More about Meg

We met Meg in yesterday’s post. Let’s visit her again and see what’s doing.

She has lived in her immediate neighborhood for 7 years. We know she lived in other neighborhoods of Chicago because she is a native born Chicagoan. Most of those areas were on the near northwest side of the city, and closer-in north neighborhoods. Over the years rents and home prices have soared so Meg had to balance her options carefully to retain city residence or move elsewhere. She always opted to remain in the city she loves.

Meg is a disaffected Roman Catholic. This was not a choice for her; she was married and had a good marriage for 14 years when she learned he was cheating on her. So divorce was the obvious legal choice regardless of the church’s rules. Of course the church didn’t see it that way and so Meg and the church separated.

Meg had two children. Both remained with Meg after the divorce. The father paid dutifully his alimony and child care agreement plus he generously supported each child through their college educations. The girl went into education and moved to Ohio with a boy she met in college. They are married, have three children, and the girl still teaches in the local school system.

Meg’s son went on to an engineering degree and moved to Silicon Valley in Central California. There he has made a life for himself and his wife he met locally once he secured his first job out of university. They have two children and Meg rarely sees them. They are too busy to travel to Chicago and she is too old to travel at all. At least she thinks so!

So we have Meg a divorcee, mother of two and grandmother of five. She lives on social security, a small pension provided by the divorce agreement, and owns her modest home outright by carefully managing her finances following the divorce and asset division at that time. Meg lives simply. And enjoys life all the more for it.

Meg yearns for connection with people. She enjoys her walks to the grocery store three times each week. It provides exercise and keeps her purchases light enough to carry back to the house. And get up the stairs to the entry! She walks to the drug store on the corner, shops at the local resale shop for small things, and at a discount department store for clothing and other essentials. She is not a clothes hog and keeps her appearance neat, clean and spare.

Meg also explored churches in the area. She looked for a small one that welcomed single women, older ones, too! And she was taken with a few that seemed especially happy and joyful. They seemed to want to share something that she found alluring. So she remained for a few months at each to experience their social interactions and worship services.

She thought the Episcopalians were too dramatic, ritualistic and formulaic. Too much like the RC church that booted her for divorce! She gravitated to Methodist, Baptist and Lutheran churches, too. In the first instance she felt their ‘methodism’ was a bit too rigid, while the Baptists were much too tied to creed and expected behaviors. She felt the Lutheran church was right for her, ELCA, the liberal synod of the church. She was not enamored with the other synods because they were too rule-bound. No, she liked the freedom to explore her theology openly without judgment. Lutherans allowed her to do that.

And she loved fellowship with the other parishioners. Such fun and worthwhile projects they gathered to do. As she aged Meg appreciated the work, the conversation, the earnest caring among all of the people. She had found a church home.

Politically Meg is a maverick. Similar to the journey her life has taken, Meg is open to people of different faiths, races and cultures. She is especially caring of people who have had to trod a life path of difference – race, gender, sexual orientation. She is independent of mind and doesn’t fall in line with what others would expect from an 80-year old. Just my kind of lady!

So now we have a better picture of Meg. She is three dimensional now. We know she is financially stable enough to afford her own housing, food, medical care and maintenance of her home. She loves gardening and has meticulously kept her home neat and trim. Painted on time. Leaves raked on time. Snow shoveled.

We know she doesn’t own a car. Her garage is filled with family leftovers and gardening tools. Her husband drove in the old days and took the car. Meg never learned to drive and didn’t care to. She has lived in Chicago all her life and currently lives in a close-knit urban neighborhood complete with stores, shops, services, restaurants and grocers. She doesn’t need a car. If she needs to visit out of the immediate area there are friends who drive her or she takes public transportation. The church groups get her around, too!

She is a city person true and blue.

So why write about her now? Because there are things looming of a natural kind. Age is one; aging another; and health care a natural issue closely following. All of these issues will challenge Meg’s ability to remain in her home, won’t it? What would happen if she could no longer live alone and needed someone to live with her? How would she afford such support? Does she have financial resources for that? Or, would she move to assisted living? Could she even afford such an option?

So many challenges ahead. Life lived well through challenging times presents rewards. But those are replaced with fresh challenges that threaten peace and security. Or maybe challenge that requires a bold face of courage to meet head on and grow even more?

We shall see. This story continues as all do. What will become of Meg?

August 15, 2016