Happy Birthday to me! I’m 71 today!

Hello again from Celebrating70!!

Cake (XXL) I started Celebrating70 last year when I was 70 years old. How time does fly!

Today I’m celebrating my 71st birthday. What a blessing! So many times we lament getting old. But, heck, what’s the alternative, my friends? As someone once so wisely said, “Never complain about growing old. So many never get the chance.”

When we are blessed with the gift of life, we shouldn’t waste it! Rather than regretting that we aren’t younger – been there, done that – we can instead focus on actually living the years that God is giving us. Gratitude will motivate us along the way.

At 71 what do I have to be grateful for? So much! I have my daughters, my grandsons, the rest of my family, my good friends. I have the ability to still work (Yes, I want to!) and the ability to walk (not all do…), to see (glasses, of course!), and to hear (okay, yes, with hearing aids!). And…I am grateful for watching the big snowflakes making their way to this good earth, seeing the flowers bloom in the spring (any time now, please!), or simply hearing the sound of my grandsons’ voices on the phone. Priceless. Though much less meaningful, I am also grateful for a steaming mug of good strong coffee, a slice or two of delicious hot pizza, sometimes maybe even a bit of yummy crème brûlée. You get the idea. Too many blessings to mention!

In a short article in Health.com entitled Afraid of Getting Older? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Be, Dr Gail Saltz tells us that, “It sounds cliché, but please don’t forget that with age comes wisdom, experience, often a wider circle of loved ones, and more comfort and security in your sense of self. Those are things worth looking forward to.” Yes, we do have much to look forward to!

On a somewhat lighter note…have you ever read the funny narrative entitled The Stranger in My House by Rose Madeline Mula? Click on the title to take a look. Let’s just say it made me smile…and I sure could relate! Probably my favorite part came near the end:

“I thought she (the stranger in the mirror) couldn’t get any meaner…but yesterday she…had the nerve to come with me when I went to have some passport pictures taken, and she actually stepped in front of the camera just as the shutter clicked. Disaster! I have never seen such a terrible picture. How can I go abroad now?”

All I can say is…I don’t know which is worse: my passport photo or the photo on my new driver’s license. Is that really me????

Well, yes, that is me in the mirror! My beauty has drawn inward now. But I’m still me and will always be. Me…but even better!

So…Happy Birthday to me!

♥

Pajama Dressing? Say What??

Am I the LAST person on earth to hear of this fashion trend??

PAJAMA DRESSING 5 Imagine my surprise when I came upon a November 2017 article at people.com entitled 11 Pajamas You Can Wear To Any Thanksgiving Celebration, from Fancy Silks to Fleece Onesies.

Wait. Did that say “onesies”? Now that I’ve gotten my breath back, let me continue.

What exactly is pajama dressing? New Trend Alert: Pajama Dressing 101 at Cosabella.com let me know that pajama dressing is “simply wearing pajamas…as outerwear.” Yikes!

And…the article The Rise of the Pajama Trend and How to Style It in avenuemagazine.com tells us that “creating a fashion statement out of your nighttime routine is an up-and-coming trend.” Wow. It goes on to say that “the athleisure trend has been able to thrive in an ever-transforming fashion market.” Now I do “get” athleisure. Let’s just say few days go by that I don’t wear a pair of leggings!

A July 2018 article entitled How to Master the Art of Summer Pajama Dressing on glamour.com shares “styling tips…that have paved the way for lazy dressers everywhere.” Wonderful! My featured photo today comes from that article.

I’ve taught more than a few college students who wore pajama bottoms to an early morning class. I think I’ve even seen some fluffy slippers as well. Somehow I don’t think these students were on the forefront of the pajama dressing trend. Maybe I’m wrong.

How things have changed! When I was in high school back in the dark ages we couldn’t wear pants of any kind to class – let alone pajamas. And, when I started working for a major corporation decades ago, women wearing pants – and I mean “real” pants – was frowned upon. Skirts and dresses prevailed. (All together now…can we say “panty hose”?)

Okay, let’s say all of us here at Celebrating70 buy into the pajama dressing fashion trend. Do you think the world is ready for our pajamas? Or should I say nightgowns? Does flannel “fly”? Can I throw on my robe when I go out if the weather is nippy? I mean fair is fair. If younger women are wearing their silky pajama separates out and about, should we have the same fashion freedom? Here! Here!

Well…now that I’ve thought about it, the answer is no. To be completely honest I haven’t really followed fashion trends in quite some time…and I don’t think this is the time to start.

I’m going to “just say no” to pajama dressing.

Are you with me?

