Blessed

I’ve had a lovely weekend. It was busy to say the least but I was blessed to celebrate my 65th birthday with my son Ben and many of my friends. I’ve journaled, enjoyed a lovely meal at a favourite restaurant, been treated to a traditional Iranian birthday dance and FaceTimed with my brother and sister-in-law, all in all a weekend of fun and fellowship.

As the date of what would have been my Father’s 90th birthday draws near I am so aware of how blessed I am to celebrate the completion of another year of life experiences and the beginning of a new one. I am also reminded of the many people whose life lives have been cut sadly short. Like so many I have lost friends and family members over the years, some at a tragically young age, others older but still earlier than might have been hoped for or expected.

As a woman of more mature years I have white hair, I have wrinkles (let’s  call them laughter lines), I have a few aches and pains and I’m definitely not exactly as limber as I used to be but I am to all intents and purposes fit and healthy, happy and secure and blessed to have a life of freedom and enough.

There are undeniably parts of my anatomy that are gravitationally challenged (enough said) and I am unequivocally of the “older”generation but I am not old, I am not ready for wrinkled stockings, tartan slippers with a pom-pom on the front or a fleecy nightie. I still wear jeans and tee shirts most of the time (comfort and practicality are the key to my wardrobe) and I still love Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Winnie the Pooh. 

I have filed the questionnaire about my need for older peoples services in my waste bin, along with the offer of home visits for sight and hearing tests. My extremities may be teetering on the verge of being slightly frayed but my mental faculties are still fully functioning (bar the occasional senior moment when I can’t remember why I entered a room). My sense of humour is still pretty much as it was when I was younger and I can still be reduced to helpless giggles by a banana skin moment.

 I certainly cannot be classed as an O.A.P. (you  actually have to get your pension to achieve that status) and though I am not embarrassed or ashamed of my age I have to confess to finding myself somewhat surprised to have attained such a lofty number, in my head I’m still somewhere between 18-30! In fact, my only regret is how long it takes to scroll down to find my birth year on line, that can be a little bit challenging and time consuming.

So, another year has been added to my tally and I look forward to all that this next year brings. I commit to living it to the full, I owe it to those who don’t share the privilege.