Do we worry more as we get older?
I am sitting at my computer, listening to the council man outside mowing the park that adjoins my place. On the shelf above me the scent from a bunch of sweet peas from my garden mingles with the lovely sharpness of cut grass. For four entire days Wellington has enjoyed blessed windless spring sunshine. I should be at peace. But I worry. In a book I was reading yesterday an old grandmother said ‘worrying is a waste of time; enjoy the moment; remember the past with pleasure; we can’t alter the future.’ But we can alter the future. Or at least we should try.
I worry about my elderly sister who is ill and whose future care is problematic; about my great- grandchildren inheriting an inhospitable planet; about whether the meal I have planned will find favour with my visiting family tonight; about whether the play I have written will be a flop; likewise the new novel.
Well enough. Consider the lilies of the field (which are looking pretty healthy) and enjoy this amazing spring.
Jenny Pattrick 
Dear Jenny,
I have just read the Judy Bailey interview in The Australian Women’s Weekly.
You have led such a rich life. Full of communication with the inanimate and animate.
I’m full of admiration. I too am learning to live on my own and your advice to lead an organized life is invaluable and sensible. The temptation not to is frequently present when one is a ‘reader’.
I’m eighty-three in June. My husband is hospitalised with Parkinson’s and dementia. Consequently my life is all over the place in a sense. I fight the tiredness and chaos that ensues at times.
But on seeing the vase of Sweet Peas adorning your room_____when googling for further narrative on your life_____I wanted so much to leave a comment. Simply love Sweet Peas. They were planted yearly by my mother along a trellis fence by the kitchen. Their blooming and delicate perfume were joys looked forward to, on our Canterbury farm.
My Auckland apartment living only allows for a balcony garden which requires constant watering… I do have two Olive trees, lavender , hydrangeas and herbs____which amazingly thrive. Our Norwegian son ,Mark, established it for me on a recent visit. He planted roses too but the heat frizzled and frazzled them beyond recognition!
Eddie, our New Zealand artist son tries to keep me organised. We both attempt to keep my husband, Douglas, in the land of the living ! Our minds are God’s greatest achievements…
Good Night and God Bless. Keep up your wonderful vitality. You are looking great.
With best wishes,
Lorraine Clemens