60+

Here’s a number that sounds pretty unpleasant if you contemplate it. It refers to the accumulated years. Normally, this age can be the end or the way to the end. I try to convince the interlocutors when such discussions occur that this is not the case. The paths of each of us can be shorter or longer, with winding roads or many intersections. What does this depend on? I do not know. I know that we can make it pleasant even if it is sprinkled with inevitable troubles from time to time. After all, it also depends on the way each of us is. Some like to socialize, some isolate, some are happy by nature, for others it rains even when the sun is shining. Some love the heat, others don’t. We are very different and that is beautiful.

I am a cheerful, adaptable, unpretentious person; I am only emotionally connected to people and animals. I can change the space where I live without regrets, I like the novelty. I am aware of what appears as much as I can, I do not regret that the wrinkles have multiplied, I do not regret that the years go by. Every moment I accumulate something new. At this age, most people no longer want to meet new individuals. I do.

I find that people are grouped into many categories. My years allow me to frame a new acquaintance in a drawer already full of others who look like him. It rarely happens that I meet an unfathomable being. Very rarely. This means that I lived a long time and I intersected with almost all types.

For me, the many years I lived make me happy because I was very lucky to go through the intricacies of life and to win. It is not a shame but it is the pride of a winner. Like many of us, life has given me trials but I have fought them in the bravest way. I say that because I’ve won every time. If I would have lost, I was either no longer there or I was affected in one way or another.

What I want to say is that those who have spent 60-70 years in Romania, for the most part, seem to sit in line on their way to infinity. This does not happen in the “civilized” world. There, people spend their lives as long as they can resist, go on trips, go for coffee with friends, dine in the city or go to dancing evenings.

As for me, I have a “old age” much freer and more intense than youth.

Now I have time for myself and my dreams, I choose my older or newer friends to my liking, I don’t have to behave nicely towards people I dislike and I choose the right activities for my soul.

Specifically, I walk 5-7 km every day, I ride my bicycle every day (well, the tricycle in my case because I want to avoid fractures), I go to the aqua gym three times a week. Water sports suit me the most and I do it with great pleasure. I cook goodies, I spoil my husband in the absence of my dear child gone to Holland. My daughter, to whom I dedicated my youth with all my soul, is far away now, where she values the education I gave her, I practically reap the fruits of my effort when she, in foreign lands, receives appreciations.

I watch movies on Netflix, I’m up to date with all the police series or documentaries. I read everything that falls into my hands and I make time to play canasta with a fun group of ladies every Sunday. I go out for coffee or discover a new restaurant where I have lunch with the girls.

Yes, I go on trips with a group of girlfriends twice a year. I used to travel to Greece every year, it draws me because my grandfather’s blood from Itaka Island flows through my veins and I’m proud of it. The second annual trip can be to Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc. And there are also trips with our daughter to various small and chic destinations in the world.

I have a group from Brăila with which I make getaways through the country or through Europe, weekends with barbecues on the green grass and maximum fun. Those are the day that I’m absent from my canasta games that I never grow tired of playing.

I have a lot of places to explore and nothing will stop me from doing it. I am a great admirer of pure nature, I love the green of the mountain but also the blue of the sea, the chirping of birds in the morning dew but also the sunset in the distance of the plain.

My day is very busy, I have a few groups of friends with whom I share my free time, I can’t get bored. When I am asked to do something I dislike, such as going to town hall or other dull places, I feel the stolen time painfully.

In short, I love 60+ and I urge you not to say no to anything to have as few regrets at the end. Life has pleasant surprises at any age. I don’t know what it will be like later, but now I feel good about myself and the world I created. I like to spend time with people my age, we should not be embarrassed if we forget or if we do not immediately manage to deal with technology.

A tip for young people: live beautifully and sparingly and do not be afraid of old age. It comes with freedom, good will and a lot of free time and if you manage to accept your many years, everything will be beautiful. Look at the elders with admiration because they have managed to get through life.

What if we take another “pill”, what if our knee hurts!? The body also wears out, but the optimistic psyche makes us not perceive it. Nothing happens if we limp a little, it’s all about the position of winner coming out at the end of the day, trying to accumulate new and new stories.

And those who sit quietly at the end of the road to infinity, who complain of joint or soul pain, tell them that it is not good to wait but to fight with all the remaining powers, to enjoy every morning and to live happily every moment.