A 60+ Life

  A recent Women's World magazine put out a question to its readers:  What do you do with your 50+ life?  Where does your time go and not go?  What is worthy of your time and what is not worthy?

A very good question, because by that age most of us have earned the right to be able to pick and choose what we do with that very valuable commodity which is known as our time.

And I would amend that to add:  What do you do with your 60+ life?

It is not lost on me that just a century ago the average lifespan was 60 years of age.

Now we can be optimistic that we may have one, two or even three more decades in addition to that.

What do we do with all that extra time?

Some people continue to work at full time jobs past the age of 60, although where they get the energy I do not know.

At my own age of 64, I find I really do have to pick and choose what and who and where deserves my time, energy and experience.

Because my energy reserves are not what they used to be.

It has taken a long time for me to finally let go of things; and by that I mean full time work.

As someone who babysat from age 13 and then had a paper route and then several part time jobs throughout high school and sometimes more than one fulltime job in my adulthood, working has been a HUGE part of my life.

It has taken up a lot of space, time and energy, and I have not regretted that one little bit.

I loved working; loved getting dressed and ready to go to the office/studio/brokerage.

At one point, while working full time at a tv station as an anchor/reporter, I also worked part time as a realtor, sitting open houses and selling real estate in my spare time. It was a lot.  

Too much, in fact.

When I was 48 years old, I retired from the broadcasting job, delving full time into real estate.

Even then, I took part time jobs.

It was fun to do different things, to fill my time and contribute to society.

I had always found some time to volunteer as well; walking dogs for the SPCA, reading books for the blind with the CNIB, dispatching and delivering Meals on Wheels for the Red Cross.

Last year I finally decided to call it a real estate career after 26 interesting years; meeting some great clients and helping them with some great properties.

Nowadays I still work part time/casually as a companion caregiver to seniors, helping them with groceries or meals or laundry and cleaning, things they need help with around their home, sometimes driving them to appointments or errands.

And I have tried to accept the fact that my time is now pretty much all my own, that I really don't have to answer to anyone, nor be in one place for eight hours a day five days a week.

I still volunteer, helping seniors exercise in their homes, and also as an editor-in-chief for a non-profit magazine.  

There is still a lot on my plate, and plenty to keep me busy, and I like it that way.

I am still very mobile and able to do things and keep active.

I am aware that this is the time in a woman's life when things can go sideways with our health or other matters.  

I am enjoying my life and activities, although that afternoon nap is a godsend some days.

And I know my body's limitations; if I do a one hour hike, I am careful to let my body rest and recover before any further activities that may hinder that recovery.

I eat well and sleep well, and think at this point trying to stay healthy is almost a full time job unto itself!

Making sure one stays as healthy as one possibly can, for ourselves and for others that we care for.

That is a job that we all deserve to be able to give ourselves now that we are over 60.