Letting the Pickles Go…

For twenty-six years, I have entered the pickle guessing contest at the North Carolina State Fair.

For twenty-six years, I have made a brilliant guess as to how many pickles are in the jar.

For twenty-six years, I have lost.

No glory for me from the Mount Olive Pickle Company.

So guess what?  This year I didn’t enter.  I’m giving it up.  I’m letting it go.

That’s what The Great Pause will do for you.  It helps you figure out what to keep and what to toss.  I’m getting to be a pretty good tosser:   Hurt.  Anger.  Regret.  Resentment.  Activities I don’t enjoy.  Skills I just can’t master.

T. S. Eliot writes, “Teach us to care and not to care.”  To that I might add a line from the Serenity Prayer:  “And the wisdom to know the difference.”

Letting go makes space for more joy, more love, more confidence, more engaging activities, and more new skills.

Hold this thought tight:  With menopause, comes the wisdom to let go.

Celebrate with a big old pickle or maybe even a whole jar!

Photos:  Above is this year’s pickle jar.  No announcement yet as to how many pickles it holds.  Below are photos of my husband Cliff entering the contest for the twenty-seventh time.  He hasn’t given up yet!  But that’s good, because he really wants to win, and besides, he likes pickles a whole lot more than I do.

Happy Birthday on November 1st to Cliff, who loves pickles, Duke basketball, pizza, reading, Star Trek, backpacking, American Flyer Trains, the morning paper, barbecue and hush puppies,  Bald Head Island, kids,classical music, Butterfingers, waterlilies, the Appalachian Trail, wine and beer, potluck suppers, cats, Blues artists Buddy Guy and Koko Taylor (among others), nice snakes, gardens, old buildings, the North Carolina State Fair, science fiction, magnolia trees, the Rolling Stones, Christmas, the New Jersey boardwalk, and Chinese buffets ALMOST as much as he loves me (and our children!)