Crossing the Great Divide

Yesterday, I turned 65. I feel like I'm approaching the bank of the River Styx to wait for the boatman, Charon, to take me across to Hades on the other side. From the time I was a very young reader I was always fascinated with Mythology, Gods & the Afterlife. I just hope, when I get there, that my heart is pure & I'm found to be worthy.

But, here I am at 65. Life at the cross roads to say the least. Most of my working life is behind me. I'm now eligible for all sorts of discounts because I'm 'OLD'. From tax to car insurance, education to dining, I can now pay LESS. Hey, does that mean sock yarn is cheaper????

The Old Folks used to say, " Don't wait. Do it when you're young. Youth is wasted on the Young." I never understood until I hit my 60s & things started to stiffen up & hurt. Is this life getting even for all the reckless chances I took like the times I hung upside-down in the cherry tree, 30 feet off the ground, scaring my mother half to death? Or the times we somersaulted off the neighbor's roof after climbing the cherry tree to drop onto it ? Or that time we made a go-kart out of the washing machine in the abandoned house & piled three kids inside to ride it down the hill into traffic? And that bicycle race down that very same hill into that very same traffic again. Or flying across the pasture after dodging the bull behind us only to dive through the barbed wire in the nick of time. And setting the big gully on fire roasting potatoes for a picnic lunch. Or leaving home to pick fruit 300 miles away at 17 with $30 & a knapsack. The more I remember, the more I have to laugh - I did get into a lot of trouble. I'm surprised my mother survived.


But turning 65 might yet be a blessing in disguise. I won't have to work as hard to find the money to survive from month to month anymore. I can let my bad knee rest when it's sore & take that afternoon nap when I have to. I can work part time on things I want to work on like that 'Gut Biome' course at Coursera, filling my hanging baskets & finishing Wayne's year end knowing the rent will be paid. I can take my wheel onto the patio & spin all morning when it's cool in the summer & knit at Timmies or Starbucks when it's hot in the afternoon. I might actually use up that STASH I accumulated when I was younger.