HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY TO MOI!!!

         

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOI!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, today I am officially eighty years old. I can remember thinking that fifty, nay, even thirty was OLD, OLD, OLD. Now, I’ve surpassed all those other milestones by quite a lot which is a surprise to me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like eighty crept up on me; it didn’t, it came year by year by year, and suddenly, here it is…amazing.

          My mother made it to seventy-seven and my grandma made it to eighty-nine, so I’ve lived longer than my mom, but have almost another decade to go before I reach my grandma’s age. Of course, once I was diagnosed with breast cancer at fifty-five, I began to live my life in a more healthy manner, so that’s probably why I’m still around to celebrate such a milestone.

          I’m sure my grandma could have lived longer than eighty-nine if she hadn’t fallen and broken her hip. I have no idea how far medical miracles had progressed in 1980 when she fell, but I don’t remember her having any kind of surgery. When she left the hospital, she went to a nursing home…such horrible places then…because my dad had died three years before and my mom had had to go to work. I was pregnant with my second child and worked outside the home, so I couldn’t take grandma in either. Looking back now, I’m positive it was being housed in a nursing home that led grandma to die sooner rather than later.

          Mom, of course, was a different story. From the time daddy died, all she wanted was to be able to join him in the after-life. She lived for an additional twenty-one years, but I’m afraid they weren’t particularly happy years. I’m sorry for that but one has to choose to have a happy life and then make a serious effort to have it and Mom didn’t make that choice.

          So, here I am, poised on the threshold of a brand-new decade with each and every year commencing with an eight. For the most part, I feel just fine and don’t expect to succumb to the grim reaper any time soon. True, I have aches and pains but nothing that prevents me from living alone with my dog and taking care of my financial and daily living needs. Family and friends add to the pleasure of being alive and capable enough to pretty much do anything I choose to do.

          And, there’s my favorite word…CHOOSE. Yes, I’m eighty today, and the coming years may bring me more pain, illness, and sadness, but as long as I can wake up and CHOOSE to have a great…okay, good…day, then that’s what I’m going to CHOOSE. And with the right choices and a little luck, I just may make enough great…okay good…choices to be writing a blog post celebrating my ninetieth year.