I know I’ve said that I’m taking the summer months “off” from tending to my blog, but over the course of the past several weeks I have had a few “life moments” that I simply feel inclined to write about.
At the top of that list is I “officially” was inducted into the Medicare Club one week ago on my birthday, and as I write this from my self-imposed “exile” up here at our summer cottage in Michigan, I’m happy to report that they haven’t come to haul me out to the funny farm due to elderly ramblings or other strange carryings-on. (They could have done that so many times previously!) Instead, all of the company that was here over the weekend for our annual NASCAR Race Weekend had to leave and return to their own lives and niches in the world.
And though I enjoy spending time alone, where I can read and write unfettered by interruptions and other such distractions, I must admit that right now I’m feeling rather lonely and wish I had some of the folks who were here this past weekend to prop me up and make me feel as though it’s OK to be this age. Turning 65 sort of does that I’m finding out.
After all, my birthdays used to be spent playing baseball for most of the day, running and chasing fly balls and batting and running the bases and all that was good about being a young kid who had a birthday in June. I could no more run like that again, even in my dreams, and so I just smile at the memories of all those summers past when the future was out there waiting for me to figure out how to get there.
And, even though I can no longer race around the bases on sweaty, sun-drenched afternoons of pickup games on homemade fields in Indiana, or run down that long drive off the bat of a power hitter, I’d like to believe that I’m still the same person I was way back then.
And now that I’m a year older (and wiser?), I’m beginning to give some thought to that thing called mortality. How many years do I have left has never been a question I
dwelled too much upon, because it always seemed so “out there” and something I’d never have to deal with for a long, long time—until now!
It’s the little things that really come into play, too. Walking the garbage down to the dumpster each day becomes an excursion of appreciation of all the beauty surrounding my life up here. Filling the bird feeder and watching the various avian species swoop and dive in for their feedings and then take off for places unknown is a daily delight. Chatting with the hummingbirds as they hum and buzz around the feeders I religiously keep cleaned and filled is another ritual of cottage life that I’ve truly grown to appreciate.
Perhaps I’m not quite ready for the pipe and slippers realm just yet, but I’m finding myself becoming more and more tuned in to those things I’d never paid attention to in the past. I suppose none of this is a bad thing. At least, I’d like to think not. Whatever, life in the Medicare Club can’t be all bad!
Well, for now, I’d best go check out those hummingbirds and make sure the lake’s still out there
behaving as it should…
Down Many Roads... 
If I were one to find envy appealing, I would envy you your summer exile location. But what I truly pull from this post are the comments on observing surroundings. Wherever I am, that is so key to remaining engaged in life as well as beneficial to writing.
A thought: Why do I get messages (not from you) that say I “become eligible” for medicare at age 65 when truth is, I am required to obtain medicare or face a penalty??
Hello, Judy! Nice to hear from you. Yes, I have so many wonderful surroundings here of which to observe and make a wonderful part of my life: the hummingbirds, chipmunks, life out on the lake, etc. And I couldn’t agree with you more that they all are key in little ways in moving my writing along. As for “becoming eligible” for Medicare, I think it’s just another shadowy way the government states things. After all, we really have no choice! But once the paperwork and red tape is finished a few months before that 65th birthday, it’s really out of our hands. (At least I’m hoping so!) Anyway, thanks again for checking in and do so again. 🙂
I imagine becoming a member of the “Medicare Club” is a strange and surreal milestone for sure. But as my step-dad always says (who’s 82 and going strong), “It’s better than the alternative.” Happy belated birthday!
Hi, Carrie! You are so right about the “alternative!” I’m thinking age is really just a state of mind–I still think (and act!) as a kid most of the time. 😊
Happy Birthday, Mark! Embrace the Medicare Club. Unfortunately, I’ve known many you never made it in.
Hi, Jill! I agree with you, and I offer up my “thanks” each morning I arise and see a new day ready and waiting for me. 🙂
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Happy 65, Mark. Although a trite thought your birthday age is “just a number!”
My parents retired in a small 2 bedroom cottage on Lake Erie. This was a big change from their busy professional lives. They embraced simplicity and enjoyed peaceful days as you sound like you have some special and meaningful routines. Enjoy! Reach out and we all like staying in touch. 🙂
Thank you, Robin. It’s always wonderful to get your thoughts. Have a wonderful weekend. >
Happy bday! I am so jealous! It’s SO HOT here. I would love to be in Michigan right now!
Hi, Luanne! We do have cooler weather here now, but too much rain. Regardless, I am enjoying life here at the lake. 😊
Happy birthday, Mark. So many are taking a break from the blogging world. I think it’s a much needed way to refresh and renew ourselves. 🙂 Have fun.
Hi, Elizabeth, and thank you for the birthday wishes! Yes, taking a break from the regular “grind” of trying to read and write and to keep up in the blog world is a good thing. I won’t be away for long, though, but I do need to get going on rewriting, revising, and editing my second novel that sleeps a few feet away from me at the moment! Here, on my own, at the cottage, I am beginning to get to that process. I hope you’re “refreshing” and “renewing” yourself as well. I look forward to hearing from you again…down the road! 🙂