Recently I keep seeing those posts on social media about a generation of people who think the 80s were 20 years ago. I’m probably one of those people. It’s quite a shock when I realise how long ago the 80s really were, and even more of a shock to face the fact that one month from today I will celebrate my 60th birthday. 60 years old. 60 years of life with all its ups and downs. How can that be possible when I still feel like a girl inside? I’ve known most of my school friends for the best part of 50 years. It’s 37 years since I graduated from university and 28 years since I got married for the first time.
When did life start going by so fast? And when did I become so painfully aware of it? Not a day goes by now when I don’t think in some way about mortality – my own or that of others. I don’t like this strange calculator in my brain very much. I’d rather it didn’t keep sending me these little reminders – carpe diem, do it now, life is short. It’s exhausting – trying to be fulfilled as much of the time as possible and be in the moment when your brain is quite often elsewhere.
I know how lucky I am to still have both my parents – in very good shape for their years. And I know I’ve been lucky too. Many of my peers were not so fortunate. Apart from having to wear reading glasses more of the time these days (and now distance glasses for the cinema, TV and long drives) I have no physical signs of the ageing process. Well, maybe a few hot flushes with the menopause but nothing that can’t be eased with a cool gel mat inside my pillowcase or a handheld electric fan.
60 seems to have crept up on me somewhat and this year has seen me renew my efforts to get fit and lose weight with an emphasis on being as strong and as flexible as possible as I move into my seventh decade. I am drinking far less alcohol than I used to, eating more healthily and getting more sleep.
Viewing ageing as some kind of decline is a very Western concept and one that I’m trying very hard not to succumb to. I prefer to embrace the positives that it brings – which are many. I care far less what others think of me. I know myself better and know what I do and don’t want. I please myself without the guilt that was present earlier on in my life. Life experiences have brought me strength, courage and wisdom and a desire to strip things back to what is really important. I have a newfound love of gardening, deriving great pleasure from tending plants, weeding, pruning, watering. I love to be out in our garden listening to birdsong and the hum of bees, watching butterflies dance by and finding a kind of stillness within that feeds my soul.
So I shall be embracing 60 when it comes, looking forward to receiving the card which allows me free travel in London and to supplementing my therapy income with my BBC pension. And I will keep in mind the saying – “we have two lives, and the second begins when we realise we only have one”.
Great insights and beautifully written. Thank you from somebody else fast approaching 60.
I really appreciate your comments here Paul. Thank you xx
Love this ! Thank you for sharing ! Even at 46 I share the same thoughts as you do xx
Thanks Alex so much for commenting here – good to know others share my thoughts xx