I passed a big milestone this past week. I turned 60. Yes, the big six zero. The decade of more aches, pains, Social Security (if it’s still there), Medicare (same comment), and eccentricity. I’ve been dabbling in that last one more and more as I got nearer this age. Now that I’ve reached “maturity,” I can dive right in.
I’m not sad about being so old. I feel blessed at having lived so long and so well. A lot of people younger than me haven’t made it this far. I won’t disrespect them by mourning my many years of life. They would probably trade places with me if they could.
In my 20s and 30s, I had a hard time dealing with growing old. When my cousin Lorie died of breast cancer at age 40, leaving behind two young daughters, it affected me deeply. For a year or two, I felt bad because my children were older and didn’t me as badly as her little girls did. Somehow through the grieving process, I decided that I would be grateful for each year of my long healthy life, something denied to her and many others.
So I celebrate being this age. I thank the Lord for good health and all good things; for being allowed to watch my children grow up and become amazing people; for allowing me to see and hold two grandsons; for allowing me to know so many wonderful people; and for experiencing so many good things and feeling so much love.
I look forward to doing a lot of things in the future. A 70-year-old woman taught my daughter and I how to clog. She told me that each decade got better and held its own special surprises. I believe her. I knew an 80-year-old woman who drove a huge truck and carried a gun that she had no qualms about using. She was a tough ol’ gal that no one messed with, but everyone loved. I liked her because she shared her books and flower seeds with me. Hubby’s grandmothers lived into their 90s. I miss them and their stories of the past. So if the Lord is willing, and my body and brain cells hold out, I have good years ahead and I look forward to getting even older.
For more of my celebration of this birthday, see my guest blog at http://sheilassagaciousstirrings.blogspot.com/2016/02/real-women-real-answers-celebrating-big.html