Becoming 75

There are many people this year who are turning 75 and there are many who fear turning that age. There are milestone birthdays that we have as we grow. We celebrate our coming of age, which for me was 21 but for younger people today it is 19.  We celebrate birthday milestones by the decade once we hit 30. "Don't trust anyone over 30" was a saying when I was in my 20s'. Once I turned 30, the next milestone to celebrate was turning 40. After 40 and the fear of middle age, 50 loomed on the horizon. Once we hit 50 we look forward to being 60 and for many moving closer to retirement. 

A subtle change in how we celebrate milestone birthdays occurs when we hit 60.  Instead of the next milestone being 70 we have a big celebration at 65. This is, for some the beginning of their retirement. Once we celebrate 70 we celebrate 75, then 80, 85, 90, 95 and 100. As a society, and as individuals we shorten the gap between milestone birthday celebrations. It could be that we are afraid that the person we are celebrating will not make it over the next 10 years so we shorten the time to 5 years. 

This is for all of those who are not yet 75 but hope to make it to this milestone, from a post by Lauren Dalton. Imagine being 75 and you’re sat thinking about your life and how you never went swimming in the sea on a warm night because your thighs jiggled. Imagine realizing you never laughed until you couldn’t breathe because your teeth weren’t straight or white enough. You never embraced the sun on the beach because of the stretch marks on your stomach and your hips. You never allowed yourself to let go and have fun because the pressure to look perfect consumed you.

Imagine being 75 and realizing you’ve hidden away for the fear of being real. Imagine realizing all the years you wasted hating yourself, but now it’s too late to go swim in the sea late at night. Now it hurts to laugh for more than a few seconds and you’re too weak to travel to the beach. Imagine realizing all this time you were perfect the way you were, but now it’s too late to do anything about it.

Don’t let that happen. Live now, as you are. You deserve to realize you’re enough and always have been before you’re 75. By the way, those who have reached 75 like me and my friends know that it is not too late to go swimming in the sea, embrace the sun, or laugh as long as we care to laugh. A person who has not embraced all Lauren points out is too old mentally no matter what age they are physically. Age is a state of mind, not a function of how your body operates. Enjoy life while you can.