Another Trip Around The Sun

 I turned 60 in January of this year.  I'm trying to come to grips with it.  Sixty.  The average life expectancy for an American female is around 80.  So, to think, on average, I've got about another 20 years left.  TWENTY YEARS!!  How does this happen?  Why does time go by so fast?  I've pretty much completed three quarters of my life.  

I don't feel 60.  Sure, my knees ache.  I'm out of breath with a lot less activity these days (I'm also a lot heavier).  I cry easier, I laugh easier.  I don't sleep as well as I used to.  There were so many things I cared about when I was younger, that I don't even think twice about now.  

I read something today that I wanted to share here:

The bittersweet truth about getting older...

I think about it almost everyday.

Especially since turning 40.

I'm 45 now.  And some days, I can't even look in the mirror without crying.

I don't recognize the reflection anymore.

I grieve the parts of myself I didn't appreciate more when I had them...

the plump skin, the full hair, the shapelier body, the energy.

I thought I had time.

But time speeds up when you're not looking.

And Society hasn't been kind about aging either.

We're told to erase the signs of living instead of celebrating them.

To treat wrinkles like flaws.

To pour thousands into injections and surgeries instead of presence and joy.

But I look my because because I am my age.

And that should be enough.

Every grey hair is a badge.  Every wrinkle, a receipt for the life I've lived.

Too many people never get the chance to wear that.

Still, sometimes I ache with longing.

I miss my past self.

The freedom.  The recklessness.

The magic of being young.

The moments I didn't know were "lasts" until they were gone.

I wish I had taken more risks.  Been more patient.

Loved myself more.  Spent more time with the people who mattered.

Less time proving myself to the ones who didn't.

But this isn't a list of regrets.

It's a wish list.

A compass for the rest of my life.

Because I want to be 80 and say:

I lived.  Fully.  Unapologetically.

Thank you, Holly. (hollyatamillustration on Insta).  I needed to have this conversation with myself.  I just wish I had done it sooner.

Time and Love

 Time is going by faster than I ever thought it would...or could.  I turned 58 this past January.  I'm not even sure how to deal with this fact.  I remember when I turned 25, I had a bit of trouble handling that age.  I guess I felt as though by 25, I should be married and have a couple of kids already.  Turns out, I didn't get married till I was 32 and didn't have my first baby until I was 35.   When we are young, we expect our lives to turn out the way we always imagined.  Reality is usually quite a bit different. And time does indeed march on at an alarming speed.

I can recall being a child, listening to my parents lecture me about not "wishing my life away" or hearing them tell me that I'm growing up too fast and that before I know it, I'll be an adult with grandkids.  Back then, it seemed so far away.  But, alas, as usual my parents were right....about almost everything.  It seems like just yesterday I was graduating from high school!  HA!  It's been 40 years now!  It seems like yesterday when my first child was born.  Nope.  He will be 23 this year.  When my youngest turns 18 in October, I will no longer have "kids"...they'll all be adults.  Sigh.

I'm feeling my age now, physically.  Everything hurts when I first get up in the morning.  It doesn't help that I'm overweight and not as active as I used to be.  Between cancer and Covid, my life has been turned upside down...and sideways.  I'm handling all of it as best as I can.  There are many glitches that happen over a normal human life span.  I've had my fair share.  But, I'm still here.  My mom and dad are gone, so is my sister.  I can't fathom why I've been allowed to stay.  But, the older I get, the more I ponder about life, relationships and time.  

There is a movie that came out in 2014 called, Interstellar.  I think this has to be the best movie I've ever seen in my entire life!  No kidding.  It's deep and it took me watching it several times before I really understood what it was about.  When I finally "got it", it changed me life.  In general, the plot is about saving human kind, and in order to do that, they must find another planet.  This entails traveling through a wormhole to another galaxy and they end up orbiting a black hole.  Through out the movie, you here a ticking clock.  This is because of time dilation.  Due to the gravitation pull of the black hole, for every hour that passes while they orbit, 7 years pass on earth.  At one point, the astronauts are discussing this and one of the characters, Dr. Amelia Brand (played by Anne Hathaway) talks about a love interest of hers that had previously gone to one these planets that she hadn't seen in a long time and was presumed dead.  This is the conversations that happened between Dr. Brand and Cooper (played by Matthew McConaughey):

Cooper: You’re a scientist, Brand.

Brand: So listen to me when I say that love isn’t something that we invented. It’s… observable, powerful. It has to mean something.

Cooper: Love has meaning, yes. Social utility, social bonding, child rearing…

Brand: We love people who have died. Where’s the social utility in that?

Cooper: None.

Brand: Maybe it means something more – something we can’t yet understand. Maybe it’s some evidence, some artifact of a higher dimension that we can’t consciously perceive. I’m drawn across the universe to someone I haven’t seen in a decade, who I know is probably dead. Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can’t understand it. All right Cooper. Yes. The tiniest possibility of seeing Wolf again excites me. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong.

