It’s May 2021, and it’s hard to believe that I’m turning 60 in 6 days. Since yesterday was a “good hair day”, I took a photo to prove that my hair
sometimes behaves. My hair is most often hard to tame because of copious cowlicks, but there are days when it looks decent. When I saw the resulting photo, the outcome pleased me; not because my hair looked decent, but because my eyes look like my maternal grandma’s eyes.
Turning older is harder than I thought it would be. Though I knew I would age, I didn’t count on health challenges or my body’s having an inability to keep up with my mind. However, thinking of my dear grandmas, that the blessing helping me to embrace my age. My goal is that I want to turn into both of my grandmas. My maternal grandma was my best friend. My paternal grandma was a lot like my mom. She took care of me for the first two years of my life. If I can be as kind and loving as them, then I can handle aging…even though it still surprises me that when I cut my hair, there’s more gray every time.
In the past 60 years, my life has been full of the challenges that all humans face. The best part, however, is that my life is full of many wonders. There aren’t more wonders in my life than in yours or anybody else’s. Because of several near-death experiences in my life, those near misses taught me to be more alert to the wonders and that we truly never know when our life will end or continue. This is not being morbid, but accepting the reality at hand.
What are the wonders in your life? One of the many things I’m celebrating as I turn 60 is something as simple as flowers sprouting. I’ve been trying to grow wildflowers and other flowers on this North side of Beech Mountain for 4 years now. This is the first year that I’ve had any success at getting something to sprout on my porch. The porch is covered in the shade for most of the summer. However, as I bemoaned the lack of flowers on my porch, a friend from my yoga class (also a neighbor) gave me seeds to plant. These are seeds she promised would thrive on our shady north side of the mountain. They are only sprouts, but so far; the birds are ignoring them and today they are taller than yesterday. I love watching things grow.
There have been many challenges during the pandemic. In order to keep from feeding my fears, I sought to redirect that focus on art, music, and a new collection of poetry. Because we all started working on the collection during the quarantine first came into effect, when we didn’t have a vaccine, it took a while for all of us to pull ourselves into a place where we could share our pain and our joy. The book’s manuscript is nearing a first draft completion so we are on our way. The creative process is rewarding in seeing and playing with the creative process. However, it is even more rewarding to see a project come together. I’m still not sharing the name of the book yet. The last time I announced a book prematurely, it was like jinxed. I’m still working on the outline of that book but it’s nowhere near complete.
Yet, I can feel it in my old bones- good things are coming. The new book is going to bear good fruit. Music is expanding in my life and opportunities are forming even as I type. What a wonderful way to celebrate spring.