Yes, many a fine tune IS played on an old fiddle!

Old fiddles, unite!

Try as I might, I couldn’t find the indisputable origin of the proverb “Many a fine tune is played on an old fiddle.” Celebrating70 is all about making the very most of growing older and this little “ditty” seems to support that mission! In a culture that values youth, it’s good to be reminded that as old fiddles we do still have value in this big old world. If we don’t truly believe that, who will, my friends??

Now, we could argue all day about just when we become a metaphorical old fiddle. Heck, I’m 71 and really – on most days anyway! – I don’t feel like an old fiddle. To define old fiddle, we first might have to answer this question: How old is elderly? Hmmm. Is it 65? Is it 70? It definitely depends on who you ask. When I Googled “elderly” I saw some references to “early elderly” and “late elderly.” Does that mean there might even be “pre-elderly” or “post elderly” as well? Aye yai yai.

Whether I’m an old fiddle…or elderly…or any of the other what-could-be-considered misnomers, from the inside out I’m no different than I was when I was younger.

I’m smart.
I’m an honest person.
I’m kind-hearted.
I’m a loyal friend.
I learn new things.
I’m a good writer.
I have a great sense of humor. (At least I think so!)
I love pink and purple.
I read murder mystery novels.
I love to dance. (Old fiddles dance party, anyone??)
I make really great cookies!

Yes, I still play those same tunes! Maybe this old fiddle doesn’t look the same as I did “back in the day”…but I am the same. I’m me and I always will be. Call me what you will!

Something else comes to mind when a think of an old fiddle. My precious Grandpa, Pap, actually did play an old fiddle. Bless his heart up in heaven! Pap was a humble man who started working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania as just a kid. He went on to create a great life…and he always loved music. He could sing. He played the piano. He played the trumpet. And he played his old fiddle. Pap went to heaven at the age of 72. I do admit that seemed old to me at the time…

Pap played an old fiddle. Pap was an old fiddle I guess. Now I’m a proverbial old fiddle. And guess what. It’s not so bad!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, many a fine tune is played on an old fiddle. Those who are young may not appreciate that. The old fiddles among us must stand tall and proud and be sure to remind this world of our true value…who we really are.

Old fiddles, unite!

♥

Thank you, hands! Thank you, arms!

I couldn’t have done it without you!

Grandmother and grandchild kneading dough I’ll get right to the point today, everyone. Our body parts don’t look like they used to! Pick a body part, any body part. All together now….Waaaahhhh!!! Boo hoo!!! Sniff sniff!! (Onomatopoeia anyone?) It is what it is, and we’re not particularly happy about it.

I’m not here to sell you a magic potion, lotion, cream or device that will bring back the easy outward beauty of youth. We all know that can’t happen. I’m here today to help us all not simply accept ourselves as we are but, more importantly, actually love ourselves as we are…all body parts included!

Here’s an example. As we age women often have “a problem” with their hands and arms (think age spots and bat wings!). Not long ago as I pondered my old hands and old arms I suddenly realized how very, very thankful I am for them.

These hands once touched so many people I love who have gone on to heaven before me…my Mom, my Dad, Munner (my grandma), Pap (my grandpa), my big brother Tim. These hands once touched the silky newborn faces of my now-grown daughters and nearly-grown grandsons…and my arms encircled them and lifted them up when they cried. With my old hands I have made pies and cookies and cakes and other goodies for my family and friends to enjoy. These hands have felt the smoothness of a handsome horse’s back, the prickly stem of a beautiful rose, and the sweet softness of a beloved dog’s floppy ears. And so much more…

Yes, I am so lucky to have these arms and hands…and all the other parts of my no-longer-young body. I’m grateful that my old heart still beats, allowing me to be a part of this good life for however long that will be. That truly is a gift.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Well, this beholder is feeling new appreciation and seeing beauty where I didn’t see it before.

Thank you, arms! Thank you, hands! I love you, my old friends. Oh, the memories. I simply couldn’t have done it without you!

♥

One door closes. NOW what??

That is totally up to us!

Green door European style We can thank Alexander Graham Bell for this wonderful quote:

When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.

That is so very true!

While we may think of Alexander Graham Bell only as the inventor of the telephone (we learned that as kids!), there was much more to Mr. Bell. He endured many hardships in life – as we all do – but he persevered to “see the good” and have an appreciation for the new doors that could and did open in his life. Hopefully we can do the same.

