Turning 60

    I turned 60 on August 23 of this year.  Decade birthdays seem to carry more weight for most everyone.  I had a lot of mixed feelings about turning 60.  I know a lot of people 60 and above that seem quite young, but how could I be that old?    Although I know time flies, how could I possibly be turning 60 already?

      My husband who is older was quite delighted that I was finally entering the decade he'll soon be leaving.  For several months I had some depression about it, some grief for goals not met and about the illness that continues to rob me of time and energy.    But, as I approached the day I also had some sense of freedom.  Looking at what I have achieved vocationally, even though I've been on medical disability for the  last eight years, I was pleased. Looking at how proud I am of the daughter I raised, I began to feel like I could lighten up once I turned 60.  Since I tend to be 'serious-minded', that felt like one of the greatest graces I have ever been given.

    My husband kept trying to figure out how to do something very special to help me with this passage.  He literally started worrying about it before the end of last year.  I had been taking some art classes that required sewing and he offered to buy me an expensive sewing machine.  I declined, but he ended up doing that for Christmas for both of us.  He then signed us up for classes and then quilting classes. We both made sampler quilts and he is still quilting.  I'm not interested in doing large quilts, but I'm happy to be learning to sew again.  Since he bought it last Christmas, he didn't count it as a birthday present, but I claim it as such since that was what got him thinking about it.

    As the time came closer for my birthday, my husband began to worry more about how to celebrate it than I was worried about turning 60.  I told him there was nothing I really wanted.  He surprised me and signed me up for an art class that I had really wanted to do and I was very happy with that.

    He also booked my actual birthday night at the Mountain Magnolia Inn and Retreat  in Hot Springs, North Carolina,where we have spent our anniversary for the past several years, including an hour and a half massage after an hour soaking in the springs. It is a charming and peaceful place This is the view from the room we always stay in.  The grounds include some wonderful old trees that I think are Japanese elms.  They are so large, I can't get a picture of the entire tree at once.  If you visit their website, you can watch a brief, beautiful video of the Inn which has been featured in This Old House, HGTV and Southern Living.  It is a charming and peaceful place The Appalachian trail goes right along part of Main Street in Hot Springs and their is a fascinating history of the springs themselves.

  Then, he invited our two best couple friends to come for the weekend and made reservations at La Bastide , a very special French Country restaurant, with Inn, winery and organic gardens on the grounds.  The food and wine and friendship the entire weekend could not have been better. My only regret is that we were all having such a good time all weekend that we forgot to take pictures.

    All of that was a lot more than anyone deserved for one birthday, but Bob also managed to surprise me.  First, with flowers, pink roses.  He is a Master Gardener and has willingly bought and planted any blooming thing I have ever requested, but he has only given me flowers from the florist several other times in our life together.  Along with the flowers was a card and inside, the biggest surprise . . . tickets to Cirque du Soleil.  Nothing could mean more than the birthday celebration shared with friends, but nothing could delight me more than seeing a Cirque du Soleil show. 

    We saw our first one in Columbia, SC last year.  This one was in Greensboro, NC about a four-hour drive from where we are in the mountains.  We saw Saltimbanco.  I didn't know until we got there that he had reserved floor seat. 

    This is the description of Saltimbanco on the official Cirque website:  "Saltimbanco -from the Italian "saltare in banco", which literally means "to jump on a bench"-explores the urban experience in all its myriad forms: the people who live there, their idiosyncrasies and likenesses, families and groups, the hustle and bustle of the street and the towering heights of skyscrapers. Between whirlwind and lull, prowess and poetry, Saltimbanco takes spectators on an allegorical and acrobatic journey into the heart of the city.  Saltimbanco is a Cirque du Soleil signature show inspired by the urban fabric of the metropolis and its colorful inhabitants. Decidedly baroque in its visual vocabulary, the show's eclectic cast of characters draws spectators into a fanciful, dreamlike world, an imaginary city where diversity is a cause for hope."  I adored every minute of it. I've seen many Cirque shows on television, but it is nothing like being at a live performance.

    I turned 60 a little over a month ago. The biggest change is that I think I see myself sometime in this decade being able to use the "A" word . . . Artist.   Visit my Blue Haven Studio blog to check my progress.  Oh yea, that's another positive change, I'm also writing and blogging again after two years of silence.

    Thanks Bob for making turning 60 such a special time in my life!  I wouldn't want to be any age without sharing life with you!

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