This month, my 50th High School Reunion takes place back home in Cleveland. I really wanted to go but, unfortunately, had to make a choice financially. Now that I’m retired and living on a fixed income, I had to decide if I wanted to “vacation” in Cleveland for a week or go somewhere on an actual vacation. My wife and I have been back and forth from LA to Cleveland for the last couple of years dealing with the passing of my mother-in-law and cleaning out her home and getting it ready for sale.
This year, we decided to have a mini vacation in Chicago and visit our daughter and meet her new forever friend, her rescue dog, Glinda. We had a great time and lucked out with a terrific weather weekend in Chi-Town which can be very iffy in the spring. We got to take our grandboys to a White Sox game, with VIP tickets and treatment, thanks to my daughter’s wonderful friends.
We also decided another trip to Disneyland with the grandboys would be in order this summer, and we will welcome cousins from South Africa, whom I have never met before, for a visit to LA. All of these events cost some bucks, so we had to make choices about how we will spend our vacation funds this year.
I really will miss reconnecting with old high school friends. I mean, it’s been 50 years since I’ve seen many of them. It would be great to learn how their lives have turned out and what they’re doing today.
BUT 50 YEARS!!! Good-Googlie-Mooglie!! When you’re young, the thought of what life might be like when you’re 65 (or over) may cross your mind but, “Nah…that’s such a long way away, I’ll worry about that when I’m 50 or something.” But then, BINGO! Sixty-five and retirement gets here sooner than you thought it ever would. Every day, in my head, I’m still 25 years old….only with a lot more experience. And every day, in my mirror, I see a reflection that belies all those thoughts in my head.
I still choose to believe in what’s in my head because thinking young keeps me young….and active. The alternative is to give in to the reflection and give up on living life for as long as I can. There are so many things my 25-year-old mind thinks I can still do, but my over sixty-five-year-old body just can’t comply anymore. I will never “wear a rug”, hold in my gut with a girdle, or elect plastic surgery to try to look younger. So, I do what I can—try to eat right, exercise where and when I can, push the boundaries where and while I can, know my limitations, and refuse to let my age define me.