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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2019)
May 10, 2019 T he C olumbia P ress Senior Moments with Emma Edwards It’s no surprise that ‘mother’ can be used so many different ways Mother [MUH-ther] – noun, one person who does the work of 20. For free! (see also masochist, loony, saint.) Sunday is Mother’s Day. The age-old question, “what is a mother?” comes to mind. It’s interesting to note that the word mother can be a noun, adjective or verb. A mother could be all three in one sentence. A mother could be a woman who has given birth to or nev- er birthed a baby. And nowadays it is not too unusual for a dad to mother his children while the moth- er is working outside the home. An adjective use would in- clude referring to one’s moth- er country or mother tongue. A verb use would include a phrase such as “we butchered the wrong rabbit and I had to mother the babies left be- hind.” And, of course, the noun form of the word mother could be a person, place or thing and that about sums up the average mother. Maybe you can think of a sentence describing your mother using all three of these parts of speech? It was certainly my joy to mother my children and to have had a mother to moth- er me. She surely didn’t think about those three parts of speech, but I’m sure she did every one of them on a daily basis. In researching motherhood for this column, I felt as if I were back in school enjoying my English class. Yes, that was a favorite subject. Remember that it’s OK if you, as a mom, fall apart sometimes. Tacos fall apart and we still love them! And always remember, any woman can be a mother, but it takes someone special to be called “mom.” One more thing, as we old- er seniors see the roles evolve or reverse and our adult chil- dren assume the role of our mother, for which I am per- sonally thankful. What are we seniors doing for fun as summer approach- es? I know, many of us are pulling weeds! That reminds me, several weeks ago I cut all my rose bushes down to almost noth- ing. A kind neighbor even came over and helped me with the task. Well, every single bush is still alive and I think I will have the prettiest roses on the block this year. It made me reflect that sometimes in our lives, we go through pruning seasons of illness or financial setback or whatever, and then comes the sunshine. Maybe, it is because we have endured suffering and that makes us appreciate the good times even more. I am not sure. But, you know, us seniors are survivors and isn’t it fun -- almost exhilarating -- when the younger generation asks us questions about the depression and/or recession that we lived through in the “olden days”! Kind of fun to share our “wisdom” or mem- ories? As seniors, most of us can appreciate this sign I saw re- cently: “Your mother is not here. Please clean up your own mess!” Thank you, God, for moth- ers! CMH class aims at gentle moves 7 A free class in qigong and gen- tle movement is held from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Wednesdays in the CMH- OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative, 1905 Exchange St., Astoria. Qigong, pronounced chee gung, is a holistic system of coordin- ated body posture and movement, breathing and meditation. It’s thought to have a positive and re- laxing effect on the mind and body. Class members perform simple and gentle repetitive exercises that can be done sitting or standing. Registration is encouraged by call- ing 503-338-4520. Boothe-Schmidt:New perspective, fresh ideas Continued from Page 1 issues and other things that come with owning a busi- ness. I have also been a leader with my local union, with be- ing the president for the last 5 ½ years. Being involved with the union led me to being a member of our PAC (Political Action Committee). I have worked on several candidate campaigns but have not run for a position until now. What makes you the best candidate: I would bring a new perspective to the district and some new ideas. I have been looking for something I could get in- volved with within commu- nity and I picked SETD be- cause it interests me. My mother-in-law is of the age that she no longer drives. I’ve ask her why she doesn’t take the bus more and she says because she doesn’t know how to figure out the routes. I would like to see more community outreach to our older population, the ones who maybe don’t have a computer or social media to help them. Top three issues: 1. During the federal shutdown in December/January, there was the threat of possibly needing to cut services as not all the funding was coming through as expected. This could have been devastating to some of those who rely on the bus to get back and forth to work. 2. During this same time, SETD was looking into new software and backup services due to a breach in their sys- tem. 3. Ridership. How do you propose dealing with the top is- sues: If you look at my two top concerns, both are bud- get-related. I would like to help come up with a strategic plan that would provide resources to get through budget emergencies. And, of course, ridership. I think we all should try to im- prove ridership. I’m not going to pretend that I know how to fix this, but asking people why they don’t ride the bus would be a good start. A few years ago, I decid- ed I’d like to take the bus to work, even if just a couple days a week. At that time, us- ing the bus wasn’t an option as there would have been an hour wait for a connecting bus to finish my trip. Getting home from work would have worked. I’m sure the routes have changed and maybe it would be better suited for me now. I also understand that a lot of our population lives in ru- ral areas of the county and those would be much harder to provide service for. Gaebel: Experience and compassion are key Continued from Page 1 former volunteer for Court Appointed Special Advocates; former volunteer at Women’s Resource Center, now The Harbor. What makes you the best candidate? My experi- ence and my passion for good transportation availability for Senior lunch menu Monday, May 13: Lasagna, garlic bread, zucchini, minestrone soup, ice cream. Thursday, May 16: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, mixed greens, key lime pie. The Warrenton senior lunch program is at noon (doors open at 10:30 a.m.) Mondays and Thursdays at Warrenton Community Center, 170 SW Third St. Suggested donation is $6 for ages 55 and older; $7 for those younger. For more information, call 503-861-3502. Clatsop County. Top three issues? Continuing our growth in a sustainable manner; improv- ing our technology; Develop- ing an SETD-specific emer- gency operations plan. How do you propose dealing with the top is- sues? Work with my fellow board members to ensure the ad- opted strategic plan for our district is completed. This also means giving sup- port to our staff to allow them to do their jobs.