's gone.

Now, I have a young adult daughter who loves the culture that makes up 50% of her gene pool, so I am often on the lookout for Latin-inspired gifts. For instance, I got her the tank top pictured above from one of my new favorite etsy.com shops ChulaMichele. (Chula means "cute" in Spanish.) Also on etsy, I found these wonderful, Latin-inspired items you might want to check out:

• Guadalupe Earrings from saintbeads.
• Retablo Virgin Mary Folk Art Pendant from thesacredbead2.
• Catboxartstudio's Frida Kahlo-inspired art. I especially love her Day of the Dead stuff.
• Guatemalan Huipil Pendant from Lachapina.

This brave little girl will leave a lump in your throat. I promise.

Aaaaaaaah youth. It got me to thinking: Where did the fun go? I'll admit, I have loads of fun kibitzing with my buddy Angela, or meeting my partner-in-crime Sharon for lunch in parts of town we should consider ourselves too uncool to even be seen in anymore. And from time to time, me and my buddies from church have been known to throw quite the party, celebrating anything from 50th birthdays to our kids' high school graduations. But really, lately I have just begun to wonder where is the impromptu. memory-making, no-holds-barred fun, the kind you talk about years later, the kind that makes your life...well...your life?

So here's my pledge: I am going to have more fun. I don't know how, just yet, but I will. Because although I may not be summoned to a water balloon fight anytime in the near future, well, I will be trying to seek out ways of making my forties (4.5 more years of them!) the time of my life.

Click on the image to learn more about Earth Hour and how you can be part of this historic event.

Okay, I totally get that if I want silence, I should stay home. I don't mind a little background chatter. And I didn't at all mind the baby doing all the cooing and jabbering at the table nearby. But try as I might, I cannot understand why someone would choose to have a long, loud, cell-phone conversation in a restaurant. Last week, a woman planned an entire field trip at the table next to me. Her discussion of the plans was interrupted with her yelling into the phone "CAN YOU HEAR ME? CAN YOU HEAR ME?" every few minutes. Apparently the person she was speaking with could not hear her well. We restaurant patrons, however, could hear her just fine and dandy. Most of us trying to work or even just eat quietly in her area were giving each other looks and rolling our eyes. I was glad to see that I was not alone in my annoyance.

Today, the woman at the next table was having a long, and again, very loud, business conversation. I can tell you that she has an appointment tomorrow at around 2 p.m. at her client's house to discuss some stuff that I shouldn't go into here on my blog. Because, you see, I'm sure it's all very private. Oh wait, she was YELLING it across Panera. Guess it's not so private after all.

I was feeling like one of those people who just complains too much, until I started to search the Web for evidence that I am not alone in my disdain for people who have loud cell phone conversations in restaurants. Some cities, apparently, have even tried to get laws passed against cell phone use in restaurants. I found lots of people complaining about how much they dislike hearing other peoples' cell phone conversations, like here and here, but also some articles that say it's okay, since sometimes, cell phones are needed for emergency calls or checking in with family. Other people on the Web are just asking the question, Is it Appropriate?, and gathering opinions from the masses, like on Helium, where hundreds of people have weighed in on the question. I even found one site dedicated to the issue.

So am I turning into one of those grumpy people who needs to just "chill out," as my teenage son would say? Am I hypersensitive? Well for me, it comes down to manners. If your babysitter calls and you're in a restaurant, of course you should answer and either have a quiet conversation or step outside. Ditto for any other important or emergency calls. But when it comes to conducting long, drawn-out business conversations or catching up with your buddies, maybe a restaurant just isn't the place for it.

I had my own little episode of overreacting last week when I rushed to the ophthalmologist because my eyelid wouldn't stop fluttering. After a bit of panic and my $40 co-pay, he said "Well, there's really nothing I can do about that. It will go away eventually."

So, when should be pay attention to those little health blips, and when should we just chalk them up to getting a little older? This article on the More Web site,
8 Warning Signs Women Over 40 Shouldn't Ignore, offers some help in that area. The article lists eight symptoms you should take seriously whenever they occur. (Eyelid fluttering, by the way, was not on the list.)

While you're on this site, check out other cool stuff like the Overpaid/Underpaid Totable file box, Dial-an-Excuse Wheel o’ Wisdom, and, my personal favorite, the Paper Voodoo Pad.

• Odd, yet heartwarming at the same time, check out Cnn.com's Ailing man's family finds kidney donor on Craigslist.
• I realize we can't expect our kids' teachers to be perfect, but can we start by expecting them not to be prostitutes? In the MSNBC feature Officers: Teacher cut class for prostitution, read about a woman who got busted for just that.
• While we're on the subject of bad behavior from people who watch our kids, check out School bus liquor-store run gets cops' attention.
• If you need to cleanse your soul but can't make it to a church, you're in luck. According to this Time article, When Confession Takes Place Online, you can confess your sins without ever leaving the comfort of your home.
• This California woman wants to make sure potential employers see her resume, so she is putting right on her shirt where they can see it. Read about it in this CNN feature, Woman wants to get resume off her chest.