Hi folks! Glad you came by!
Birthday quartet surprise from Deb for FitOldDog on his 70th birthday – a lucky man.
Life is a battle, or you could say a game, and if you give up it’s over, so take a flowing approach to this struggle for survival as you age, using wisdom instead of force to live your life to the full.
I recently enjoyed my 70th birthday, which we felt deserved a big party, with a tent and everything, just like Bilbo Baggins. And a tent we had, in addition to some great birthday surprises from Deb, including a quartet. This small group comprised two violins (or was it a violin and a viola), cello and oboe, and it was truly wonderful. A great gift, and Deb even baked a huge birthday cake, which I was instructed to cut at the appropriate time. Then to my surprise a friend of mine, Byron, said, “Speech! Speech!”
Cutting the Birthday cake, made by Deb and enjoyed by all.
I came out with some suitable lines, including thoughts on the issue of aging. Here is my list ‘happy aging advice,’ the first of which evoked murmurs of agreement.
FitOldDog’s Live Well List
- Let go of all grudges.
- Nurture old relationships, but only if they are good for you, and fire those that aren’t.
- Build new relationships with people of all ages.
- Love your kids, whatever happens, for your own sake.
- Remember that you are never too old to fall in love.
- Don’t put the keys to your happiness in someone else’s pocket (I read this somewhere).
- Appreciate what your parents did for you, as it’s too easy to judge them; you made it, which means they probably did a lot for you except in cases of extreme neglect. If you still have a problem, see point number ‘1’ above.
- Contribute to your community and the World.
FitOldDog, democratist with a tendency towards leftness, with a very kind and staunch Republican, François, who made him this wonderful ‘mandala’ tee shirt, and he helped us A LOT with party organization. Thanks, François!
- Don’t walk like an old person, it’s not necessary.
- Get over misoneism (fear of change) or it will creep up on you and become your prison as you age.
- Stay mentally fit.
- Stay physically fit.
- Be your own best health advocate.
- Smile a lot.
- Laugh a lot.
- Don’t drink too much alcohol at one time and never smoke.
- Do things, which means don’t spend too much time reading or watching TV.
- Never retire from life.
- Nurture your sex life.
- Be generous AND sensible with your resources (time, money, attention).
- Rescue an animal from the pound or the road when you get a chance.
Most important of all, love yourself, because it makes it much easier for people to love you if you do.
-k @FitOldDog
Happy Birthday. Excellent list. In fact, just today, I activated #2, for just that reason!
Yep! Life is too brief to waste your time with the wrong ‘friends!’
Amazing pics, kevin! But you didnt take a pic of the cake? 😉
Hi Ke, Tara took that picture, and I was so busy talking to people that I didn’t think about the cake, nice as people found it to be. -k
I have a picture of the cake, before it was cut. It’s still in my camera.
My pet hate is people my age saying “…back in our day…”
What does that mean? My day is now and it is ongoing…
Hi Trevor, interesting comment, as I deal with this issue, though hate is too strong a word. I’ll back on this one, which is worth an entire blog post. Cheers, kevin
Happy Birthday Kevin! So sorry we couldn’t come celebrate. Our brand new baby girl isn’t quite ready to party yet!
Yep! Priorities that I understand. Cheers, kevin
Re: Keeping your family in good health–watch this news clip about the video, “Age of Champions,” sponsored by the National Senior Games. It might eliminate some family members’ excuses like “I’m too old for that.”
http://sanjayguptamd.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/30/age-of-champions/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=794beb0d0f-Active_Aging_Week_17_11_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_badceb2e14-794beb0d0f-51578465&mc_cid=794beb0d0f&mc_eid=fa3dda3da8
Great link. I’ll feature it in my blog post today. Much appreciated. Kevin