Kay's Korner
I have spent quite a bit of time this week dressed up as an old lady to play Florence in the Ritz Community Theatre’s production of Leading Ladies.
That has made me think about what kind of old person I hope to become.
Florence is a fun character to play — she is rude, sometimes downright mean, doesn’t particularly care what other people think and isn’t afraid to tell people what she’s thinking. Actually, I don’t think she’s too far off from my own personality.
She also likes to step on people’s toes with her cane, which is a lot of fun.
I have never enjoyed having stage makeup on as much as I enjoy being made into Florence. I have learned that I will probably not be the kindest looking old woman, as my “resting witch” face is magnified with wrinkles, but I find the results absolutely hilarious every time I see myself in a mirror backstage. It’s almost impossible to cover all of my natural color without suffocating on baby powder, but I think I rock the salt and pepper hair.
I swing wildly between wanting to be a crotchety old woman like Florence and wanting to be a warmer, grandmotherly sort who gardens, bakes and insists on feeding everyone who comes into her house.
Of course, it might be pretty difficult to be grandmotherly if I don’t have children or grandchildren, and I can’t say those are something I see in my future any time soon, if ever. I am ambivalent at best about the idea. I am not in any state to raise a child. As I have mentioned many times before, I am still a child myself. Raising a child is a lot of responsibility that I don’t know that I will ever be ready or willing to take on.
It also seems like an extremely painful process. I certainly wouldn’t want to be pregnant or give birth, even though I am told it is worth it in the end. Plus, it seems like a lot to ask someone to give up their own freedom for the rest of their life.
Perhaps I am simply too selfish to be willing to go through all that.
I like to think that I know what kind of parent I would be. I think I know how I would approach difficult subjects, but my time around my cousins, nieces and nephews has taught me that children are unpredictable. Sometimes there is no way to plan for what they may say or do, and they are not always capable of basic reasoning.
Part of me wants a huge family that will surround me in my old age, and part of me finds the prospect of being responsible for that many people incredibly daunting. That side usually wins out because it seems like the more logical of the two choices.
Whether or not I ever become a grandmother, when I hope to be the kind of person one thinks of when they think of grandmothers.
Kaylee Rush is a staff writer for The Snyder News. Coments on this article can be made at lifesyles@thesnydernews.com