Friday, July 06, 2007

60


Damn -- I have the misfortune to share a birthday with the Preznit, though the nincompoop in chief is a year older.

This is one on those round numbered occasions supposed to inspire deep thoughts. I can't say I have any of those. But I'll indulge myself a little -- what else is a blog for?
  • I have now reached the age which my mother was at when I became enough of an adult to get to know her as an adult. She had me at nearly 40 after 15 years of marriage. In a sense I was an interruption of her adult life. When I fully decamped from home for colleges and my own path, she seized the opportunity to enjoy a pretty good fifteen years, traveling and studying what interested her. She'd fulfilled her understanding of her duty to my father and the world by raising me -- next those fifteen years were her freest after college I think. It was a good time to know her. Some day I'll write more about this interesting woman who embodied so many contradictions as an educated, independent person who allowed conventional constraints on women's roles to limit her in ways that now seem unthinkable.
  • I've now reached the age at which I've always found women most attractive. I never quite got it why I was supposed to turn on to youth. I look at women who have been around a few blocks and love them! In particular, I remember the spring of 1985, when, taken along on one of my mother's trips, I was included in a hiking party of 60ish women atop the Great Divide in Colorado. Nirvana for me!
Life is good at 60.

4 comments:

johnieb said...

I wholeheartedly agree, Jan; I've been enjoying that life for several years now, though I got a bit of a jump on it (I was 59).

And I feel for ya on the birthday; I noticed in a fishing shot the other day the Evil Thug was left-handed: sigh.

June Butler said...

You youngsters make me laugh.

Happy birthday, Jan. Life is good after a little seasoning, eh?

Condolences on having to share with Bush.

Jane R said...

Happy Birthday, Jan!

You just redeemed El Presidente's birthday for me.

Glad to hear 60 is good and you are enjoying it.

Civic Center said...

I share mine with Harvey Milk and Richard Wagner. Go figure.

Very glad to hear that you survived long enough to get to the age where you really wanted to hang out. I felt the same way when I finally made it to age 42, when I knew things were finally going to get interesting. And they have.

Happy birthday.