Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thankful to be Here

Well, it is official ... I am sixty years old .... 6-0 people!  I didn't really ever think about getting this old.  Its not one of those birthdays one looks forward to, like turning 16 so that we can drive, or 21 so that we can go into clubs.  And, its not even the half-century mark ... that ship has sailed.

I was born on Thanksgiving day sixty years ago.  My birthday falls on Thanksgiving randomly.  I never really liked it because it usually meant getting a cake after everyone was already stuffed with turkey and pumpkin pie.  So, it was always so much better when it at least fell a few days earlier.  My mom always tells the story about my birth that starts with her cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  My dad was off work that day so he was pouring a concrete patio while mom cooked.  Well, when she went into labor he kept telling her that she had to be wrong because I was not due until closer to Christmas.  I guess she finally convinced him because he had to make a seam in the patio and they went to the hospital and I was born right around dinner time.

But, on the topic of aging ... my lifelong friends and I (you met them in a previous post) would sit around and comment that 40 was so old and that we couldn't imagine it.  Well, here we are on the far side of 40 and looking at that age wistfully.  Still, a lot of good things have happened to me in my life ... and, of course, some not-so-great stuff.  I wouldn't trade my age for the alternative.  Its a gift to have longevity and be healthy at this age.  I don't really feel 60 and I'm told I don't look it.  But, then again, what does 60 look like these days?  People are a product of genetics and how well they choose to take care of this body we are given.  So, I do my best to maintain myself.  More importantly, I try to think young.  I try not to become one of those people who turns their nose up at new ideas or whatever it is that younger people are into these days.  Life is a gift and with my Thanksgiving based birthday .... I'm just thankful to be here.

4 comments:

Tiffanie said...

Happy Birthday! You are right you don't look 60 at all!

Unknown said...

Good words of wisdom. Happy Turkey Birthday! You are proving that 60 is the new 40.

Stephanie said...

To quote Wm Shakespeare

“What’s past is prologue”

Happy 60th Cath.

Helene said...

Well, I hope you had a wonderful birthday!! From your profile pic, you don't look 60 at all!! And I would imagine that you are living proof that if you take good care of yourself, age is but a number!!!