I think this quote really gets to the heart of the plot.  When they are talking about their plan and how to execute it, I realized that their mission of saving the world or building a new one...is all about love.  When Brand says, "Maybe it means something more - something we can't yet understand"...there is a universal feeling of wanting to understanding it.  Love is complicated and unique to everyone but we all struggle to cope with it, realizing  that there is so much more we don't understand.  Love drives us, it influences decisions, it moves us along or holds us back, even if we don't understand it.  

To me, this just means that time doesn't really matter all that much. Love does. I can be old or young, I can be in good health or failing health, I can be happy or sad, I can watch my kids be born and grow up and and at the same time, watch family and friends leave this world due to sickness or accidents....or just because it's time for this earthly life to end.  Love is what matters.  And, you take that love with you wherever we go, however long we are here.  Love never ends.  Love transcends space and time.  If you love now, you will always love.  Our bodies are bound by time, our love is not.

Getting older can sometimes make me uneasy about the future and what it looks like for me.  But the love I have for others, for my kids, my husband, my family and my dear friends will travel through time, forever.  It is comforting to me to know that I will take those I love with me and my love, in turn, will be with them always.  

Life Advice

 So, a creator on Instagram (@SahilBloom) asked a question of several 90-year-olds on what advice they would give their 32-year-old selves.  Since I turn 58 tomorrow, I was curious what their answers would be.  Here are their answers:

1. Now and then, break out the fancy china and drink the good wine for no reason at all.

2. Dance at weddings until your feet are sore.

3. Tell your partner you love them every night before falling asleep.  Someday you'll find the other side of the bed empty and wish you could.

4. Don't fear sadness, as it tends to sit right next to love.

5. Treat your body like a house you have to live in for another 70 years.

6. Never raise your voice, except for at a ballgame.

7. Do one good deed every single day, but never tell anyone about it.

8. Time doesn't heal anything when it comes to relationships.  Don't delay difficult conversations.

9. Find the things that make your eyes light up.  Do more of those.

10. Always remind yourself that your track record for making it through your bad days is perfect.

11. If something has a minor issue, repair it.  Minor issues become major issues over time.  Applies equally to love, friendships, health and home.

12. The most damning lie you can tell is the lie you tell to yourself.

13. No one has ever argued their way to happiness.

14. If you're going to lose a fight, make sure the other person thinks twice before fighting you again.

15. Getting old is no picnic, but it's much better than the alternative.

16. You may occasionally disappoint others, but make sure you never disappoint yourself.

17. Never let a good friendship atrophy.  Send the text, make the call, plan the trip.  Good friendships must be treasured.

18. When you meet someone, look them in the eye, give a firm handshake, and call them by their name.

19. Give everybody a second chance, but never a third.

20. The "good old days" are always happening right now.

21. Whenever you hug someone, make sure they are the one to let go first.

22. If it's raining on a warm summer evening, go outside and dance in it.

23. Taking no risk is the biggest risk you can take.  Regret from inaction is always more painful than regret from action.

24. It doesn't have to be perfect for it to be wonderful.

25. When in doubt, love.  We can always use more love.

26. Looking presentable is a matter of self-respect.

27. When you're feeling down, smile at yourself in the mirror for one full minute.

28. Travel as much as you can.  Collect one token from every trip to remember it by.

29. If there's something bothering you, ask yourself whether it will matter in one month.  If not, let it go right now.

30. Stop trying to change people who don't want to be changed.

31. You may win the argument, but if you lose the friend, what was the point?

32. Stubborn pride is the downfall of many men and women.  Learn to forget the slight hurts and avoid grudges.

33. Do one thing that challenges your mind every single day.  A crossword puzzle, math problem, anything.  Daily "exercise" will keep your mind sharp for the long haul.

34. If something isn't working and your gut tells you to try harder, first ask whether there's just an easier way to do it.

35. Allow your kids to fail.  You will hate it, but it's so important.

36. There's nothing wrong with shedding old relationships as you grow and change.

37. No amount of money is worth trading for your peace of mind.

38. If your kid wants to dance in line at the store, join them.

39. Smile and say good morning to strangers on the street.

40. Laugh loudly and unapologetically whenever you feel like it.

Interesting list.  At 58, my list would be a bit different, but there are definitely some nuggets of wisdom here.  I feel like #17 and #36 are a bit contradictory, but I do get the point being made in both.

I think my favorite is #20, "the good old days are always happening right now".  That's so true.  What my children will see as their good old days are completely different than what I see as mine.  But time marches on, regardless.  There is an order to everything.  We are born, we live and we die.  Always.  No one gets out of here alive.  Many have gone before us and all will follow.  In a strange way, that's comforting. 

P.S.  Sadness and love really do sit right next to each other (see #4).