I am 70: Tuesday's Reflection

Entrance into my 70's roared like a lion. A lion in the shape of a blizzard. My 70th birthday was Saturday, and it snowed the entire weekend. I have experienced Blizzard Birthdays before and perhaps will again, but at this age, I am not willing to predict. 



Never mind. I turned 70 no matter the weather. Besides, we were safe and warm. I had a fresh pile of books to devour and food to eat, including a yummy lemon bundt cake Bruce had picked up from one of the local bakeries. Our loved ones were where they were suppose to be, and we wanted for nothing.

Here's what I think about being 70.

I am grateful to be here, to be healthy, to have meaningful pursuits in my life, to love and to be loved abundantly. 

70 is not the new 40. Or 50. Or even 60. Whatever the current saying is. 70 is 70, but 70 looks and feels different for each person. As sweet as it is when someone says, "You don't look 70," I think, "So what does 70 look like? "Well, folks, this is what 70 looks like on me. This is who I am at 70. 

A dear friend, who turned 70 a few months ago, in her birthday note to me wrote, "I have owned my age. Strange as it seems to some, being able to start a new decade has a feeling of starting fresh. A new perspective, hope mixed with reality." That feels so right, so wise to me. 

I don't deny all the decades behind me. I value them, even the difficult days, months, and even years. I view them as my teacher, the proving ground in a way of whom I am now and the core of what I will need as I move forward in this stage of life. If I pretend to be younger than I am or yearn to be younger, I deny what I have learned in the past, what I have experienced, and what has had meaning for me. 

On the other hand I don't deny what is ahead. I don't know the specifics of my path, but I know where it leads. You've heard the saying, repeated often by people my age and older, "Old age is not for sissies." I like the writer Ursula LeGuin's response, "Old age is for anybody who gets there." She adds,
               I'd like a poster showing two old people with
               stooped backs and arthritic hands and time-worn
               faces sitting talking, deep, deep in conversation.
               And the slogan would be 'Old Age Is Not for the
               Young."

And so I celebrate this new decade. Each decade has had its unknowns. That is nothing new, but I can bring new wisdom and calm and presence to this decade. That is my prayer anyway.

As part of honoring myself, by the way, I created a collage for entering the 70's. I post it here and may write about it at some point. For now I am sitting with the images and allowing them to whisper to me. Unlike the lion roaring outside the window, my inner voice is quiet and calm. 

An Invitation
What are your thoughts about getting older? I would love to know. 

NOTES: The wintry birthday images were sent to me by two dear nieces.
The quotes by LeGuin are found in a recent book of her essays, No Time to Spare, Thinking About What Matters, published in 2017. LeGuin died recently at age 88.