Getting older all the time.

Summer …. and it finally feels like it in New England.

This past weekend was my yearly reunion with childhood friends. We used to call it the White Plains High School Girls weekend – but since we include our spouses, the name doesn’t work anymore. 5 childhood friends (and two were high school sweethearts!) and one “other” spouse (not from White Plains High School) came to visit Jake (not from White Plains either) and me in Gloucester.

Yes! Good to know we can still have fun. We do this once a year, for the past 18 years. Among other things that I love about this, it’s a great feeling to be able to say, yet again, “I’m really FEELING well!”. It’s a yearly reminder that I’m still in remission with MS – and no new chronic illnesses have cropped up. Hoo -ray!

But, here’s the thing. We were talking about the big topic… the “what’s next?” with 60 on the horizon. Hank just started his own business, is working 7 days a week, and he loves it – he has no plans to slow it down. I’m with him in that I have my own business and love it (although not the 7 days/week part.) And, Patty wants to get back into the work force after taking some years off with her kids, but at 56, not full time. John, the only one of us over 60, is stuck in a hospital bureaucracy with no flexibility to create what he wants. I get the sense that he’ll figure something out.
What struck me listening to the stories is that my friends are all pretty healthy and they feel that they have options. The two are so related – which is why if you can get the work piece figured out while you still have good health, you should. It’s just that much easier. Just the sense of optimism alone can carry you.

But, as many of us know, it doesn’t always happen that way. Even if you can’t figure it out while “healthy”, we have to figure it out one way or another because, most likely, we’re going to be working for a long time to come. And better to be happy while doing it.

Rosalind