“The best is yet to come. Take the wisdom of your years and invest it in the beauty of your remaining days.” ~ Samuel Bizimana
birthday
Sometimes, I remember events or thoughts from when I was four years old better than what happened today. I was probably four in the photo to the right, and I remember regularly wondering what it would be like to be 60. I thought about it until I was probably 20, and then, well, you think you’re invincible at 20, don’t you? I turned 60 today (photo on the left), and I have some thoughts on finally being here.
1. I feel a lot better than I thought I would. I see some of my peers, and I am amazed at how I drew the healthy card but they didn’t. Some people I grew up with and deeply loved didn’t make it this far. To say I am grateful for my health would be the understatement of a lifetime. I’ve got a few little things going on, but by and large, I am quite healthy and not at all the broken-down old mare I thought I’d be or should be, considering how hard I was on my body the first 35 years I was in it.
2. Young people always think 60 is ancient because you just can’t fathom living that many years, but by the time you’re 40 or 50, you realize just how little time 60 years really is in the grand scheme of things. They go by incredibly fast, too fast, actually. The last time I looked, I was 30. Now I’m 60, my hair is barely graying (thank you, genetics), and my body is unrecognizable because I went from being very energetic and athletic to a blob thanks to a sedentary job. That last bit’s a work in progress though, so don’t count me out just yet.
3. Years ago, I saw a 60 Minutes episode with Dustin Hoffman where they asked him how he felt about turning 60. What he said has stuck with me for 27 years (he’s 87 now). “I can double 30. I can double 40. I can even double 50, but I can’t double 60.” He’s right. None of us will live to be 120 years old.
I am past the halfway mark at 60, no matter what. Knowing there is limited time puts a spin on what I want to get accomplished. That sedentary job doesn’t hold the gravitas it once did. That blob of a body ain’t gonna fix itself. My health won’t always be as good as it is today. 60 has given me perspective. Not that 59 didn’t, it did, and most of the past year has been a recalibration of sorts. Dustin Hoffman has played in my head every single day, “I can’t double 60.” 2025 will be pivotal. So, my advice is to have the cake, buy the shoes, hug a stranger, and take your pills. Cheers, and here’s to another awesome trip around the sun!
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