A Nice Round Number

 Sixty is a wonderful age.  At sixty you’re old enough to know yourself well, to be comfortable with the sum total of your faults, flaws, strengths and talents.  A sixty year-old person can say, “This is who I am”, with out having to apologize for it or explain why.  It used to be that people were old at sixty but that’s no longer true for most sixty year-olds.

But the number sixty does still imply many years lived, knowledge learned, and most importantly, wisdom gained.  Once you’ve lived sixty years, you can take pride in the contribution you’ve made to the world.  You have the right to choose to continue contributing through the workplace or to retire.  And retirement doesn’t have to be an ending.  These days it’s considered a beginning to other adventures, skills, and possibilities.

You’re old enough, at sixty, to live comfortably where you’re planted but young enough to dream of new roots and new challenges.  You’re old enough to know that making a living is not the most important thing; rather it’s how you lived the life you made that counts when you turn sixty.  And you know that there’s still enough time to change the things that didn’t work out the way you’d hoped.

At sixty you’ve loved and raised your children and fallen in love with your grandchildren, maybe even a great-grandchild or two.  You’re a person with memories of the “old days” to share and you have the right to start sentences with “when I was young”. 

You feel your body differently than before but your doctor assures you that change is desirable and still possible.  You can eat what you want but you’re smart enough to want what’s good for you.  You take an interest in your health while you can still enjoy it and you finally learn to discipline yourself. 

And all of that makes it possible to attain a certain level of comfort with yourself, just as you are, as well as with the idea of aging.  When you were young the idea of getting older was not attractive; when you turn sixty you understand that slowing down and aging are rewards for the hard work and dedication of the younger years. 

Now, you realize, you’re free to explore long neglected interests and choose dedication to something other than work and routine.   More of your time is your own and, while you want more than ever to spend it wisely, you finally understand that rest, self-care, and attention to family and friends really are wise and rewarding uses of your time.

This article sounds like I’ve just turned sixty.  No, I’m a few years away from that milestone yet and I really have no idea how I’ll feel when I get there.  These musings about that magical age were inspired by reflections when my husband turned sixty recently.  Maybe I’m preparing myself now so that when my turn comes it will be a smooth passage.