I was born in 1960. My 60th birthday is next week. It is my turn to be utterly baffled at this change of decade.
I have watched others turn 60. They all tell me that turning 50 was no big deal, but turning 60 was. I could tell that 60 is a bigger shift than 50.
Turning 50 was a blast and did not feel all that different from other birthdays. But 60, on the heels of menopause and a second Saturn return, definitely has a different vibe. I feel it in both mind and body. The changes of the last 10 years have moved me away from resilience. I was already moving away from youth; now the ability to tolerate all kinds of abuses has becoming noticeably lessened.
My body demands more care and less carelessness. So does my mind. This is not a bad thing but is an entirely different thing. It truly feels as if my life journey has suddenly encountered a landscape unlike any I have experienced before.
The journey continues. There are new things to learn and discover. I am not the person I used to be also because of my new companion: anxiety. This changed person is also unfamiliar, someone to get to know. And I also have to give up my lifelong self -image of being “young and promising”.
The one thing that has not changed is my goal of being able to thrive whether or not I have problems. I want my new self-image to be old and inspiring.
This next stage in my journey is truly something I’ve never done before. I’m feeling rather excited about it!
A Roll in the Universe 
11 replies on “60”
Enjoy that journey. When I turned 50, I felt that I had accomplished something. It was a hot June day in San José and I had an ice-skating party with some friends. #60 I really don’t remember, but I had lived in Boise for a year at that point, and probably went on a hike. For #70 I was back in California and again was immemorable. The next year was blessed with a trip to Helsinki, Talinn, and various beautiful places in Norway. I rather envy you living in that lovely country.
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My 50th was on the same night as our company Christmas party. Nothing will ever top 400 voices singing the Norwegian birthday song. 🤩 It’s not the day itself, though. I rarely do anything special for my birthday; something sweet for the gang at work and that’s it. (This year with corona lockdowns, who knows.) It’s more about the changes of the last couple of years and where that will take me the next decade. As you’ve noted, change will still happen. I do appreciate living in Norway. I’m hoping to be able to have a birthday/Christmas dinner with friends at the restaurant I took yat.to. 😊 Nice to hear from you, Ed. Say hi to Irene!
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OK, tried about three times to post a reply, but WordPress (don’t get me started on what a rotting sack of reeking …. never mind) as usual, found a way to screw it up. I don’t know where the replies are, whether they’re waiting for moderation, or whether WordPress has just Happiness Engineered them out of existence because of the application of general WP suckage as corporate policy.
Happy Birthday, at any rate…
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(LAST TRY TO GET THIS POSTED)
Happy Birthday to my hands-down-all-time favorite leftie Norwegian astrologer!
I remember turning 60 — the problem is that I remember it while feeling it was only a couple of weeks ago. At 68 now, I’m mostly annoyed at how fast the slippery grains are running through my fingers. Note I said “annoyed” not “concerned”. I figure at this rate I’m gonna be either 100 or heavily corpsified in about two weeks. This does not unduly worry me, as that sort of thing never has, really. Hard-core rationalist, doncha know, dedicated to paying no attention to stuff I can’t do anything about.
But I AM beginning to get amused at myself for being in such a relatively good place in my life and seemingly utterly unable to slow down its passage enough to really enjoy it in detail. Aside from continued reasonably good health, my biggest wish is to have a few more of those weeks that seemed to last about a year like they did when I was a kid. Heh…I suspect if that’s my major issue then I’m doing pretty well, and at the end of the day that’s what I wish for you, too…
Seriously, Happy Birthday, my friend, wishing you the best part of your life as you stride into this new decade…
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Thank you for this, AD. I appreciate the wisdom of those ahead of me on this leg of the journey, as well as their take. And thanks for birthday wish! I want it to come true. 😊
(You will no more be stuck in moderation limbo.)
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I signed into my WP account from FB, but it wouldn’t let me like your post! 😡 On the app now…
I’m the opposite on bdays. Turning 50 was traumatizing ~ I actually got sick for a whole weekend. Newly single, I felt enormous pressure to look thin/sexy/younger to find a man. It was super stressful! Snd looking younger didn’t help when 50ish men wanted 37 year olds. Ugh!
But now? I’ll catch up and turn 60 in 5 months. I feel good about it! I’ve quit dating and quit caring if I look “good enough” to attract some dumb man. I’m thrilled to be a grandma and have a great relationship with my family. Life is better at 60 than 50, in my case.
Happy happy birthday, dear Keera! You are one of my “oldest” online friends 💝💝💝
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Thank you so much, Paula! I appreciate our cyber-friendship. 😘
Circumstances will color how we feel about age. I remember turning 40 was a big deal – and life really did begin then. 😄 The challenge – and my goal – is to be happy regardless of age. I’m just noticing that how that happens in my life is changing.
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Funny how these round numbers carry their own associations, and how personal they are. 30 didn’t bother me, 40 did, 70 did, but it was just the idea, you know? 100 will be fun. Looking forward to posing for the 100 year old birthday photo, sitting in a wheel chair at a slight angle, with a toothless smile, next to a birthday cake with lit candles and one of my sleeves on fire. Happy birthday!
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Sounds like a plan. 😄 Better hope for a nearby fire extinguisher if you want to see 101!
And thanks! 😘
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It’s so important to mark the changes and shifts and, even MORE important, to honor and welcome them. You’re doing it exactly right.
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Thank you so much, Jadi!
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