There are too many products on the market to keep us young. On TV commercials, the radio, on the pages of magazines. Don't have any wrinkles. Hide your grey hairs. Heaven forbid you have any middle age spread. And, dare I mention, the dollars spent keeping sex drives at the level of pubescent teenagers? They say youth is wasted on the young, but soon old age will be wasted on the old!

Now I'm not advocating letting it all fall apart. Of course stay healthy, present yourself well, love and have fun. But if you are lucky you will age. And all the Botox, hair dye, tucks and medications...well, do you really think you're fooling anyone? The best beauty tip at any age remains an active mind, engaging smile, laughing eyes and open heart. These things increase as they are cultivated over a lifetime. "Old Age" is the time to enjoy everything maturing, not to waste time achieving youth again.

I'm opting to age naturally. I want my kids and grandkids to see the beauty of getting older. I want them to realize that Grandma's older but still so comfortable in her skin, there's no need to change it. That way when the inevitable aging begins in their lives, their old age won't be wasted on someone trying to be young. Old age will be for the old.

I've been designing small scenes with nests over the past few days. While working I had a container of sparkly jewels from another project on the table. Then a random idea was born -- put the jewels in the nest like a magpie. The result was beautiful and eye-catching.

I looked at the nest and stopped short -- I've been exhibiting crafting magpie behavior for years. I collect, stash and store. I sift through piles of sales items and buy random objects. My family hears me mutter "there's a craft project in there somewhere" as I intercept items from the trash pile. Pandora's box is a an amateur collection compared to my craft cabinets. Shiny, colorful, worn, full of potential -- I've got it all.

At last I have the luxury of creating with these treasures I've been storing. I don't always know exactly what the end product will be each day. It's a constant journey and surprise. It's a pleasure and a revelation. A crafting magpie am I!

PS: Recent scientific research shows that magpies really don't like shiny objects. But really -- I'm not telling you that. Why ruin such a longstanding folklore belief? Besides, look above -- I think I found a magpie nest!

I was looking for inspirational quotes for women and came across many concerning the subject of an empty nest. Most of them were, I'll be honest, mournfully sappy or full of melancholy and regret. I thought to myself "Oh my, is that how a woman is supposed to feel? There are way too many years left to be looking at life as an empty nest."

I think we need some optimism here. That nest may be empty but it is also quiet, can be cleaned out and rearranged and demands much less of your time. This is good. You are not primarily someone's mom anymore. There is discomfort with this at first, but now you can go back to you being you. That nest is empty so you can perch on the rim, not to look back, but to shake out your wings and leap off the edge. Reinvent, rearrange, shake things up. Start a new adventure for this phase of your life.

A wise lady (me) made up a new saying for this time of life: "An empty nest does not mean your life is over. It means it is time for you, too, to fly!" Leave the nest behind -- there's so much waiting for those who fly!

It's still cold outside in this area of the country but I hear a warm-up is coming just in time for next week's Craft Fair. Here's a sneak peek at some assorted Easter products at The Wistful Grandma's booth next Saturday, March 12. Hope to see you there!

For complete info on the venue visit the Whitnall Park Rotary Club website.