The beauty of the guilt-free nap

June 28, 20254 Comments

***Kitties don’t mind napping, so why do we?***

So there I was watching the financial news when my eyelids began to droop. I know. Shocking! You’d think all those colorful flashing numbers, fancy graphs, and scintillating talking heads would have kept me riveted to the screen.

Then I had a rather naughty thought. “I think I might take a nap,” I said to my sweetie pie. Instantly embarrassed, I amended my comment. “Or I’ll read the paper,” I said with little conviction.

“There’s a third option.” Ryan eyed me. “Do both.”

Since I’m not much for multi-tasking and despite my guilt, I closed the blinds in the bedroom, grabbed a quilt, and passed out.

Before I retired from my full-time job, taking a nap rarely seemed acceptable. Even when I had the time, it just didn’t seem right to curl up in the middle of the day. Still, had I consulted WebMd, I might have reconsidered, because it seems naps are good for us.

Jennifer Soong’s article “The Secret (and Surprising) Power of Naps” pretty much says it all. “Need to recharge? Don’t lean on caffeine—a power nap will boost your memory, cognitive skills, creativity, and energy level.”

For years, the 20-minute power lap was praised for upping our alertness levels and improving our motor learning skills like typing or playing an instrument. But don’t worry if you’re like me and those naps tend to stretch on.

“Research shows longer naps help boost memory and enhance creativity,” Soong said. “Slow-wave sleep—usually 30 to 60 minutes of napping—is good for decision-making skills, such as memorizing vocabulary or recalling directions. Getting rapid movement or REM sleep, usually 60 to 90 minutes of napping, plays a key role in making new connections in the brain and solving creative problems.”

While those lengthier naps sound enticing, experts suggest 30-minute siestas so we don’t wake up groggy. One should also keep a regular nap schedule and recline during the prime napping hours of 1 PM and 3PM, which doesn’t seem horribly practical. Still, a fixed nap time does sound nice and the idea of saying, “I’m sorry. I am unavailable because it’s nap time,” just seems fun, doesn’t it? Note that a darkened room is a good idea for an afternoon snooze, as is a blanket, since our body temperature drops when we nap.

I woke up an hour and a half later and didn’t feel the least bit groggy. Though the whole thing felt rather sinful. But when you consider that naps can boost memory, ease stress and make you cheerier, well, what’s the harm?

So, fellow nappers, grab your blankies and join me. Let’s get some daytime shuteye whenever we’re in the mood. No guilt required.

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Anne Montgomery

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

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An adventure with kale

May 31, 20252 Comments

***I plucked a salad from a food bar in the airport, my first adventure with kale.***

I don’t know about you, but whenever I get off an airplane, I feel unhealthy. Perhaps it’s because the humidity in the cabin is generally kept between 10-20% so I’m dehydrated. Or I’ve been squished in my seat like a sad little sardine and feel an urgent need to shower. Or maybe it’s because I might have munched on things that really aren’t good for me as I sped along the skyway in that metal can.

In any case, I often feel the need to restart my immune system with something healthy, hence the reason I recently found myself in Miami Airport standing before a shelf filled with plastic-enclosed salads, one of which boasted kale.

I will admit here that I didn’t recall ever tasting kale before. It’s not that I avoid greens. Gosh no! I was a long-time gardener and loved trimming fresh young leaves into yummy salads. And it’s not because I didn’t know kale existed. It’s just that somehow the plant never sang to me, which is strange since people have been chomping on those lumpy leaves for about 4,500 years.

Kale was sort of ignored in recent times, serving mostly as decoration on buffet spreads, but then, in the early 2000s, kale had a resurgence. Rich and famous folks like Dr. Oz and Gwyneth Paltrow began publicly proclaiming the magical benefits of kale. Bon Appétit declared 2010 the year of kale. Time magazine listed kale as one of the top 10 food trends of 2012. Fancy restaurants started showcasing kale recipes. And today you can scarf down kale at fast-food places like McDonalds, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A.

