Making it to seventy was just checked off the to do list which is both a milestone and just another day. I’m feeling good. I still rollerblade, although I am extra cautious because, well, just because.

We, Linda and I, just painted the garage which needed painting badly. It took several days, I got sore. I hate chipping off old paint but did it anyway. Linda is much better at both chipping off old paint and painting than I am. I have to say, there is some pride in painting a garage “at our age”. The garage looks better.

Just had an egress window installed. Redoing the landscape around it didn’t take much time but like anything manual labor wise, when one is seventyish it must be done more carefully. I don’t go down to the ground and back up again on a whim. It’s a process.

Truth be told, when climbing up and down a ladder, stretching to paint a high spot or when getting up off the ground, I have a bit of minor bladder leakage. I know too much information. A prostate removed fourteen months ago gives me a new reality. I don’t make a big deal out of it. Just quietly go in, change undies and move on.

We used to volunteer at the local elementary school reading to or being read to by the kids. With COVID we are no longer able to do that. Although we chaperoned two field trips this spring for our fifth grade granddaughter’s class. Doing a little volunteer work is an easy way to give life a touch more meaning and purpose.

I do get more tired than I used to. Taking periodic naps is the cure. The doc said after kidney removal (cancer 2.5 years ago) that it is to be expected. They say, the remaining kidney, over time, gets better able to clean out the blood (which is the cause of the tired feeling) almost as well as two kidneys do. However, the doctor also said, remember you are also not a kid anymore.

The new 60 volt electric Toro lawn mower has exceeded my expectations. It cuts grass like a champ, is lighter and thus easier to maneuver than the gas models. As I’ve gotten older I’ve been able to pull the chord fast enough to start a gas mower but just barely. The maintenance on an electric mower is almost nothing. No more pulling the chord to start the motor. No more figuring how to bring it in for a tuneup.

There is no doubt I am more forgetful than I used to be, not that I was ever really good at remembering things. It also takes me a beat longer to process thoughts than it used to. Here is the deal though. I don’t think I’m losing my mind but I admit I am not as quick witted. On balance, not responding with a quick and witty retort means I am probably a nicer person now. Linda is tired of needing to tell me the same thing over and over again.

I’ve always been a bit of a loner, however during the COVID years, I’ve kind of gotten used to not spending too much time with others. I now get a bit overwhelmed when I’m in a large crowd with lots of stuff going on. Maybe it is just my age however no matter the cause, a mild anxiety in a crowd is how I feel.

Over the past year or so, we’ve gone to too many Celebration of Life ceremonies. Some passed at an age younger than I am and others were older. The older I get, accepting the fact that life is not forever gets easier.

All deaths are sad. Some deaths relieved horrendous pain. Most were not a surprise although a couple were shocking, out of the blue, never saw it coming. All will be missed. All left others with a hole, emptiness, in their life. It kind of saddens me that I’ve learned to accept death is a part of life. The older I get the more I realize, a celebration of life ceremony or funeral is not really for the deceased. They are really about helping the living adjust to the reality of living without the person who passed.

One last observation. The past couple years of the COVID pandemic has created a new normal. The norms for work, education, social interactions, entertainment, and so many other aspects of life have changed. As a retired senior citizen, most of my lifetime existed with the old set of norms. Since I am not working or in school, I have less of an opportunity to learn the new post pandemic norms.

For example, I have little knowledge of how a company’s workforce can be both mostly working remotely and still work cohesively. All I really know is as I observe how the younger generations, our children and their children, navigate their daily lives, it is very different than it was for me.

In the ancient days of like five years ago, gatherings took lots of planning and coordination. Planning our fathers day get together only took like three texts between us and our daughters, the last two of which were emojis. Just saying.

So I made it to seventy. At seventy, I still need to do stuff to give life meaning, just like it has been for every other age I’ve been. On balance, making it to seventy is way cool. Again, just saying.

I just looked it up. In 1952, the year I was born, life expectancy for males was 65.8 years old. Currently if you reach age seventy your life expectancy is 85.3.

The closer you look the more you see.