Have doors closed for us? Yes. We can all think of a few…or maybe even several. Loss may close some doors. Age alone may close some doors. Unexpected life changes can close some doors.

Have new doors opened for us? Yes! To see those doors we must approach life with an open mind, an open heart, and with our eyes wide open. How else can we take advantage of wonderful serendipity when it comes our way? Of course, hope and optimism are also required!

Years ago I read the book Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for The Rest of Your Life by Richard Leider and David Shapiro. Here is a great take-a-way from that book:

There are many doors to open and close in our lives. Some we leave ajar, where we hope and plan to return. Some doors are slammed shut decisively – ‘No more of that!’ Some are closed regretfully, softly – ‘It was good but it is over.’ Departures entail arrivals somewhere else. Closing a door means opening onto new vistas, ventures, new possibilities…

Yes, I’ve slammed some doors. I’ve closed others regretfully. And some doors have been closed on me. Did that hurt sometimes? Sure. Did life go on? Yes, it did!

As kindred spirits in aging, we can view this life journey as a time for new opportunities with new doors to open. Not doing so would be boring…and frankly depressing!

Let’s not move backwards (we’ve already been there!). Let’s not stay the same. Let’s open new doors, keep contributing, keep learning and make the very most of “the days of our lives.”

Here’s to opening new doors…together!

♥

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!

♥

“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!

♥

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!!

♥

I may be a senior, but so what? I’m still hot!

Betty White may be on to something…

Betty White is 97 years old. She said that just few years ago. Amazing!

Henry David Thoreau once said, “It’s not what you look at. It’s what you see.” Betty White makes the case for that being true. In another post entitled What Matters Most is How You See Yourself, I talked about the importance of seeing ourselves in a positive light, and how important that is to our sense of well-being and happiness. Perception truly is reality in so many ways.

Several years ago, when having breakfast with a few friends at a small family-owned restaurant here in “my neck of the woods,” I excused myself to go to powder room. Vintage Retro Old Picture Frame Written in bright red lipstick across the mirror in that little room were the words “Isn’t she beautiful?” How wonderful! Whoever wrote those words must have wanted to remind all who looked in that mirror that we are, indeed, beautiful. And that’s regardless of our age, our weight, our color, our height, our style, our social or economic status, or any other ridiculous arbitrary criteria.

A short time after that enlightening breakfast I threw a big 60th birthday party for myself. (That was ten years ago now…and a fun party it was!) Guess what was written on the mirror in the powder room of the little Polish club where we celebrated my special birthday. You got it! Written in beautiful pink lipstick – were the words “Isn’t she beautiful?!” Truth be told, those words were even on a mirror in my own little “cottage” at one point in time…

As we age we sometimes forget how valuable we are as human beings. And the world around us often fails to remind us of that important truth. Whether we agree with Betty White or not, it is important to always see ourselves as absolutely valuable human beings. Our happiness – and maybe even to a certain extent our longevity – might just depend on it.

What do you think, my friends?

♥

Old Age Ain’t No Place for Sissies

When we are blessed with many birthdays, we have already faced many challenges…and will continue to face challenges for as long as we are given the gift of life.

closeup photo of adult white and tan american bulldog near wall — Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

Bette Davis was right! (Younger folks might have never heard of Bette Davis. “Oldsters” like me recognize that name.) Yes, Ms. Davis was “on the money” when she made the declaration that “Old age ain’t no place for sissies.” Obviously she was old enough to know that when we are blessed with many birthdays, we have already faced many challenges…and will continue to face challenges for as long as we are given the gift of life.

Do you know any aging folks who seem to have given up and sometimes almost relish wallowing in some kind of self-imposed purgatory? How sad is that???

Let’s see. I’ve experienced the death of both of my parents and my big brother, Tim. I said good-bye to my precious grandparents, “Munner” and “Pap,” so many years ago. Today I am trying to help a very close family member navigate more-than-difficult life twists and turns that have come her way. Tomorrow? Who knows?

But…I have also been blessed through the years with two wonderful daughters and two grandsons that I love more than life itself. My best friend of close to fifty years has brought me so much strength, happiness and balance as we have lived our lives and faced life’s challenges. While we live miles apart, we are always close at heart!

In other words, Bette Davis was indeed right. Old age ain’t no place for sissies! It’s a place for those who have both survived challenges and been blessed beyond measure.

Get on board the old age train to contentment, acceptance, happiness and thankfulness. You’re in good company!

Do you have any inspiring “old age quotes” to pass along??