I recall staring at the salad as my sweetie pie waited in line at the airport Subway. I knew what he would order. An Italian sub with spicy pepperoni, cheese, and salami with onions, lettuce, and oil and vinegar.

A short time later, we placed our feast out on a desk in the hotel.

Ryan stared at my salad. “Do you want some of my sandwich?”

“No, I’m good,” I said feeling rather smug as I dug a plastic spoon into my greens.

Kale is said to have a sharp, complex taste, somewhat like arugula or radish but mixed with an earthy, grass-like flavor. I found those fat wrinkled greens quite chewy and similar to spinach that had been picked a bit too late. But I was determined. Kale was good for me! Afterall, it contains big doses of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, and manganese, fiber, copper, tryptophan, calcium, potassium and a whole bunch of other healthy nutrients.

***I tried but could not avoid the pull of an Italian sub.***

Still, as I shoveled that miracle food into my mouth and did my best to chew those thick leaves, I couldn’t help staring at Ry’s sub sandwich.

He caught me looking. “Are you sure you don’t want a piece?”

I glanced at my half-eaten kale salad, then back at his Italian sub, filled mostly with things that are bad for me and were unlikely to revive my airplane-stunted immune system. Still, the sandwich smelled like warm bread and vinegar, cheese and onions.

I’m sure you’re thinking, “Don’t do it, Anne! Stick to your guns!”

Please know that I tried.

“Is that wheat bread?”

Ry nodded and I felt a little bit better.

Okay,” I sighed. “Just one small piece.”

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Anne Montgomery

Release Date: June 6, 2024

Bookstores, libraries, and other booksellers can order copies directly from the Ingram Catalog.

Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

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On being 70

March 29, 20255 Comments

Yesterday, I turned 70. And I couldn’t be more surprised. I was reminded of the time my 95-year-old mother said, “I never thought it would go so fast!” Which sent a chill down my spine.

I have never been one of those women who wanted to hide my age. And I still don’t, but for some reason 70 has me pensive. Up until now, I didn’t feel like a senior citizen, even considering the day my sweetie pie signed me up for AARP. “Here’s your card!” Ryan smiled and handed me that bright red-and-white confirmtion that I’m old.

I wondered what my 7^th decade might have in store, and it turns out that AARP had the answers. The article “What to expect in your 70s and beyond,” was enlightening. There were things I already knew, of course, like one’s skin gets drier and wrinkles appear. Note that I have made my peace with wrinkles, as they are a sign, I think, of one’s life experiences. Apparently one-in-three women will get osteoporosis, though if we get some regular exercise we might be able to keep that particular scourge at bay. Our eyesight will become less acute. Our hearing will diminish and we are encouraged to get over our pride and acquire hearing aids. Our sense of smell will fade, so we are urged to try ethnic cuisines like Indian and Thai foods with their yummy spices and flavors.

I know what you’re thinking, being in one’s 70s sounds a bit dreary, but it’s not all doom and gloom. It seems that people in this age range kick butt in one particular category. According to AARP, “The 70s tend to be some of the happiest years of your life. One explanation for the trend: years of experience. ‘As you get older, you know that bad times are going to pass,’ says Laura Carstensen, Ph.D., director of the Stanford Center on Longevity. ‘You also know that good times will pass, which makes those good times even more precious.’”

Many of us are concerned about losing our mental acuity, and while it’s true that some of our brain circuitry starts to burn out as we age, the good news is other parts of our brain can pick up the slack, especially when we keep our gray matter stimulated. Social interaction, reading, doing puzzles, dancing, learning a new language, and taking music lessons can all keep our brains healthy. And don’t forget regular exercise, which can help our brain and body age more gracefully.

Here’s what I didn’t see coming: It seems that once we’re in our 70s our ears and noses get bigger. I’ll let AARP explain. “Non-articular cartilage, the type that gives ears and noses their shape, continues to grow with age, making these appendages larger. But look on the bright side: Such cartilage growth may have evolved to enable people to track and funnel sounds and smells as they age” Doesn’t that sound like nature is looking out for us older folks? I think so.

