Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

April 1, 2008

 Today’s Announcement

I am pleased to announce Yvette Francino as writer # 461 for Storytime Tapestry.  Please email her and welcome her to our family.

Don’t forget to order your copy of Angels Watching Over Me, the story of an ordinary woman facing less than ordinary challenges.  Angels Watching Over Me is a story of family love, sacrifices, poverty and an undying faith that makes heroes out of all of us. Here is the link in case you have forgotten it: http://www.lulu.com/content/964306

Important notice: Storytime Tapestry is a free e-zine, however donations are always needed to help with the operating expenses of running the newsletter and to keep Storytime Tapestry the quality newsletter you are so accustomed to.   You can make your donations to paypal at: winterose@videotron.ca, or if you would prefer to use the mail system contact the publisher at the same email address: winterose@videotron.ca

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Finding Love at 48

Yvette Francino

Today is my 48th birthday. I've been thinking a lot about finding love at an older age.  I was divorced at 43, and being single has had its ups and downs.  "Dating" at any age is not really my cup-of-tea, but the older I get, the less I want to do it.  I much prefer an established relationship to the early getting-to-know-you days.  I'd love a 48-year-old balding guy with a paunch if he loved me, was the father of my kids and I'd shared the last 25 years with him.  I'd take him over a hunky young studmuffin any day. The problem is the bald father of my kids doesn't love me, and, in fact, is married to someone else.  Honestly, now that I am 5 years past that painful time, I'm glad.  Being single is not great, but it's better than being married to someone who doesn't love me.  And there are many habits that my ex-husband had that I am more than happy to no longer have to deal with.

It's hard to feel attracted to "older" people, though.  Bald men with a paunch with whom I've shared no history, don't do it for me. That's why we fall in love when we're young, get married, and by the time we don't look good anymore, we have developed that "mature" love that's based on so much more than how attractive we are. We usually accept each other's mutual decline on the attractiveness scale and do not have that dreaded fear of exposing middle-age imperfections.

Luckily, I have aged relatively well.  I get my fair share of attention from the "older" generation.  The other day I had some guy that looked like he could be 70 try and pick me up.  Though I know I should be flattered by any attention, I admit to feeling somewhat panicked that my "dating pool" is moving dangerously close to those headed for the geriatrics ward. 

The good news is I still get approached by young guys, too.  While in Cancun last week, some young guy invited me up to his room. (I almost called him a "young hottie", but...the truth is, he wasn't that hot.)  I told him I don't go to the rooms of men I don't know so he invited me for a drink to "get to know me".  I accepted the drink, but told him I thought the difference in our ages was too great.  I kiddingly told him I was turning 70.  Now here's the really bad thing about joking like that....  He said, "Really?????" as though it might actually be true!  No, NOT REALLY!  DUH!  To think someone might have actually believed I could be 70 (even if they were surprised!) was not pleasant.  Our little "getting to know you" drink, blessedly, did not last long.

Though I sound very cynical, and, honestly, I know my ambivalence about dating is one of my biggest obstacles from finding romance at this older age, I cannot say I do not have love in my life.  I have met many friends (both men and women), thanks to my single status, who I do now love.  I have friends help me when I'm too weak, short, or ditzy to do "hard" things myself.  I have friends I can call when I'm feeling sad or just need someone to tell me that I am sexy, even if I am pushing 50.  I have friends who will laugh with me, cry with me, or tell me to "get over it" when it's time to "get over it".   I may not have found my "soulmate" yet, but I have found more love since my divorce than I could ever hope for.   And for that I am very grateful.

This, once again, may not be a year I "fall in love", but it is a year that I will continue to  find more people to love....that's what life is all about and I plan to do it until the day I die. 

Yvette Francino

yvette.francino@gmail.com

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Poetry Corner

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The Magical Power Of A Hug

Cynthia Groopman

Oh, dear friends, what truly magical powers a sweet and gentle hug does possess,
As it clads our weary souls with the comforting cloak,
Of the warmth of love, joy and happiness.
When our faces are covered by a doleful frown,
A hug cheers us up and brightens our sad spirits
When we feel lonely, despair and down.
A hug will enliven the sad spirit with a smiling sunshine glow,
As we feel tranquility and reassurance from head to toe.
As a hug enfolds us into her loving warm arms,
No longer are we tormented by anxiety's anguish and harm.
For as a hug envelopes us with such intense positive emotional power,
We flourish and thrive like a newly blossoming fragrant flower.
A hug contains a potent healing agent, as you can plainly see,
And that is why a hug is caressed with God's blessings,
Of glorious splendor and mirthful majesty.


Cynthia Groopman
cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net

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Dazzled by Springtime's Glorious Flowers

Cynthia Groopman

Dazzled am I by springtime's glorious flowers, so lovely and fragrant,

As I walk in the sunshine of the springtime mild air, so radiant.

Sprightly lifting their sleepy heads from the renewed and refreshed mother earth,

Smiling and dancing are they with enthusiasm and mirth.

One by one, gently caressed by god's eternal love,

As merrily chirping birds sing cheerfully from above.

Majestically woven into a charming tapestry of enchanting fragrances and magnificent hues,,

Oh, glorious springtime flowers are deeply adored, cherished and appreciated by me and by you.

Cynthia Groopman

cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net

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Springtime is Delayed

Cynthia Groopman

I am a bit dismayed,

For springtime's arrival is a bit delayed.

.

Cold winds blow in a gusty way,

Snowflakes still dance and play.

Birds are not singing in the early morning,

The day is late in its blossoming and dawning.

Flowers are not budding as yet,

They think that it is still winter, you can bet.

.

Leaves are not adorning the tall branches of the trees,

When we venture outside in the morning, we still freeze.

Oh, springtime, where are you and when will you arrive?

Then spirits will flourish and hearts full of renewed energy and zest will smile and thrive

Cynthia Groopman

cynthia.Groopman@verizon.net

 Here is our Storytime Tapestry Angels: Also, I would like to thank those of you who chose to be a silent angel and gave an anonymous donation to keep Storytime Tapestry up and running.

Clara Westerfer, Mark Crider, Rosanne Catalano, Paula Booher, Kay Seefeldt, Mariane Holbrook, Mary Ellen Grisham, Louise Nomani, Sharon Bryant, Angela Walker, Hart and Helen Dowd, Keith Ready, Ginger Morgenstern, Ellie Braun-Haley, Surinder Jandu, Bob Shaw, Carol Meeks, Charlotte Hilliard, Marilyn Sink, Victor Buhagiar, Clarice Hinson, Conrad