When You Are Sixty-Three

Paul McCartney wrote the lyrics for “When I’m 64” when he was 16 years old.  From what I have read it was based on his father turning 64.  He said he wrote the song in fun.

Well I cannot imagine him writing the song in any other fashion but for fun!  Who at sixteen years of age, twenty-six, thirty-six or even forty-six has any concept of what that age means?

When I was fifty-six, I did think about how I was getting closer to my sixties, but it was still a LONG WAY OFF!

Right?

Not.

At the age of sixty, I realized that this decade would have to be the one of real change.  If I were to enter the decade of my seventies (which is a LONG WAY OFF!) I would have to be in better shape physically.

So, the change did begin at age sixty.  I was thirty pounds overweight, my balance certainly seemed to be lacking and I was stuck, not satisfied with where I was and who I was.  I took the plunge and went on a dating site (a reputable one, which does mean throw caution to the wind).

I met a man that was extraordinarily different in every way imaginable to me who brought incredible vitality and excitement into my life, a person who mentored and taught me all things that I had only read about and dreamed of doing.

For years I would say to myself “in my next life I will do this or go there”, meaning I would be with a partner who enjoyed the outdoors, enjoyed camping (in a tent), liked travelling and at the drop of a hat would be willing to go just about anywhere.

My next life did come true and for the next three plus years my life changed dramatically.

Who would guess, that I would:

• travel by motorcycle to Mexico/southern and coastal USA
• become a certified open water scuba diver and dry suit diver
• learn to ride a motorcycle (did not really enjoy this)
• sky dived in tandem
• learn to kayak (absolutely love)
• learn about sailing and sail around Vancouver Island, southern Alaska, Queen Charlotte Islands, west coast of USA and down to Mexico
• learn about navigation, weather and flying in a small plane (not as the pilot) and fly to for the June solstice at Tuktoyaktuk and then across Canada to southern Ontario, camp in a tent under the wing (bucket list is to fly to and be in Oshkosh, guess that will wait for the next life)
• learn to really ride a bicycle, regain my balance and ride an average of 20 to 30 km in a day
• swim in the ocean with Whale Sharks (they are vegetarian!)
• swim with dolphin’s
• learn to ski properly and be able to ski the blue runs
• ride the rugged logging roads on Vancouver Island
• learn to hike or rather bushwhack up hills and small mountains
• learn how to forage for berries, learn about animal tracks, marine life

Yes, it has been quite the adventure where I was pushed and challenged many times to an extreme but to be honest, I wanted to be out of the “normal” and “comfortable” zone.  It is exactly what I wanted, needed and still desire.

So, I bow to my former partner who was an exacting teacher, but a great mentor and I thank him for bringing me into my sixties.

We were like fire together, most times a warm glow but then we would become a firestorm.

This time the firestorm was all consuming.