I am 69 and definitely don’t consider that I’m still in the middle of my life. I am active and have survived two bouts of cancer....perhaps that makes me think about the middle and the end differently....I think of myself as joyously old and very happy to be here
Well, I am in my third year of being 60. It’s ok. I preferred being 49, but here we are. My friend put it this way; we are in our go-go years: everything works, we aren’t sick and we can still do things. Our kids are grown and we have a home and some extra cash. We need to take advantage of that. Next comes the slow-go years and the no-go years, but, if we are lucky, we can stay go-go for a very long time. I’m working on that.
Every day when I wake up with all my senses intact, my ability to move easily and freely solid for my age and I am able to be completely functional without pain, it’s a great day. When I’m drinking my morning coffee and reading and looking out at my garden, I realize how blessed I am. This is really the good stuff. Our daughter just graduated from college, my niece just had a baby. Watching new life and the blooming of young adulthood is so fabulous.
Great to discover both of your pieces. I am loving reading the wisdom and life experiences of women just a few steps ahead of me down the track. Thanks for helping make these experiences visible in such a beautiful, relatable and nuanced way ❤
“I must trust she will not fail me as I move on to whatever is next.” She will not. She will not. The honesty in this piece Betsy is really moving. We hope that by a certain age, we will move past things, and yet we struggle in some of the same ways, fight the same demons...but still we learn, grow and trust we will not fail ourselves.
This conversation overlapped with my Hatch writing workshop this week where I was reminded of Whitman’s “Song of Myself.”
“But I do not talk of the beginning or the end. There was never any more inception than there is now. Nor any more youth or age than there is now. And will never be any more perfection than there is now.
That unexpected, hectic chapter in which life is turned upside down is physically and psychologically demanding, but there is still joy, it doesn't need to be terrifying.
Huh. Thanks for this. I've been suppressing my anxiety about turning 40 in a few months, and I appreciate the candor of someone who's come out the other side of middle age.
The concept of the last third began bearing down on me as I approached and turned 60 last year. My mom passing from complications of a TBI and Alzheimer's last Christmas Eve did not help. My dad is living with us this summer. He is quite the study in short term memory loss. He deals with it by shifting from a laser focus on present moment to moment- which looks exhausting. But he appears to just roll with the state of his brain as the most positive person I know! I'm just trying to offset the terror of looking ahead 30 years.
Seems something is up when you try to edit and save in comments. When I saved my comment it disappeared. To get it back I had to cancel. Then my unedited comment re-appeared. My work around was to copy and paste, edit it in word, then delete my comment and repost...
I am 69 and definitely don’t consider that I’m still in the middle of my life. I am active and have survived two bouts of cancer....perhaps that makes me think about the middle and the end differently....I think of myself as joyously old and very happy to be here
Well, I am in my third year of being 60. It’s ok. I preferred being 49, but here we are. My friend put it this way; we are in our go-go years: everything works, we aren’t sick and we can still do things. Our kids are grown and we have a home and some extra cash. We need to take advantage of that. Next comes the slow-go years and the no-go years, but, if we are lucky, we can stay go-go for a very long time. I’m working on that.
Every day when I wake up with all my senses intact, my ability to move easily and freely solid for my age and I am able to be completely functional without pain, it’s a great day. When I’m drinking my morning coffee and reading and looking out at my garden, I realize how blessed I am. This is really the good stuff. Our daughter just graduated from college, my niece just had a baby. Watching new life and the blooming of young adulthood is so fabulous.
Life goes on and it’s such a miracle.
Great to discover both of your pieces. I am loving reading the wisdom and life experiences of women just a few steps ahead of me down the track. Thanks for helping make these experiences visible in such a beautiful, relatable and nuanced way ❤
“I must trust she will not fail me as I move on to whatever is next.” She will not. She will not. The honesty in this piece Betsy is really moving. We hope that by a certain age, we will move past things, and yet we struggle in some of the same ways, fight the same demons...but still we learn, grow and trust we will not fail ourselves.
This conversation overlapped with my Hatch writing workshop this week where I was reminded of Whitman’s “Song of Myself.”
“But I do not talk of the beginning or the end. There was never any more inception than there is now. Nor any more youth or age than there is now. And will never be any more perfection than there is now.
Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now...”
Is it just me or is there a book in gestation? Hope so x
That unexpected, hectic chapter in which life is turned upside down is physically and psychologically demanding, but there is still joy, it doesn't need to be terrifying.
Huh. Thanks for this. I've been suppressing my anxiety about turning 40 in a few months, and I appreciate the candor of someone who's come out the other side of middle age.
The concept of the last third began bearing down on me as I approached and turned 60 last year. My mom passing from complications of a TBI and Alzheimer's last Christmas Eve did not help. My dad is living with us this summer. He is quite the study in short term memory loss. He deals with it by shifting from a laser focus on present moment to moment- which looks exhausting. But he appears to just roll with the state of his brain as the most positive person I know! I'm just trying to offset the terror of looking ahead 30 years.
Seems something is up when you try to edit and save in comments. When I saved my comment it disappeared. To get it back I had to cancel. Then my unedited comment re-appeared. My work around was to copy and paste, edit it in word, then delete my comment and repost...