Aging with Grace

Every neighborhood should have a great lady

Jane Austen

If you notice an abundance of Jane Austen in my writing it’s because I admire her artistry  and I recently bought a book of quotes from her work. She was a successful author at a time when it was not an easy thing for a women to be. 

Back to great ladies, of which Jane Austin is, certainly, one.  There are many women whom I admire. Some are well-known and others are known only by the people whose lives they touch. 

When I think of a great lady, I am reminded of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abby. She could be irreverent and sometimes rude, but also practical and caring. What you saw was what you got and she made no apologies. Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Eleanor Roosevelt, Katherine Graham, and Helen Mirren, in my opinion, are great ladies. They all seem to have a sense of self-knowledge. I think that’s key.

On a personal note, I consider my grandmother to be a great lady. She was the matriarch of our family and could be formidable, but she was compassionate, generous, and offered sound advice. She had many interests and was well-read. I lived with her and my grandfather while I was growing up and she, in a great part, shaped my life.