When you’re getting old, you have already started to think differently than you used to, about lots of things. Getting old isn’t a privilege that everybody gets to enjoy, so there needs to be thoughts about that, and as you age yourself, those thoughts come more often. And you remember to be thankful for wrinkles and gray hair, all of which have been earned. The Serenity Prayer becomes more important; that’s not just for AA.

You might take a couple extra  little summer trips just cos you don’t know about next year.  You might grow different things in your garden, and let one winter squash take over your whole back patio area even tho that’s crazy to do, just cos it’s fun and who knows about next year. You learn to laugh at yourself more comfortably, and you’re really lost if you can’t laugh at yourself. You think each day, that this is Today. Today is what we each have.

You faithfully collect the tomatoes to make sauce in a while, and collect seeds to grow another garden next year, cos we don’t know about next year, but we do hope. For the religious zealots who hate their daily lives so much that they  want the end of the world to come sooner rather than later, so they can finally be in a better place: hey, BS.  I’m in the best place right now, and glad for it, every day. I don’t “do” religion here, but I do have a lot to say about that.

Nobody knows about next year, for sure, but that intensifies when you’re getting old. When you’re older you walk around more carefully out in the yard, garden and places that could be uneven, cos one bad fall could change everything.  And you drive more carefully, paying closer attention, since reflexes slow down and a lot of the other drivers seem to be…..well, crazy. You buy less “things” cos you already have lots of things.  And you’ve long since realized that the only important “things” are those with good memories attached.

You look back on some life choices that you now wish you could change, and some that you wouldn’t change for the world. You remember daily how thankful you are for family and friends; the people who are, and have been, the sunshine of your life.

That’s all normal getting old stuff, I think.  But then our world feels almost upside down, and I think that none of that feeling is normal aging. Climate change is an issue that we have long largely ignored as a group, and our government ignores it now, even while some other countries are doing what they can that might help, and pleading for the rest of the world to do the same. Civil unrest and near-the-brink war threats are all over the world. Big industry seems to be all that matters now, along with power and money, and greed, in our country, at least. I don’t do politics here either, but I also have a lot to say about that. A tree hugging liberal hippie chick, yea, I have a lot to say about all that. An upside down world and an upside down country, one that I hardly recognize. It’s enough to scare the beejeebers out of an old woman.

But, I’m a spit-fire fighter, fighting this aging thing every day. Keeping in as good of shape as I can, mind and body, and always looking for ways to still improve life, for me and those around me who I care about. Thankful for still being able to find good, kind, gentle people who care, all around me. They’re out there, and sometimes you don’t have to look too hard to find them. They shine, among so much hatred and bigotry that we wander thru every day.

The women in my mother’s family live well into their late 80’s and I’m not even close to that yet! But I’ll be 70 soon. And I’m glad.  I’ve known so many people who never got to say that.

The seasons will continue and birthdays will continue and some of the time I’ll sit in the house and hide while it snows, and some of the time, I’ll grow another garden. And among all that, lots of good things will happen. I’ll make sure of it!  They say you’re only as old as you let yourself feel, and think. Some part of me thinks I’m 40, lol!

The ramblings of an old hippie chick, rambling on……thanks to so many readers who continue to listen, after almost 8 years.