♥

Taking The Road Less Traveled…

It CAN make all the difference!

Autumnal trees in sunshine. One of my very favorite quotes is found at the conclusion of a Robert Frost poem.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.

While interpretations may vary, to me this quote very simply means that in this short life we can be happiest and most fulfilled by creating our very own path…whatever that path may be.

In 1978 Dr. M. Scott Peck wrote a wonderful book entitled The Road Less Traveled. I first became aware of this book years ago through my daughter Michele. Then, as luck would have it, Michele and I had the opportunity to attend a Road Less Traveled seminar right here in our hometown. I took notes (I’ve always been a big note taker!) and came away with some “nuggets” that I remember to this day. Here are just a few…

• Our own view of reality is like a map…the “road” in our lives.
• We should always pay attention to our inner wisdom – our intuition – and combine that with logic (of course!).
• Be open to “serendipity” – when something good happens that you’re not looking for.
• “Grace” is the connecting force in life that shows us how to grow.

I especially like the idea of serendipity, defined in the Oxford University Press blog as experiencing happy and unexpected discoveries by accident. How wonderful! Sometimes the “map” we follow in life is structured, “humdrum,” and we don’t keep our minds and eyes open for serendipity. We best change that!

Grace is another remarkable concept. While grace is often defined from a theological or spiritual perspective, from my perspective grace is the heartwarming, comforting sense of peace, gratitude and love that comes to us at special moments in time. It can occur anytime and anywhere and can help us truly sense the goodness of life. (I do know I’m waxing philosophical here!) While feelings of grace may be fleeting and rare, my guess is if we were more open to its existence we could experience “amazing grace” much more often in our lives.

I like to think that, as I create my life in however many years I have left on this earth, I will welcome serendipity, open my mind and heart to experience true grace, and then confidently take that inviting Road Less Traveled. I know for sure that will make all the difference!

Care to join me, anyone?

♥

“It is what it is.”

Wait! There’s more to the “story”!

How many times have you heard someone say “It is what it is”? Countless times? That’s pretty much true for most of us.

So…what does “It is what it is” mean to you? While I know what it means to me — I’ll get to that shortly! — I decided to Google the idiom and found that some folks feel very strongly about this little phrase!

In a 2015 article on inc.com entitled The Stupidity of ‘It is what it is…’ author Peter Economy (Is that a real last name??) declared that “It is what it is is especially damaging when used to frame a response to a problem…an admission that the problem is too hard…This all too common phrase has no place in the lexicon of leaders who rely on the intellectual, emotional and creative power of their people.”

Okay Peter, you’re right to a point. However, let’s not just say “It is what it is” and leave it at that. Instead, let’s say this…

It is what it is 2

Now that is about acknowledging the reality of a situation and then making a conscious choice about how that reality will impact us and what we are going to do about it!

Case in point: I’m 70 now. (Yes, indeed, it is what it is!) And…I choose not to bemoan the fact that I’m not younger. I choose to embrace the fact that I’m still waking up in the morning, have people to love, and can still make a contribution to this world. I choose to accept responsibility for my attitude…and I choose to be an optimist.

It is what it is, my friends!

♥

You’re old. You sag. Get over it!

Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls certainly has a way with words!

Sophia Petrillo Smaller I never watched The Golden Girls when it was in “prime time,” but I love to catch the reruns. And Sophia is my favorite!

As The Golden Girls Wiki on Fandom points out, “Sophia is best known for her wisecracks, put-downs and brazen remarks.” I do think “You’re old–You sag–Get over it” meets all three criteria! Let’s just say Sophia isn’t known to pull any punches.

The Golden Girls offers a comedic perspective on what “old age” was like in Miami in the late 1980’s. What totally amazes me now is that when The Golden Girls premiered in 1985, actress Rue McClanahan (Blanche) was actually 51, Bea Arthur (Dorothy) was 63, Betty White (Rose) was 63, and Estelle Getty (my Sophia) was 62!! What’s wrong with that picture?? I’m 70! If they were old, what am I?? Aye yai yai.

But I digress. Regardless of the ages of the actresses playing the roles, cheerful programming about aging women was and is a welcome diversion from programming that exalts youth and beauty above all else and minimizes the value of those of us who have celebrated many, many birthdays. While certainly there are stereotypes in The Golden Girls, the program balances happy times and sad times and also exemplifies the importance of sharing our lives with kindred spirits who will help us navigate our ups and downs with both humor and caring.

