Friday, October 1, 2010

Sixty-Three and Still Me

I turned 63 years old in September.  I am 63 and still me.  When I was younger, I thought by this time I would be so much more, but I am still me.  I still struggle with the same things, find happiness in the same things, truly love most of the same people, plus a few more I have been blessed to receive along the way.  I have out lived my father by 7 years and the age my mother was when she passed is fast approaching.   I cannot even see the word "slow down" on my radar screen, let alone actually initiate it.  There are a few speed bumps now days.  One speed bump recently was my trip into our bedroom closet to get my glasses, I came out with Walt's dirty pants, and while putting them in the laundry to soak realized when I could not see the stains,  I had gone into the bedroom to get my glasses, so I could write something on the calendar.  Okay, that's about three speed bumps, but I think I used to do that same kind of thing in my multi-tasking 40's.   One thing that has changed a lot, other than that image looking back at me in the mirror, is my wisdom.  I have accumulated much more of it through the years.  I have found that there really are things that simply do not matter....not one bit.  What does not matter, simply put is STUFF.    Looking back on my own grandmothers, I realize that they reached  that point too.  Grandma Park never changed her furniture, a picture on the wall, or so much as a flower pot, while I knew her.  She wore her aprons over her dresses (I never saw her in a pair of pants), used the same hair product, (a slime Mother or her sister's put in her curls), or ever asked anything to be changed.  I remember Mother reached a point where she did not want to be "bothered" with the Christmas tree.  She would remove a garbage bag from her stored small fake tree and that was her total Christmas celebration decor.  I thought that was so strange, now I think how intelligent.  Perhaps one day that image looking back at me in the mirror, if I am still occasionally looking, will be back to my 1965 hairdo wearing 1950's bright orange polka dot blouse with  1970's purple bell bottom pants.  Oh, and beads, tons of beads.  Hopefully, I will still have my hubby saying, "Honey, you haven't changed a bit".