Another Milestone
I turned 60 a little more than a week ago. I still have trouble saying it out loud. It seems like yesterday I was whining about turning 50.
The truth of the matter is that I feel great and life is wonderful; it is the running out of time that could kill me, no pun intended.
I looked at the last ten years and realized what I would lose if I went back to being 50. I only had two grandchildren when I turned 50 and now I have five grandchildren. I was not living in my house. There were a lot of wonderful places I had not visited. I had not met a lot of my good friends. The bottom line is that I would not go back.
To celebrate, my husband and I invited our three children and their significant others to Williamsburg Virginia. We also invited our youngest grandchild who had not arrived when we started planning. We passed the timeshare catalogue around last March and tried to get them to make a decision. The middle child does not like to fly and that ruled out a lot of options.
Eventually, I decided on Williamsburg. I had no idea that Jamestown, about ten miles away, would be having their 400 year anniversary. I had no idea the queen of England would be visiting.
We spent the year planning. One of my sons lives in England and does not get to spend much time with his brother and sister. He is the one with the wonderful baby. His wife is pretty special as well.
I can’t say which more fun was, getting to know my children as adults along with their partners or watching them all get to know each other.
They are a musical bunch so Karaoke played a part in the week. We also love roller coasters so Busch Gardens was a must. Nicole, the English daughter-in-law wanted to do a ghost tour. We ended up spending two days in Colonial Williamsburg. The reenactors and great old houses made up for the somewhat mediocre food.
I think I will not wait for a birthday with a zero in it to do this again. What a treat to have a family that you created and watch grow into adults that you would choose for friends.
I have lived a blessed life and with every year it gets better. Sure there have been bumps but I have been lucky to have friends and family to distract me when distraction was needed.
The next time you feel badly about a birthday, whether it is 30 or 40 or maybe not even a zero year, think about what you would have to give up if you turned back the clock. I will keep all the wrinkles and bulges if it means I get to have grandchildren and my grown-up kids and all my wonderful friends and colleagues.
Bring on 70 but not too quickly.
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