Moving on now from The Golden Girls…a 2017 HBO documentary entitled If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast is worth checking out. First of all, I love the title! In the article The Sunny, Funny View of Old Age, Sophie Gilbert describes how in this Emmy-nominated documentary “acclaimed nonagenarians including Carl Reiner and Betty White challenge stereotypes about life after 90.” Now I’m feeling a bit more youthful!

Sophia Petrillo’s harsh quip about aging aside, whether we’re mere septuagenarians or we’re current or aspiring nonagenarians, we can do ourselves the favor of maintaining a positive spirit and being grateful for our blessings. And also – for good measure – let’s be sure to do what Oprah advises…“Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher.”

Great advice, I’d say!

P.S. Thanks, Pat, for the great “tip” about If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast! It’s a keeper!

♥

Give hygge a try, y’all!

We’re talking coziness, warmth, contentment and well-being…

drinking hot coffee outdoor with some books and nature blur background Countless articles have been written about hygge over the last couple of years; some might say too many articles have been written. Well, I’m jumping on the hygge bandwagon. I simply can’t resist exploring this Danish way of living!

So what is hygge? The Oxford English dictionary defines hygge as “A quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being…” I don’t know about you, but that sounds more-than-wonderful to me!

Hygge House tells us that “Hygge (pronounced hue-guh…) is a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment. It can be alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary but is always cosy, charming or special. It literally only requires consciousness, a certain slowness, and the ability to not just be present – but to recognize and enjoy the present.” Hygge just keeps sounding better and better!

In an article in Harper’s Bizarre entitled What is Hygge and is it really the secret to happiness? we learn that “hygge (pronounced hoo-gah) promotes the idea of enjoying and indulging in the small good things in life – whether sitting around a table with friends and family or drinking a hot mug of tea by candlelight…And the results speak for themselves – the Danes have been named the most content people year after year…” I love the reference to the “small good things in life.” Those are what make moments in our lives special.

Whether you pronounce it hue-guh or hoo-gah, hygge is a mindset — or perhaps a lifestyle — that promotes a sense of contentment, warmth and well-being. It requires us to slow down and be very aware of the precious moments in our lives, alone and with our family and friends.

Let’s all give hygge a try. Can’t hurt!

♥

Toto, We’re Not In Kansas Anymore…

And that could be a GOOD thing!

Dorothy 2 with border How many times have I seen The Wizard of Oz? Too many to count! Many lessons could be learned from that enduring old movie. Today I’m thinking about how Dorothy’s “We’re not in Kansas anymore” observation applies to those of us at 70 years old – or older – now.

Not so long ago being 70 often meant watching the world pass you by. It doesn’t have to be that way! Today at 70 we can choose to be a part of the world around us…and be happy and content. While the media and even some of our contemporaries might suggest that folks our age are depressed and lonely, thankfully that is often simply not the case.

An article in The Guardian entitled Could your 60s and 70s be the best decades of life? shares great insights. For example, “Research suggests that…sixty-five to 79 is the happiest age group for adults…” Is that not a “delicious surprise”?!?

This article also quotes Monica Hartwell, 69, as saying, “The joy of getting older is much greater self-confidence…It’s the loss of angst about what people think of you: the size of your bum or whether others are judging you correctly. It’s not an arrogance, but you know who you are when you’re older and all those roles you played to fit in when you were younger are irrelevant.” Such liberation! I love it!

Will all of us in our 70’s be traveling, running marathons, or creating unbelievable adventures? No. The lives we create in our 70’s will be as diverse as the lives we created in our younger years. Each of our journeys through the 70’s and beyond will be both personal and unique. What’s really important is that we surround ourselves with kindred spirits – people who share our perspectives, interests and values. And don’t forget. Even if we can’t get “out and about” to do that, we can connect with those kindred spirits virtually…like we’re doing right now, “as we speak”!

No, we’re not in Kansas anymore. We’re not 40 or 50 or even 60 now. However…we can choose to be joyful and grateful…and embrace life with a positive spirit! Let’s view our 70’s as an interesting new beginning.

In the words of an old Swedish proverb, “Those who wish to sing always find a song.”

So…let’s find our songs!

♥

Shhh…What’s that quiet voice whispering to me??

Oh! That’s my intuition!

Clouds Hope Intuition Whether we describe it as a passing thought, a hunch, nudge, a gut feeling, a sensation or a sixth sense, my guess is we have all at one time or another heard a little whisper – a “secret voice” – telling us that something was right…or it was wrong. Maybe we listened. Maybe we didn’t.

A really simple example comes immediately to mind. Were you ever about to say something when a little voice inside your head told you not to say it? That has happened to me many times over my lifetime! Sometimes I listened to that little voice. When I didn’t, I usually regretted it.

