Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, When I'm 64?

Some people never grow up…and I am proud to count myself part of that illustrious group, in spite of the arrival today of yet another birthday!

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Chronological markers play only a part in the cycle of aging, after all. I have talked to teenagers so jaded and cool that they’re old before their time…and met seniors who have never lost the sparkle in their eyes. Spirit isn’t defined by time, nor is there an age limit on one’s enthusiasm and sense of anticipation. While my body knows without a doubt it is no longer young, my inner child recalls with stunning clarity what it was like to be eleven… remembers with every fibre of her being how she marveled at the breadth of the Great Lakes and was rendered breathless by her first Canadian snowfall.
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 Snowfalls still enchant me, and if I ever get back to Lake Huron, I will rush forward with pure glee and throw myself in head first, clothes and all!

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Today, I turn into a Beatles tune, the very song I belted out cheerfully as a teenager, never grasping for a moment that one day I, too, would be that age. I admit to bewilderment at how quickly I got to this point.

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Throughout the years, I’ve struggled to be decorous. I’ve played the role of good daughter to aging parents, supportive wife to a long-time husband, responsible example for growing offspring to emulate, (all right, this last one may not have been carried off with great success, if my chortling adult children are to be believed)! Still, I’m universally recognized as a dutiful employee, a dependable friend, and an all-round decent person

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I am, however, no angel and often chafe at life’s restraints. The girl inside me enjoys a good spot of fun and still fancies shaking up the status quo on occasion, no matter how mild an exterior she displays to the world. I do think she’s entitled to get out and play a little more often now after her many years of patience!

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Turning 64 doesn't make me old.

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I think I'll know I’m old when I’m described as ‘sedate’, or am said to have ‘settled down’. Yuk!

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And the day - heaven forbid! – when I’m held up as a role model to anyone…. then I’ll know I’m old!
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Until then, I will unapologetically crunch on candy necklaces in public, fill my pockets with rocks and treasures picked up from the ground and splash happily through rain puddles in my bare feet whenever the urge takes me. I’ll dissolve into giggles at the slightest hint of mischief, and will never, ever get too old to laugh at my own foibles.

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 I will play hide-and-seek with tiny friends, though scrunching up in closets has become a challenge, and will return their little girl hugs with all the fervor kids put into every second of their lives. Birthdays are just another day, filled with endless possibilities as each one is! There are shells waiting to be gathered at the beach, puffy clouds to be watched and wondered at, and stories clamoring to be written down. Of course, I will also wash dishes, weed the garden and mop the floor, as mature adults must.

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But there is a big bottle of bubbles I bought last week that has yet to be opened…trying to get a good shot of a fleeting, iridescent bubble should amuse my child-like sensibilities for quite some time!

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