I’m 65 and healthy and just finished celebrating my birthday. It took a whole month!
It’s interesting what we think about aging in the North American society. In many countries around the world, the elderly are revered and respected. In Canada, turning 65 is just another passage in the aging process and often one that is made fun of! When it comes right down to it, what’s the matter with that? One nice thing about it is receiving the Old Age Pension cheque
We are only on this earth for one go around. Why not have as much fun as we can, especially as we get older?
I began celebrating my 65th at the end of June this year by organizing a family reunion. We figured 60 or 65 people would show up. There were 96 present! It was so great to see young cousins meeting and playing together for the first time. There were a number of milestone birthdays to celebrate, including one cousin turning 90 and another just born 4 weeks earlier. I’m sure the younger ones looked at us and thought we were ancient but we were certainly enjoying ourselves! Mind you, looking at some of the elders gave me a sense of being much younger than I actually am!
My next celebration was a warehouse “Swar-eH!” (A Canadian cowboy version for “soiree”). Remember the times years ago when we would get together in a local hall or even someone’s garage to party until 3 o’clock in the morning? Well, it wasn’t quite 3 AM when we finished, but it felt like it! Around a 100 people attended, brought pot luck, and danced the night away. It was in a warehouse with cement floors so no-one had to worry about spilling anything. The food everyone brought was fantastic but, as usual at these things, way too much! There was 3 separate groups of people who hadn’t known each before the party but definitely did after the party!
Another part of the party was me and a friend doing a skit, which I hadn’t done for at least 20 years. I think (in fact I know) I surprised quite a few people, showing them another side of who I am.
I even celebrated at work. The staff got me a Happy 65th Birthday cake and so I had the opportunity to share with everyone there.
My birthday present to myself was a 3 day getaway to a B and B. At first I thought about going up north to the Cariboo for a ranch holiday. Then I considered Vancouver Island – beautiful in the summer but very busy and crowded!
I ended up an hour south of where I live in the beautiful Okanagan Valley. Lake Okanagan Bed and Breakfast in West Kelowna was perfect. It is also situated between 2 top wineries; Quail’s Gate and Mission Hill. It was great sitting in the hot tub overlooking Okanagan Lake with a glass of wine in my hand.
I also caught up on my reading and my correspondence and having a couple of weeks off work gave me a chance to even take in some beach time.
I celebrated for a month and it was well worth it.
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