In any event, what I’m describing is our intuition, our “inner wisdom” that can give us a sense of direction. Oxforddictionaries.com defines intuition as “the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.” I do like that definition!

In a HuffPost article entitled 10 Things Highly Intuitive People Do Differently, Sophy Burnham, author of The Art of Intuition, defines intuition as “the subtle knowing without ever having any idea why you know it.” I like that definition even better. Sounds like an “Aha!” moment to me!

Perhaps you’ve read or heard this wonderful poem entitled The Voice by children’s author Shel Silverstein.

There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
“I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong.”
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What’s right for you – just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.

I think Mr. Silverstein is encouraging us to listen to our intuition and let it help us make choices that are right for us…not right for someone else.

Let’s take up that challenge! We’ll start with an open mind, listen with our heart, pay close attention to our “secret voice,” and then trust ourselves to make good choices.

Are ya with me??

♥

A Rose by Any Other Name…

Am I “revered”…or just plain “old”?

Pink Rose 2 with outline In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare penned that, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” We could debate the context of that proclamation, or we can just use it as the starting point for a conversation about how we are perceived as we age.

I’m seventy years old. Am I officially elderly? Did I cross that threshold years ago and just didn’t know it yet? Or…am I a distinguished person whose life and experiences are valued? That depends in large part on your perspective.

In the American culture youth is valued. Actually that’s really quite an understatement! As we baby boomers age, the market for face creams, cosmetic surgery and other harbingers of the illusive fountain of youth continues to grow. Someone near and dear to me has laughingly professed that each night she washes a hundred dollars’ worth of makeup off her face!

A message that implicitly runs loud and clear in the American culture is that we lose our value as we age. We might be thought of as a fossil, an old goat, over the hill, or even decrepit. (Yikes!) The list goes on and on.

But wait! Some cultures actually do value aging! In an article in the Huffington Post aptly entitled 7 Cultures that Celebrate Aging and Respect Their Elders, author Taylor French shares that…

• Koreans are socialized to respect and show deference to older individuals.
• In ancient Rome, elders were a precious resource.
• In India, elders are the head of the family.
• In the Native American culture…elders are respected for their wisdom and life experiences.
• In Greek…culture, old age is honored and celebrated, and respect for elders is central to the family.

I feel a little better now! Words to describe “the elderly” in some cultures might include revered, respected, honored, distinguished, esteemed or…my personal favorite…celebrated! Regardless of how “the world” views us or chooses to describe us, we must always be “crystal-clear” about our own true value.

As Eartha Kitt once said, “Aging has a wonderful beauty and we should have respect for that.”

Hear, hear!!

♥

Are you like Tigger…or maybe more like Eeyore?

And…who are the other characters in YOUR Hundred Acre Wood?

Winnie-the-Pooh-Characters TRY THIS.png

When I set out to write this post I simply thought it might be fun to think about Tigger and Eeyore, beloved characters from Disney’s Winnie the Pooh. Little did I know when I “Googled” this seemingly playful topic that so much has been written about the Winnie the Pooh characters! Some of what’s written is positive…some not so much. And…I had absolutely no idea that the movie Christopher Robin recently opened in theaters, offering us a chance to get reacquainted with Tigger, Eeyore, Pooh and the rest of the gang!

In any event, I will take a light-hearted approach to the oh-so-compelling Tigger or Eeyore question.

Tigger is generally a glass half full type of person – optimistic, happy, energetic, outgoing, and fun-loving. Eeyore, on the other hand, is more glass half empty – pessimistic, gloomy, tired, shy, fearful…and also a very kind soul. We may see a bit of ourselves in one or even both of them. Or maybe we’re more like one of the other Winnie the Pooh characters?

I found a quick quiz online that helps us discover which Winnie the Pooh character our own personality favors! There are only eleven questions (and you can easily “skip” one ad). Click here if you’d like to give it a try. While you may or may not agree with the outcome of the quiz –- Let’s just say I never thought I was like Piglet! –- it is a fun little quiz. Do keep in mind that each character has positive attributes!

Now that we’ve thought about which Pooh character we might be like, here’s another interesting question to ponder. Who are the other “characters” in your very own Hundred Acre Wood? I’ll bet your “world” includes some very interesting personality types. I know mine does! (Hmmm. Is a Negative Nelly the same as an Eeyore…?)

I’ve heard it said that as we grow older we become “more of” who we really are. Whether we’re like Tigger, Eeyore or another Pooh character, we always have the opportunity — the choice really — to interact with the world around us in a positive way. From my perspective, my friends, that is ultimately — always — the best approach!

Would you agree??