Prime time

It’s my birthday and I love all the celebrations planned which will last for more than a week as I get wined and dined by family and friends. Perhaps it is because as someone who first had cancer at 39, I take each year as a bonus and I am just pleased to still be here to celebrate.

I realize as I get older that I am supposed to stop counting the years but you know what, I am pretty proud of reaching this milestone of 62.  I mean when I think of my mother at this age, she seemed old, a real senior citizen. Not me.  Like many women of my age, I still have lots I want to do and achieve.

Reaching this third chapter in my life, I’ve been reflecting on exactly how I want to spend my time. There was a point, to be honest, when I considered retiring, of selling Company of Women and “sailing off into the sunset”, but you know what, that’s not what I want to do, it was more what I thought was expected of me when I turned 60.

And therein lies the truth.  Sixty, sixty-two -- they are just numbers.  Many of my friends have chosen to retire or semi-retire, and good for them, but that’s not for me. As reality is, no matter what your age – it is essential you be true to yourself.   I cherish and welcome the opportunity to explore new horizons. To stop working would feel like an amputation, like I would be cut off from the world I know and love. Clearly I have some work to do on my identity, because I am not my business.  I guess I am still a work in progress.

Like many women, I used to care far too much about what other people thought, but as I’ve got older, I’ve realized that this crone has some wise words to share and maybe I need to speak up more, say what I think and share the wisdom I have garnered, sometimes the hard way, from living my life.

So stay tuned, as I truly reach my prime. Who knows what this third chapter will bring.