Milestone

Yesterday was my 65th birthday - July 14, 2014. I consider it an "aging" milestone for a variety of reasons.

1. Sixty-five sounds a LOT older to me than sixty-four. It feels as if it should be a milestone.
Just sayin'.
But then, I've never bothered about my age. I turned thirty, forty, fifty and sixty without depression or anxiety (I've told my youngest "child" that it bothered me more when SHE turned thirty and when my oldest turned forty than any of my own birthdays). And so, my sixty-fifth birthday, though it represents a GREAT age, will come and go without causing me to lose sleep!

2. Sixty-five is a good time to stop and take inventory. Being realistic, I have more years behind me than I do ahead of me. I feel very blessed when I look around. My husband and my family (and grand kids, have I mentioned my grandson and granddaughter yet? :-), my home, my church, my friends. I need to step up my praises and thank Him more!

3. Sixty-five is older than my granny was when she died. One day all was well, she was with us; the next day she wasn't. I was in the sixth grade, and her death - the first family loss for me - was a life changer for our family. Being sixty-five reminds me that every day is a gift (the present) and should not be defined by complaints - petty or otherwise - or on the I Wants or the I Have Nots, and definitely not on Worrying about things I can't change. What can I do, what can I be in this sixty-fifth year to make a difference?

4. Sixty-five means Medicare. Oh, me. Don't let me get started on All The Feels about this and other government programs.
We've been fortunate; first, as teachers and then, as retired teachers, to have an excellent health care insurance plan. Affordable and extensive. So a few months before my 65th birthday, I began getting all the messages about how my plan was about to change. Wake-up call! Do I understand it all? Hardly, but since there was no choice - our insurance company hands us over to the government, like it or not - I had to do the paper work and comply. Part A, Part B, Part D: they're swirling around in my head even as I type (IS there a Part C and if not, why not?)! It has yet to be fully tested - hopefully, it won't need to be, and I'll stay healthy, BUT I've got that card!

5. Sixty-five is only FIVE short (the way they fly by these days) years from turning seventy ...

My conclusion?

I'm very blessed.
AND I NEED TO GET TO WORK ON THAT BUCKET LIST!