On Turning 60 By Diane Burda

I've made it into another decade of life: Chapter 7 has officially begun I've had a few close calls with death sprinkled here and there, but I made it. Some original parts may be weathered, careworn, or even gone, but I'm still here.

One of the good things about getting older is that you gain perspective with each passing decade. But, I don't think that we really even start thinking about our journey until we reach milestones like these big birthdays. It's the universe's little gift to us for sticking around so long. How we got from point A to point B becomes clearer and clearer, and if we're lucky, we even gain insight into the why's and wherefores of the negative events. We learn to accept the good and the bad because they both afford us an opportunity for spiritual growth.

Well, okay, some happenings have absolutely nothing to do with spiritual growth. Take, for example, the frighteningly life-altering personal discovery that eyelashes and eyebrows can actually turn white overnight! At least there's an economic boost to a local business that sells cosmetics, and there's a social benefit as well, since the community as a whole will be safer after the cosmetic solution is applied and the crisis is past.

That brings me to another thought: Why didn't someone tell us about these things ahead of time? Why does it have to be a surprise to every new generation as it ages? Old people know what happens! The generation ahead of you always knows what physical craziness will occur, but do they warn anyone? No, they just sit around quietly laughing to themselves, evil little giggles under their breath, pretending to be unknowing, all the while watching and waiting to hear our gasps. There we are buying undergarments in a department store when suddenly we see our image in a huge distorted mirror. Or we look into a 10x magnifying mirror that we stupidly bought and mounted onto our bathroom wall. Nobody my age needs that kind of magnification. So why didn't anyone tell us?

Actually I think they probably did, but we just weren't listening – or we didn't believe that this would actually happen to us. We knew that we would age differently. So I've decided not to tell my children either – let them remain blissfully ignorant, as I used to be until now. They will know when they know.

And so here I am, 60 years old. I had a wonderful celebration with family and friends – it began on Thanksgiving and with any luck it will run throughout the month as I'm taken to dinner by people who love me and enjoy both my lively repartee and my limited tolerance for alcohol.

Somehow 70 does not sound so old now. I hope to be writing the same thing at the beginning of the next chapter: "I'm still here!"

I love to hear about a woman who embraces her age instead of fighting it! What about you? How do you approach your milestone birthdays – with anxiety, joy, or a mix of both? Share your own story below. Sign in using your screen name from AOL, AIM, Google, Facebook, or Yahoo. If you don't have one, create one now. It's fast, it's free, and it protects your privacy online. Love,

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