THOUGHTS ON A BIG BIRTHDAY

The birthday was significant. A large number. The start of a new decade for me. {You can guess which birthday it was.} Remember very few homes had television sets when I was born. There's a clue.

When you reach this age, it is somehow a surprise. You say to yourself is that me they are talking about? The answer is it is you. Congratulations!

I have a few thoughts about reaching this age. Some of them have appeared in earlier essay's I have written. I think they could apply to this essay.

Life is dynamic. Things change. People will move in different directions for many reasons. When you are very young you have friends who live on your street or in the neighborhood. Most will go to the same elementary school. Many will go to the same high school. But as time moves on things will change. Some will go to different colleges in different directions. From there those old friends will start different careers, maybe get married, maybe have children and for many reasons move to many different cities and states or even countries. The point is many relationships will change because of many different situations. This is part of the cycle of life.

This is a brief summary of how it went for me. We got married in our twenties. We each had a career. We have a son. Had dogs. Bought and sold a few houses. Lived in our last house four twenty five-years. We did quite a bit of entertaining for a number of years in that house. We had friends, relatives and business associates. We had birthday parties, New Years Eve and Super Bowl parties. and a lot more.

In the latter half of those twenty-five years in that house we liked very much some things would change as they often do. We got a little older. We lost some people. Our son moved to a different part of the country. A few health issues. Retirement.

The cycle continues. The business associates are no longer part of your life. Friends also start to retire. Some move away. Warm climates. Sometimes you just do not have the same interests with some people anymore. The days of a lot of entertaining were behind us. The home we liked so much was becoming a lot to manage. Time to down-size. We found a place. We sold the house. We moved. The move went well. We like what we did. We went on to the next chapter.

Retirement can be good. Having a good attitude is important. Pursue things you have been interested in or thought about for many years. Here's a tip if you had no thoughts, plans or dreams start looking for some! Stop saying I thought I would work forever. Find some new interests, hobbies, volunteer, even some new type of work. Be creative. Have a purpose. We do not get younger. Life moves forward not backward. Things are always changing. In order to keep your mind working and stay relevant embrace change. Stop talking about the way things used to be and in the good old day's routine.

Live in the present. Think about the future!

WRITTEN BY

RON TURETT