From Birds Without Wings

"There comes a point in life where each one of us who survives begins to feel like a ghost that has forgotten to die at the right time, and certainly most of us were more amusing when we were young. It seems that age folds the heart in on itself. Some of us walk detached, dreaming on the past, and some of us realise that we have lost the trick of standing in the sun. For many of us the thought of the future is a cause for irritation rather than optimism, as if we have had enough of new things, and wish only for the long sleep that rounds the edges of our lives. I feel this weariness myself."

Well, I don't but this--"It seems that age folds the heart in on itself."-- is so beautifully written that I thought I'd share.

I just started reading Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres. A major love affair is peaking its all-consuming head from behind the first page.

Modern Life

It's a hot summer day in Istanbul and I wish it were a hot summer day in New York. I'm laptopping it on the balcony and The New York Times is killing me! Carefree shopping stories with virgin interior decorators, Bill Cunningham on scarf-wearers in August, "news" of restaurants in Beijing being encouraged to take dog off their menus during the Olympics (not hot dogs but actual dog meat...yuck!). I remember what summers were like in an office -- arriving late, leaving early, looking busy while reading the paper filled with such carefree stories, sneaking out for venti iced coffees with sweaty cups. Arriving home with hours to spare before the sun went down, we would enjoy drinks on the rooftop, walks along the Hudson, ice cream at the gelato place in the WFC.

Yesterday, we watched home videos of the kid when she was two. There was one particular wrestling session at the park that made me nostalgic for what we had there. Then again both the husband and I look like crap in the video (compared with what we look like now) and I remember how tired I always was from running both the job and the household. Losing the afternoon to gems like Modern Love was never an option when we lived in New York.

The husband has been traveling for work to exotic locales like Georgia, Moldova and Kazakhstan so I decided to spend a few days "camping" with his relatives down south. We just got back. Unfortunately there are very few pictures to share as both digital cameras are missing their battery chargers. I did bring back a great tan and five pounds though. That'll hold me off for a while.