Seventy-One Is the New Fifty (sort of)

Posted on by Laura & Brett
(photo credit: unsplash/Diliara Garrifullina)

This weekend I will celebrate my 71st birthday. Seventy-one! I know I’m not the first person to do this and certainly won’t be the last, but for some reason the seventies do not seem as momentous as I they might be. Maybe the eighties are going to be the Big Ones?

I accept that I am old, but other than at the end of a shift at Trader Joe’s I honestly don’t think about it all that much. All things considered, I’m still in pretty darn good shape physically. Yes, I have wrinkles, mostly the result of spending my youth in a very sunny location and not using sunscreen (I don’t even know if such a thing existed). Parts of me occasionally wear out or are starting to, but backup systems work and kick in when needed. I can still do physical labor, and although I’m very sore at the end of a workday it’s taking less time for my body to rebound. I continue to enjoy walking and get out as much as possible. I eat well and am at a good weight for my age, not skinny but not overweight either.

I’m grateful to remain on top of things mentally. There are of course those senior moments when I walk into a room and forget what I wanted to do there but for the most part I get everything done every day that needs to get done. Our house is clean and the laundry gets done, the budget is followed, our grandchildren get to where they need to be or picked up on time, meals are fixed, books are read, blog posts are written, and so forth. I enjoy learning new things and still retain a sense of wonder. I am grateful to no longer have to cook, do laundry, or pick up for five, or have to drive all over the place (that’s Brett’s job now), but I do love staying active both physically and mentally.

I’m not so old either that I can’t and don’t dream about the future, or make plans for it. I still get excited even though dreams these days are somewhat conditioned by future financial possibilities. I’ve accomplished all I’ve wanted to do in life (actually more), but dreaming for the future, setting goals, and making plans remain as much fun as they’ve always been. I look forward to what each day brings, especially as we work toward our next Big Adventure.

Life has been a roller coaster ride. My youth was that big, slow climb to the top, filled with both excitement and trepidation about what the future would bring. And then came the twists, turns, and unknowns of adulthood (and boy have I had a lot of those, most of them fun but some very scary ones as well). More love than I thought possible has accompanied me along the way though. I’m now entering the final phase of my ride. I believe there are still some loops, drops, twists, and turns to come before I slide into the end, but I accept that I am closer to the finish than the beginning. I want to make the most of the time I have remaining.

So, to my 71st birthday I say, bring it on! I still have a lot of living and loving to do.

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Published by Laura & Brett

Slow traveling the world with a sense of adventure!

38 thoughts on “Seventy-One Is the New Fifty (sort of)”

  5. Happy Birthday! As others have said, you have a great attitude!

    A friend and I had dinner last week and discussed our upcoming birthdays — we both turn 70 in the next 6 weeks. She said this one is feeling hard to her. I’m not particularly fussed about it, although it does seem shocking to think of myself as being 70. But, like you, I have lots to be grateful for and am optimistic about the future. Even though we’re firmly in the last third, we might as well enjoy it. 😊

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    1. Turning 70 just rolled over me; it’s been that way with every decade so far. Big build-up, and then, “well, here I am – let’s get going.” I am optimistic about the future too – we still have more than a few good years to go, I think.

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  6. Happy Birthday! This reminded me of some decisions I also make due to my age of 73. I adopted an older dog. Debating whether or not to add a few fruit trees to my little orchard. I mostly hit the easy button if it is a choice. Life is good.

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    1. I am right with you when it comes to hitting the easy button. When I think of all I’ve experienced, I tell myself I don’t need to work so hard any more – just do what makes me happy and what’s easiest.

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  10. Congratulations and have a very happy birthday! I’ll turn 70 in a few weeks, and I really wonder how that happened! I don’t feel like what I thought 70 would feel like! LOL! I do remember thinking that my grandparents and parents were VERY old when they turned 70….although my dad still had 36 more years of living after that. I hope I have his longevity genes!

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    1. I don’t feel anything like what I thought 70 would feel like. My mom was still working at 70, but she could not have done the work I am doing at Trader Joe’s.

      Both Brett and I have longevity genes, but I remember reading in Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End (by Atul Gawande) that genes will only take you so far; the rest is up to how we live our life, take care of ourself, and our attitude.

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    1. Thanks! I’m actually looking forward to my birthday this year. I have the day off from work, and I can sense Brett is making plans to make the day special.

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  12. Happy Birthday!
    You express the passage of time so well.
    My husband will be 73 in a month. He just moved six tons of rock into my garden. Our kids want us to buy a small house near them. They will air bnb it out until one of us moves in. It is a toss up who it will be. I’ll be traveling and he will be fishing until then.
    After 65 Mom would say, “I am getting older, but not elderly.” On her 91st birthday, after being isolated for the pandemic, she told me, “I am finally elderly.” Her entire demeanor changed and she passed about eighteen months later. Still, she her mind was clear until the end.

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    1. Thanks! Life really is a roller coaster full of twists and turns, and we can either decide we’re going to be miserable or enjoy the ride as much as possible (and scream when necessary!). I can’t say every moment of my life has been enjoyable, but overall the ride has been great and I’m looking forward to what’s yet to come.

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  13. Happy Birthday, Laura! A great post on life. You’re right, in spite of several health setbacks, I don’t feel “old.” Now if we can get all those other folks to stop thinking of us seniors as “old.”

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    1. Thank you! I don’t feel old, or didn’t until I started work at TJ’s. I can do most of what everyone else can do, but not as quickly any more. Also, I sing along to songs from the 70s – a couple of co-workers ask me about artists from then. That makes me feel old too, but in a good way.

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  14. Happy Birthday! Love your post, and my parents are 70 & 72, and still living incredible lives. They just remodeled their house, are in fantastic shape, my mom is flying in over Memorial Day to see the teens, and they love their annual trip to Hawaii. They are hosting “Nana & Papa Camp” this summer, again, complete with mountain biking & this year…college tours.

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    1. Thank you, HP! I didn’t realize your parents are in the same age range as Brett and I – they have always seemed so much younger because they’re so active.

      College tours? Oh my, where has the time gone? Good luck to all of you as you approach admissions. It’s a wild ride, but your boys we go where they were meant to be.

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      2. Thank you! I’m feeling positive about aging and the future. Getting old is not, as they say, for sissies, but so far it’s going well and I hope to keep it that way!

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  16. Happy Birthday!
    I am pulling up on 77. The morning of my 70th birthday, I woke up and was just astounded that I was 70. I walked around all day wondering how it happened. But, I was not unhappy at the birthday happening.

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    1. Thak you, Linda. I have yet to reach the astonished point yet and am guessing that might happen as I get closer to 80. As the saying goes, getting older is better than the alternative.

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