I am eight years ahead of you, and let me tell you it is just as glorious as you allow it to be. Lord, I went skydiving last Halloween. When I hit 70, I made a firm decision that from that point on, if my sons got a call that started, "We need to talk with you about your mother," the FIRST thing out of their mouths would be, "OH GOD, what has she done NOW???" For the first time in my life, I am telling people what I think. I try not to be cruel, but I do say it.
Warning---Jenny Joseph
"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple."
These are the words I live by now, oh, and also:
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely with a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly worn out, and screaming, "WHOO HOO, what a ride!"
SO, embrace it, and ride the ride for all it is worth!