Dispatches from Home – Thoughts on turning Seventy. February 1 2022

In 1962, at the ripe old age of ten, I remember thinking, “Seventy! Yikes! That’s really old!” As I sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my seventy-year-old Aunt Pocahontas Maria Price (yes, that was her real name), I studied the deep crevices in her sweet, wrinkled face. Her thick glasses made her eyes look like huge, deep-blue marbles. And the snow-white rows of her out-of-fashion marcel wave were a fascination. Aunt Pokey, as we called her, passed away not long after that. Once again, I thought, “Seventy…get to be that old and you die.”

Fast forward to today, February 1, 2022. I’m seventy, thankfully not dead, and I’m still kicking, just not as high. () Some of my friends my age have embraced their golden years, while others, some even younger, have soured on the vine. I’ve lived long enough to know that life’s too short to waste your days on the latter. I intend to spend my remaining years with positive, cheerful people. I’ve also found that spending time with negative people brings me down and makes me feel old.

So what will it mean when I blow out seventy candles? It means that I survived the Bomb and the Red Scare, polio, German measles, the Cuba Missile Crisis, the assignation of President Kennedy, the Great Society, and President Nixon’s resignation. It means that I didn’t die in a car accident, or the horrific winds and tornados of Hurricanes Camille and Katrina. It means that I didn’t break any bones or die of a broken heart in my teens. (Actually, it was in my 30s, but that’s another story for another birthday. () It also means that God blessed me with dear parents who provided for me, cared for me, and taught me the value of integrity, hard work, strong morals, and to “do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.”

Because I am seventy, you may be wondering, does death occupy my thoughts more now than in times past? When I was younger, I presumed that death was all that old folks thought about; it made them ill, caused depression. Happy to say, that’s not the case with me. I’m living life to the fullest and don’t have time to be preoccupied with dying. For those my age who do, perhaps you are as depressed in your old age as you were in your youth. Maybe you can’t expunge the fear of dying in order to experience the joy of living. And perhaps you have no solid belief in Heaven, Jesus, and the promise of eternal life after death.

It’s easy to make presumptions about what it means to be seventy in our youth-oriented society. It is NOT necessarily depressing, tragic, or sad. Tragedy and loss happen throughout a person’s life span, regardless of age. Seventy can be tricky, though, and as Bette Davis once said, “Old age ain’t no place for sissies.”

And what of the future? Realizing that I have more days behind me than before me, I intend to seize each day, consciously taking in life with all my senses. I’ll treasure seeing the sun slowly fade into the deepening shadows of night and then look forward to seeing it dawn on another day. I’ll cherish smelling the crisp, cold air on a winter’s night or the arid heat of a summer’s day. I’ll smile upon feeling the velvety petals of a crimson rose while avoiding its thorns. I’ll long to hear once again the tender refrain of a beloved hymn or a favorite symphony as if for the first time. And I’ll relish the taste of a new culinary delight that tickles the tastebuds or a vintage wine that delights the soul.

In my remaining days, I’ll refuse to dwell on past failures. I’ll refuse to worry about the future. I’ll refuse to live in fear. I’ll refuse to feel pressured to be somewhere, meet some deadline, or attain some problematic goal. I’ll live wisely and not be in a rush to get to the next place, the next moment, or the next day.

Each day that I remain on this mortal coil, I intend to remember that the past is gone, and the future is promised to no one. But come what may, I still have the present. And while living in that present moment, I’ll try to live by the words of the prophet Micah, “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”