If you will recall, I had this spontaneous idea of keeping a second blog this coming year when I turned 70--a la May Sarton's "At 70," and I announced a name contest for the new blog. Many of you responded and I thank you for that. When I really started to get over the funk of officially entering old age and my empty nest sans grandson Anthony, the practical me kicked in. I'm having difficulty staying on top of one blog, frankly. I have a tendency to birth multiple spontaneous ideas (maybe a little OCD?) and then when I go to implement them, I realize I'm actually making my life more complicated at a time when I'm striving to simplify it. Instead of a second blog, I'm just going to fold in the following blog names for entries about aging throughout the year right here at Sacred Ordinary.
A Seasoned View (Marti)
The Best is Yet To Be (Ardi)
Seasoned at Seventy (Marti)
LXX and Loving It (Lorna)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Seventies (Lorna)
Elder Schmelder (Lorna)
Everything I Know, I'm Learning Tomorrow (Lorna)
I'm Finally Learning to Share (Lorna)
Seventy is the New Twelve (Lorna)
A Sage in Training (Clarence)
Coming of Age (Kathryn)
An Old Lady's Illustrated Primer (Kathryn)
Now I Am 70 (echoes of A.A. Milne) (Kathryn)
The New Age (Kathryn)
The Age of Wisdom (echoes of Tom Paine) (Kathryn)
You’re Never Too Old To—
Expanding Horizons at Seventy
Age Is More Than a Number
Redondowriter’s Second Wind
Sometimes Wise, Sometimes Not
Being My Own Gatekeeper
Wearing Purple (Eldonna)
Golden Schmolden (Eldonna)
Seriously Sensational Seventy (Connie)
Scissors in the Fridge (Ellie)
Grandma, You Left the Burner On Again
Council of Elders
Calling the Elder Circle
Circling the Wagons
Circle of Elders
Intentional Seventy
An Elder’s Illustrated Primer
Yesterday at church, the priest called up the people celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and significant milestones. When he asked which birthday this was, I said 70. The congregation seemed to collectively sigh and I thought that they were feeling sorry for me because I was officially entering what the American culture sees as old age. During the sign of peace, however, several people said there was no way I was 70. I always grinned and said thank you, but the sad part is that I am one of the lucky ones who is aging well. What about people who are 70 and look like they are much older?
Which brings me to my last point. This morning I went to my Department of Motor Vehicles appointment to renew my license. It's the first time I've had to appear for the last 10 years because I have a good driving record. I studied the handbook for hours yesterday as when you are getting older, not having a driver's license is the true herald of life narrowing down. I passed fine. But, when I went to get my photo and fingerprints taken, my clerk was an older woman--like me. She noted that my birthday was tomorrow and I said yes, I would be 70. Her eyes darted back and forth and she put her hand up to her mouth and beckoned me closer. "I'm 20 years older than you," she said. "I only work two days a week now but I intend to work until the end." I grinned from ear to ear as I realized I had been sent a lovely message about attitude. What a role model she was.
By the way, the title for this entry was one of my own ideas for an elder blog. It springs from the fact that frequently my grandson would tell me I had left the burner on the stove on at its lowest setting. My own parents had done that in their dotage and I always felt like I was losing it. Now that he has moved, I'm super careful with the burners. There's no one here now to remind me. Eldonna's blog idea called "Scissors in the Fridge" was born out of her son reminding her that she had put them in there--and she's only 45. You can read her at This is my Body, This is my Blood."
