Crossed the starting line!!!

Hey, thanks EVERYONE for those good wishes as I crossed the starting line to my 7th (NOT 6th, thanks for that correction!) decade!

My goal of working out everyday kinda of petered out while traveling. Missed four days in a row, HOWEVER! Going to Becca's weight training class Monday made up for it. 60 minutes of non-stop exercises, going from lifting weights to aerobics in 10 minute segments was wild and zany. So why did a total newby not just stop and watch? Because I'm a ONE in the Enneagram analysis!! We follow the rules! :) OK, so there was just a little desire to show that someone my age could keep up.

Health note in case you missed it: my utrasound test revealed nothing amiss; Brad's results came back yesterday - no issues either. Best birthday present!

So I'm off on the first lap of being 60!

5 more days

Too late to write much! Have to prepare for tomorrow's events.

Drove up to Seattle today with a friend who is officially retired. Here's her words of wisdom:

Retirement is your second chance to say, "Who do I want to be when I grow up?" :)

More later.

6 more days

Writing from Rachel's home in Vancouver, WA. So wonderful to be with family again - can't get enough hugs from the grandkids!

This is a wonderful week mixing work with family: will be speaking at NPC Women Ministries event and attending conference annual meeting; checking out a hotel for next triennial; seeing my family and BCC friends in Bellingham; fundraiser there; then back to Seattle to see Rebecca and family one night; another night with Mom Hill before heading back to Chicago next Tuesday - my last day in my 50s!

Update on Brad: Brad's doctor wants him to see another specialist; Brad's not too worried right now. Grateful!

7 more days

My doctor called just as I was leaving class downtown today with my test results: everything is fine! PTL!

Looks like I will cross the starting line into my next decade in good health!

When I shared it with Brad when I got home, he seemed a bit distracted. Ironically his doctor had also called this afternoon.

He needs to go in tomorrow because the tests from his physical show something is wrong.

8 more days

Someone I love sent me some great encouragement for turning 60 and made a typo. She's feel so embarrassed but she gave me a huge gift.

The typo was "souring" instead of "soaring". That's it! She helped me articulate two very different mindsets. I don't want to be "sour"! I want to soar!

I've met a few who have become sour. You, too?

And I know a LOT of folk who are still soaring, maybe closing to the ground, but still allowing the wind of the Spirit to carry them on. They are my role models!

One little letter - but what a difference.

PS Had the ultrasound today and am hopeful for a good outcome. Will know in 24 to 48 hours.

9 more days

An older friend told me, "I'm wrinkled, saggy, and lumpy - and that's just my left leg."

Oh, those physical changes! All the reasons I gave for working out every day from 3/31 to my Big Day are true, but another is a kind of saying "Oh yah?" to my own body!

My doctor thinks I have some arthritis in my back. The A word! Oh, great. Not supposed to jog. I'm compromising with a slow jog on a treadmill.

I know of a woman who swims twice a week - at the age of 103! I want to age like that!!

Then again, just how much choice in this do we really have in these changes?!

10 more days

"Are you going to retire next year?"

I hate that question! :)

One, I must look five or six years older than I am and ten years older than I feel! :) I'm too young to retire!!

Two, I don't know yet if I am to continue in my current work or if the Lord has something new. He was so clear before moving to Chicago in 1999 that he would tell me all I was assigned to do (Acts 22:10). He'll let me know; he always has.

Anyone have a clever answer to that annoying question??

11 more days...

...though just barely,. It's almost tomorrow. Long day! Best part: Taste Testing of menus for Triennial XIII. The best yet!

Expectations. I'm thinking expectations are a huge factor in how you view life. Don't you think our culture - speaking in REALLY broad strokes here! - encourages us to applaud 40-whatever years of work and to think we are now done? Go and enjoy yourself! And if that is for another 20 years - all the better.

Do other cultures create the same expectations???

I can think of a few that don't. :)

What excites me are the people I know who are in their 60s even 70s who are finding these the most rewarding years of all! Some are getting paid for having so much fun; others are not. But the important thing seems to be the thrill of finding new passions, learning new things and following those leadings.

I can think of a number of women who are 55+ and pursuing masters degrees. That means they are preparing for those passions and learning new things to be effective in them. Different expectations! I'd love to connect us all. :) If you are one - let me know! If you know of one, the same!

12 more days

My phone is set to have American Airlines phone me 3 hours before my flight to tell me it is on time or not.

My flight to DC this morning was at 6:20. So the phone rang at...

Arrived with three hours to spare before meeting started. Michele was tied up, so I actually worked out!

Set a goal on March 30, the day we got back from our two-week trip to India, to do my stretches and 30 minutes on the tread mill every day until my Big Day. Only missed one day - another 6 AM flight! - so far.

Why?? 1st - to get the weight off from two weeks with no exercise and eating three Indian meals a day; 2nd - to get toned up again; 3rd - to set a habit I just might continue though maybe not so rigidly.

Lost 4 pounds so far. 2 more in 12 days??

13 more days

13 more days!

I met a delightful woman sometime ago who kept mentioning how old she was. Again and again she made reference to being old. I was beginning to feel sorry for her. She was not working, talked of down-sizing, waiting for her husband to retire. Very attractive, no signs of health issues, no comments about any -and she was one who would have commented!. If she was old, she was really well-reserved!

I finally just asked.

Her answer?

62.

Just 3 years older than me!

While she talked as if she had crossed the Finish Line - accomplished all she intended to and was retiring - I feel as if I am approaching a new Starting Line - wondering what the next decade has in store for me.

Maybe health is a factor (though it didn't seem to be for this person). If I was dealing with a serious health concern, that would probably take my focus and rather than thinking about a Starting Line, I could be asking, Where's the Emergency Tent??

So in the midst of thinking about how differently I feel about being 60 than the woman I met and wondering if health is a factor, I get a phone call from my doctor this afternoon. Last week's mammogram left some questions - schedule an ultrasound.

It's scheduled for next Tuesday; then wait for the results...

Will it change how I feel about turning 60?!