When I’m 64…. Today is my official Beatles Birthday! I’m stealing that moniker directly from my friend, Pam who used it to lighten her husband’s big day earlier this year. It’s #64 and for those uninitiated, the Beatles had a novelty song on their Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP called “When I’m 64”. Originally produced in 1967, this breezy tune ruminates.. “will you still need me, will you still need me.. when I’m 64?”… And it is worth celebrating.
What I have come to discover, you are kind of the same person on the inside that you were when you were 16. I was more of a light rebel, bohemian and now… even after years of corporate torture, parenthood, and responsibility; I’m still left leaning, yoga practicing and quasi-creative. It’s been an adventure and I am extraordinarily grateful to be in this place: physically, mentally and spiritually. Getting older is full of perks and vastly underrepresented in today’s society.
First age is a privilege, there are many of my contemporaries that have not made it this far. Every day I wake up, I start with being grateful. It is a purposeful exercise, I do list 10 things that bring me happiness, joy. Some days explode with goodness and freshness, while others are stretched to: I am grateful for clean clothes and a roof over my head. Nonetheless, I have found that addressing what I have in life, rather than what is missing from it has created enormous space for growth and exploration. Psst—try it, it works.
We called it Strudelfest
As I was reflecting on this semi-milestone (because all birthdays are milestones!), it became evident what a crazy year this has been. I am one of the privileged. I do have retirement income & healthcare. I am loved and I am incredibly happy. I have autonomy, pretty much make my own decisions, and have the means to change course if necessary. I used to travel the world with great gusto. It was one of the biggest perks to not working. You have control of your time. I chose to travel and did. The last year I took a month-long European trip with my daughter, Devin that we dubbed “Strudelfest”. The objective was to explore Dutch, French, German, Swiss and Austria pastries, learn about them, maybe bake them and of course, consume them! The real treasure from our trip was the time spent together. Devin is no longer a child and I saw her expand her knowledge, gain expertise and navigate the world. Not too many parents get to witness their child’s transition to adulthood and enjoy their time together now as peers. Peers with a special relationship, oh and all while attempting to speak German. Yes, we were challenged and that was part of the fun too.
Southern Hemisphere Adventures
After that and to launch the calendar new year, I spent another month touring New Zealand and French Polynesia with my partner, Charlie. He finished a 6-month Antarctica deployment and I met him in Christchurch, NZ. He is a scientist and was studying climate, forecasting weather and essentially achieving a lifelong dream of studying this continent. He is one of the good guys, studying climate. Yes, climate change is a real thing. We spent our New Zealand time, hiking, surfing and dining on green-lipped mussels (best in the world). Tahiti was perfection. I had never been and never thought I’d get to go. This was a true Polynesian holiday, complete with fruity drinks, native dancers and the punctuated by an over the lagoon bungalow. Yes, the sunsets are as remarkable as you would think. But even more impressive, were the star scapes. I have never in my life seen stars that intense and radiant. The Southern Cross is majestic. I think time stopped for us there. It was perfection and this was March 10.
Do you have nuts?
Coming back to the US after NZ and Tahiti was surreal. Those countries were starting to experience the virus and had temperature checks at the airports and were following passengers activities post-flight. They took this unknown virus quite seriously. When returning to the US, it was different. There were no questions about the virus, only about if we brought nuts back from Tahiti (evidently it’s a problem). We were back for 2 days and everything started to shut down. It was suddenly that serious. And here’s where we’ve been.
Let’s renovate a house… or a condo
Now, quarantine can be daunting. We had moved to our new home in August, 2019 right after my last birthday. I started this year off renovating a condo while Charlie was shipped out to Antarctica. Kitchen, two bathrooms, laundry room and all the lighting, window treatments and re-painted. Pretty much the whole place with the exception of the flooring. It was a growth experience. I used to start every day out with gratitude, then… please God, let the contractors show up today and maybe do some work too? We had a hurricane in the middle of all of it that was the cause for the Bahamian tile guys to not work. I do know, it could have been worse. Ah, but it could have been so much better. It did finish on October 22, only a full month over schedule and we won’t discuss how much over budget. The nice part is when Charlie got home, it was his first time in his new and newly renovated home. It was a nice treat and there were no house projects.
We’re in Quarantine Mode
We were settling in. And that’s what we’ve done. He surfs, I read & do yoga. He writes, I write. We eat dinner, take beach walks and watch America implode on TV from our living room. We are the privileged. I have learned much about what is not working in America from the “Great Pause”, including how many of our children do not get enough to eat, parents are overwrought with forced home schooling, the unemployment system has not kept up with how Americans work, the unemployment systems are vastly underfunded, people have no savings, there is not a real safety net in America, racism is still prevalent, our healthcare system is a disaster and dumbassery is widespread. With the exception of dumbassery, there is the opportunity to overhaul our social infrastructure. I know people want to work, we have to find how they can. It might mean that our entire work paradigm may have to change, drastic times require drastic measures. And we need to be kind to each other. This time we are all going through the sh$t show. We need to listen and make sure that everyone is heard. Respect, compassion and love.
I am closing my year not the same as I started, yet am grateful to have perspective and platform to discover what the next iteration will be. Not solely for me, but for all of us. We are living in incredible times. I invite you to make a wish for the year too. We can blown the candle out together, virtually of course.
And for fun… here are the Beatles…