Maybe happy aging is all about mindset. I remember when I was home for the summer after my freshman year in college. My mother had arranged for me to be the caretaker for an elderly man, Mr. Frank Towey, who’d been a lawyer and a congressman who represented New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was in his late 70s, going blind, and would sometimes, rather annoyingly, strike his cane on the floor to get my attention. As he was demanding and persnickety, we didn’t hit it off, at first. He constantly referred to me as Dizzy—Diz for short. In retaliation, I called him Commander. Very quickly however, we became friends. One of my fondest memories is chauffeuring him around in his 1955 black Cadillac convertible which boasted red leather interior. He would don a canary-yellow blazer and straw fedora and say, “Take me for a drive, Diz!” Then he’d grin.

I mention the Commander because one day he looked at me and said, “Do you know what the strangest thing about aging is?”

I stared into his watery-blue eyes. “No.”

“It’s that your body ages, but your mind still thinks you’re 30.”

I didn’t understand what he meant back then. Now I do. And maybe that’s the key. Even though our bodies might be growing older, our brains don’t have to.

Here’s the thing. If we’re lucky, we’re going to age. And we can live our lives in ways that make the aging process a whole lot more comfortable. And that’s exactly what we should shoot for. So exercise. Try new things. Give your brain a daily workout. Eat healthy food, but sometimes have a piece of cake. And perhaps, most importantly, stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Get out there and be social, because that, above all things, will make us happy as we age.

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Anne Montgomery

Release Date: June 6, 2024

Bookstores, libraries, and other booksellers can order copies directly from the Ingram Catalog.

Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

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Amazon

The news is making me choose

February 17, 2024Leave a comment

***I learned in the news that my hot tea might kill me, but I won’t give it up.***

Since I’m a former reporter, the fact that I read the newspaper daily and watch the news on TV should not come as much of a surprise. However, I’m at a point where I’m not sure how much more I can take.

Not too long ago, I read an article telling me that drinking hot tea could cause esophageal cancer. Since I am as dedicated to my daily pot of tea—brewed the old-fashioned way with tea leaves—as any hardcore coffee drinker is to their beverage of choice, the story freaked me out.

The idea put forth was that really hot beverages could alter the nature of the cells in the throat and leave them susceptible to changes that might be a precursor to cancer. The article pointed out that the World Health Organization recommends not drinking anything hotter than 149 degrees, which had me staring at my pretty, eggshell-thin teacup—No, I don’t drink from a mug. I am not a barbarian!— where luscious steam was rising into the air. I put the cup on the saucer to cool. But, later, the tea just didn’t taste right.

It was suggested that I insert a meat thermometer into my tea, but, geez, that would ruin the whole gentility vibe, don’t you think? And the big thermometer would just fall out of my dainty little cup. I considered giving up my non-alcoholic beverage of choice, but the loss of the ceremony itself would just be too depressing

And now, there’s a new horror we must face. It turns out that picking one’s nose can cause Alzheimer’s. According the National Institutes of Health, “(W)e suggest that nose-picking increases the transfer of pathogenic microorganisms from the hand into the nose changing the nasal microbiome from a symbiotic to a pathogenic type, with possible consequences of a chronic low-level brain infection via the olfactory system…”

And that, they say, can lead to both dementia and Alzheimer’s. Now, I’m not the least bit worried, because I have never, EVER, engaged in that kind of excavation. I’m just sharing the scary news in case you have.

I’m not sure how many more of these stories I can take. I still feel uncomfortable when standing before the deli counter, ordering turkey and ham and bacon. I’m guessing you might already know that the processes used to make our yummy lunch and breakfast meats create cancer-causing substances. And yet there I am pointing out those coldcuts to the guy behind the counter, then hiding the packages beneath all the healthy fruits and vegetables in my cart, lest some know-it-all stare at me with derision.

I’m guessing stories like this will continue to appear, still I must be honest. There are certain things I can’t do without: chocolate, tea, cheese, wine, and bread. So with the idea that something’s going to kill me, I’ll leave it at that.

Bon appétit!

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Anne Montgomery

Release Date: June 6, 2024

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to the Graves Registration Service where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

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Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

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