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Turning 65

I read a quote once that said every time an old person dies, we lose a library. The older I get I’m beginning to feel like I could be a wealth of information, kind of like a set of encyclopedias, going right through each stage of life from A-Z. To commemorate my sixty fifth birthday, I looked back and reminisced on my childhood. It’s a wonder that baby boomers are still alive, because while in our youth we were unaware that we were living so recklessly. When I was a young girl, my only concern was hanging out with my friends and being home by dusk.  

And although I shake my head in disbelief, we all rode our bikes without helmets. We skinned our knees and eagerly reached for the mercurochrome and drew pictures with it all over our legs. But, not wearing a seatbelt, that was frightening! Each summer we would take a road trip to visit my grandmother. Four children and a dog traveling a hundred miles in an un-airconditioned car.  

In the summer, we would visit my Grandmother’s Store in Savannah, IL

Occasionally I would climb up in the back window and lay down, mostly because I was bored. If my dad stopped suddenly, I would roll off, but my sister would just push me back up there like it was no big deal.  Oh, the days of car windows rolled down all the way and shouting to the top of our lungs to be heard.

As carefree kids, we played on noisy rusty swing sets and slid down metal slides that were hotter than H. E. double L. We skated with metal roller skates that clamped to the soles of our shoes and sang the Oscar Mayer and Jell-o commercial jingles. We watched our favorite TV shows on televisions that only had five stations.  

Occasionally my mother would allow us to have a frozen TV dinner, sodium & MSG were not a concern. In fact, I liked the taste of Accent so much I used to put it on my hand and lick it.

And speaking of licking, to earn a quarter my sister and I would lick S&H green stamps and fill books for my mother and grandmother. If a thermometer broke in the house, we would roll around and play with the mercury on the floor. Meanwhile, my brother, the only boy in our family, sat around with his chemistry set making all kinds of concoctions that smelled like rotten eggs. In his defense, he pursued a career in medicine.

My sister Linda and me

Thankfully, they no longer make metal play equipment, most people have stopped smoking, wear sunblock and seatbelts, we eat healthier and stamps do not have to be licked.    

There was a time, long ago, when I thought 65 was old. And despite all of the above, I have managed to live to the day where I can file for social security before it runs out.  I now think that sixty-five isn’t old, it’s an honor, a privilege, and a milestone! My focus going forward is on aging positively. Bring on the birthdays. I want to celebrate with my friends who still want to hang out with me and have fun until dusk, ok, that has not changed.

This Blog is dedicated to my twin boys Brad & Brett who once asked me if cars were invented when I was young.