Yardsticking My Way To 60

This is a two-part blog post related to the fact I turned 60 last month.  I find that fact almost incomprehensible.  I’ve lived fully and forever, but wasn’t I just 40 a couple of years ago?  60 is definitely a milestone birthday.  Frankly I’m not sure why every birthday isn’t a milestone birthday.  Birthdays serve as yardsticks, measuring where we are and where we’ve come from.   It’s funny how we have assigned the most significance to decade birthdays.  But, like the rest of society, I’ll give this decade birthday its due. 

 I’ve been yardsticking (yes, that is officially now a verb) the amount of love I have in my life as compared to my younger years.   I’m a little stunned by the outpouring of love and affection my friends and family have demonstrated.   The blog post immediately preceding this one was written by my friend and Be Brave. Lose the Beige business partner, Jackie.  I’ve probably read it 20 times, more and more awed each time by her description of me as an “angel on earth”.

 My friends Susan and Suzan whisked my husband and me away on an all expense paid weekend retreat at a Ritz Carlton.  The lunches, spa treatments, cards, facebook posts, and gifts from dear friends, family, and my 20 year poker pals have made me feel rich in so many ways. 

 So, in spite of the “Sixty Sucks” mug made for me by my dear friend, Suzi, the six decade notches on my yardstick measure wealth well beyond what I could have imagined as a 20 or 30 year old- that of the love from fabulous friends and family.

60th Birthday Party

 

Susan, Suzan and Liz in Amelia Island

 

Boomer Cafe is the Best!

I’m thrilled and delighted my article entitled, “Lookout Baby, I’m in a Dangerous Mood” was just published in the online magazine, Boomer Café. Check it out-http://tinyurl.com/2aurhap

Labradoodle Love on Boomer Cafe

I’m excited. My “Labradoodle Love” story was published on the Boomer Café website. This is an online magazine dedicated to all things Baby Boomer. Great reading.

Lending a Hand, Generation to Generation

I’m honored and delighted an article I wrote entitled “Lending a Hand Generation to Generation” has been accepted for publication by Boomer Café, an online magazine for and about the Baby Boomer generation. To see the article go to: http://tinyurl.com/376b97p

New Baby Boomer Mantra

My sister-in-law visited this past weekend. Suzanne turned 61 last year. She has been a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. When her fiancé was about to be drafted she married him, since married men were exempt from the draft. When that exemption no longer applied, she became pregnant. Dad’s were exempt from the draft. She taught AP and honors high school students while mothering two children and pursuing a master’s degree. She is finally retired and traipsing throughout America in their RV. She made me laugh when she told me she thought the new baby boomer mantra should be, “I don’t give a rat’s ass!” Suzanne and so many others of us boomers have spent years being responsible. We now find ourselves tending to aging parents and children who never seem to grow up. We’ve spent a lot of time caring what others think about our actions. Are we good parents? Should I put my Dad in a nursing home? How do I look? Am I overweight?

I think an occasional “I don’t give a rat’s ass” is good for the soul.

Mind and Meaning: Baby Boomers Blow off the cobwebs of mid-life crisis.

Carlo Strenger, psychologist, writing in the Wall Street Journal says there is no longer a need for boomers to experience mid life crises. After countless interviews with the 50+ crowd, he finds they are less racked with self doubt as in yesteryear. He wrote in The Existential Necessity of Midlife Change that this change/transition is healthy. Longevity has increased opportunities for boomers. He points out that these transition phases should be planned; they won’t happen smoothly just because we attend a retirement workshop.  For more go to Independent, i.e

Political Flashes

I started having hot flashes when I was 47. They are relentless. It is so disconcerting when, in the middle of a business meeting, that prickly feeling on the back of my neck commences. Beads of sweat gather on my forehead and upper lip. I know my face must be flushed and shiny. I’ve tried a variety of homeopathic and pharmaceutical remedies, all, basically, to no avail.  

I can still remember when they began. It was right after George W. Bush was elected in the fall of 2000. I begged people to vote for John Kerry in 2004, if for no other reason but to give me relief from these flashes. But no, GW remained and so did my hot flashes.

I’ve noticed a little relief since President Obama was elected last fall. At least they are becoming less frequent. I’ve visited a “cool” website called Basil and Spice. They have interesting information and interviews about health issues facing women, including this book review – http://www.basilandspice.com/journal/book-review-the-cleveland-clinic-guide-to-menopause-by-holly.html

 Let me know about your maturing body experiences.. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I’m an official Baby-Boomerian at Boomer Cafe!

 I’m really excited. I just found out Boomer Café, an online magazine designed for Baby Boomers, has published an article I wrote entitled, “Life after Boomerang Kids”. I hope you will read the article.