Life begins at 70

Your garden is very pretty Flossie & so is your dog. She has a lovely face.
Mary XYX we have a Viking shop
near us & I often wondered who would shop there or why. Now I know!

I have just liberated myself from my hair - at the age of 70. Along with my husband - 76 - we had a joint head and beard (him, not me!) shave for Macmillan. £1700 raised for the shave, and £851 for the Coffee Morning we did it at. My hair was only short, but I feel free as a bird now, if a little chilly!

Lilypops three years ago when I was 70 I bought a brand new first floor flat with a balcony over the sea. It is wonderful - a dream come true. I love the (usually) gentle sound of the waves and I take many photos of the changing light and colours of the sea and sky. It is so great to be able to walk along the edge of the water (wearing Crocs!) to the local shops. Life has sometimes been tough but somehow being close the sea roots me firmly in the 'now'.

I'll be 80 next July. I have been free to please myself only in the last few years, since my husband died. I have since been over to Australia three times to visit my family, and am just enjoying the fact that I can do exactly what I please, when I please.

My ambition is simple. To survive long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle in Australia in November 2019.

Even more ambitious is the hope that I live long enough to see the 16 conkers I potted up, the other day, grown tall enough for me to plant them out in the countryside. We have far too many softwood and fir trees being planted, and need to replace the old, slow-growing hardwood trees.

I am very fortunate to enjoy good health, so far, so my fingers are firmly crossed.

I've lived alone most of the time since my youngest went to university 8 years ago. I love the fact that I can choose what I do and when I do things. Some of my more recently divorced friends talk of maybe having new partners but unless I meet someone and fall head over heels in love, being on my own suits me just fine! It would have to be someone very special for me to give up my freedom.

I love this post. I am just 60 and mostly very happy with my life - my DGs are the love of my life and the comments I received on GN have helped me feel more relaxed about their obsession with electronics....
Mainly I love the change in work I made 5 years ago: took early retirement from a very demanding corporate role and now work as an independent consultant, so it's not full time but still very rewarding.
DH and I are also focusing on more travel which we both love, and are looking into selling our family house and moving into a brand new flat - those are my things to look forward to.
It's wonderful to read about your dreams and how you are prioritizing your own needs

Phillipa, that last sentence was so powerful. I never thought I would get such a big response. It is reassuring to hear about people reclaiming their lives.

Bella Happy Birthday! Hope you're doing something suitably outrageous to celebrate being so young...

Thank you NanKate and Joy, lovely fellow Librans! Can’t say I feel any different today. I’m only a day older, not a year older ?

Joy, out to lunch with my husband today, so not really outrageous. A Thames walk with DD2 tomorrow and a veggie lunch. I’m sure we’ll have a lot of laughs, as we usually do.

Sounds lovely, Bella. Hope the shines for you tomorrow!

Where do you ladies buy your leggings btw? !

Flossieturner. Your garden looks amazing as does your rescue woof. I'd love to have a dog but we do go away quite often and feel it wouldn't be fair on it. Also my partner doesn't really want one. The cost etc ?. Maybe at a later date. I'll be 70 next year and I loved your re-evaluation of your life. Good idea. I loved my 60s. Do am looking forward to exciting 70s.
Your post is very inspiring. Go girl❤.

Also, this is the best post ever.

Hapgran. You can get leggings in Tesco, Asda and Next.

Thanks!

Cathie B, how lovely that your dream if a flat you the sea has come true, We live 10 mins from the sea but we don't overlook it , maybe one day, !! enjoy your walks by the sea in your crocs ,x

I so loved reading this. I am 67 and just starting to please myself. We are with DH's sisters in central Turkey. Last stay with them in winter 2016 in rented accommodation, it was minus 10c and their bathroom window was broken so as I catch cold easily we paid peanuts to stay in a Ramada hotel for a hair wash. His sisters were furious as they would never fork out for a hotel. This time round we are in the flat DH bought for them with his inheritance. We are in rented flat in London with no hope of buying again but that's another post. On this trip I splashed out on a two day trip to Antalya down south and DH paid the air fares and all other expenses. My own sister who is away on a camping holiday in the south of France went ballistic. How could I go away without visiting her? She's on holiday! Miles from her central French home in a hamlet. Then the landlady who lives downstairs confronted our son as to why we went away without her permission. People pleasing stops here. I was swimming in 30c on Friday whilst DH sat in the shade with a well deserved beer (he lost 4 stone so far). We both realise at our age we need to please ourselves and not give in to jealous relatives with more money than us who are to miserable to enjoy their final years. Great post.

I haven't changed my life but my life has changed. My daughter got engaged shortly before I turned 70, 2 years ago. She married 6 months later; I like my s-i-law enormously and they live not far away. I met a man (after having been widowed 9 years) who has become very important in my life. Last year my first GC arrived and I am involved in her life. Am expecting a second GC next year. My son and girlfriend live nearby and I have been a bit involved in their lives too. Life is good.

Life doesn't begin at seventy; life starts ending at seventy. You can still have fun at seventy or eighty or ninety – but it sure as hell isn't beginning.

I reached that milestone last May , had a quiet spell as to the occasion .
Mick

Purely from the physical point of view, then you are right, absent.

I was speaking more of a mental rebirth. At 70 I feel liberated. My children and grandchildren are independent, my elderly, very dependent relatives have died and I have found the courage to indulge myself. I have also been given two new medications from my GP which have made a big difference to my health.

I was dreading 70 but now I've 'been there and done it' I feel so much better - healthwise and everything else-wise. I hibernated on the actual day but returning to mainstream life noone is treating me any differently and I'm relaxing more! I have a lot of activities which require brain power and various other projects in the pipeline so fingers crossed I'll be around for a bit longer

Let's all just keep carrying on, supporting each other and enjoying later life best we can.

I know a few women who have adopted that attitude at a similar age, it's bloody brilliant and makes them great company.

Good for you