Story Weekend: Your Best Age So Far
Hmm. . . great question. I won’t go first because I don’t want to sway anyone (note: I wouldn’t go back to the age I was in this picture for anything, except maybe to experience being a size six again). What’s your favorite age so far?
If you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:
▪ The story must be true
▪ Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge.
Have fun!
When I was a 20-year-old Florida boy, I took a summer job in the mountains of Montana where my days off were spent hiking and hiking in Glacier National Park. On an August afternoon, eight of us rented horses and followed a high country trail up above the timberline where a stray cloud brought us a brief flurry of light snow. And there, soaring above the valley below was a snowbow. The air was crisp and clean and in so many ways with those good friends, I felt like I was on top of the world that summer.
I can picture this, Malcolm. Hope you’re a writer!
After losing more family and friends long before I was nearly done with them, I would have to chose Now as my favourite age, having learned that Goodbye does not have to end with the words. I was an awkward teenager who dressed and thought outside the box which was a bit like colouring ourside the lines at a time when that made conformist folks uncomfortable. I tried every religion available to me and then chose the spirituality code where I believe in the inherent good in almost everyone.Was an outspoken mother and an advocate to those whose voice degradation and dementia had taken away. As a giver I have received far more than I have given and am a deligent student of life. For the first time in my life I have found a home in my heart and I am loved for the person that I am, a menagerie of musical notes, the written word in any form and the great gift of sharing those thoughts with others. Some day I need help kicking that door open to my heart but I am not alone and I am grateful for the gift of each day…and for wine and chocolates:}
My best age would be most of my life right up to 11am on 7th January 2007. After delivering the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis my life changed dramatically. Parameters shrunk as my joints swelled. My size 8 jeans lingered in the cupboard and I was given a dressing gown on Mother’s Day. Suitable for hospital stays. We had some work done on the house. An extra bannister, grab rails, a frame round the loo…..all those cool things we see in Homes and Garden’s Magazine. Not. I will never be ‘used’ to the constant pain, the fatigue and the isolation of this disease. I smile as the mobility scooter takes me round the shopping mall, but I want to be back in my sexy boots, skipping down the cobbled lanes. And now? Another Kleenex moment. Sorry x
oh, Steph, I could certainly relate to this as I pop anti inflammatories and wait for my next Remicade infusion. I’ve had a longer time to adjust than you (my diagnosis was in 1995) so give yourself time. I’ll be meeting all the folks at my new publisher’s office in NYC very soon and I realized the only way I can manage it is by wearing my brace, which is built into a sneaker. Very cosmopolitan! I will be there nevertheless. We have to make adjustments but we’re still here! Best wishes to you.
Diane and Steph, I empathize with the day-to-day effects of rheumatoid arthritis. It is in my family and I see the struggles daily. Prayers for more good days than bad.
Steph, It doesn’t seem fair. To have so much taken and replaced with pain. Learning to live with the things you can’t do anymore. I am so sorry. I know that you didn’t write this to get sympathy, but it is hard not to offer it. I hope that your treatments will begin to help give you back some of your past life. Diane said it well, “Give yourself Time”. Prayers and hugs.
I have to agree with Sheree that my life right now is my best life. There was so much agony growing up, so much loss as a young woman and so much regret as I passed through my 30s, 40s and 50s that the freedom of NOW is the sweetness that comes with my late 60s. I have learned so much in this lifetime but learning about how to really live as I drift into the best years of my life is a gift for which I am every day thankful. Now if the body would only cooperate.
“Carpe diem.” I’ll take this day as my best age. Nothing I can do will change the past but without my past I wouldn’t be where I am today. I don’t know what the future holds which leaves today, this moment, to live. This has been said in so many different ways and I’m sure, considered by many, as a cliche’, but I’m grateful for the years I’ve had, will do what I can to enjoy each moment afforded me and hopefully provide a moment’s joy for someone else.
Well said Margaret. 🙂
That’s a wonderful philosophy to have! There is nothing better than to enjoy the present!
I have actually been thinking about this lately. One lifetime is really several linked together to make the whole. All these small “lifetimes” have reasons that make that your best age. You get married, have children. You might change careers during one of the lifetimes. Eventually you have Grandchildren and that is definitely a reason to celebrate your age. Of course like Steph pointed out, there are things that happen that mark it in a negative way. I have forgotten chunks of my lifetime because of painful memories. I do have to say that Right Now..at age 51( plus4, I am going backwards 😉 ) is one of my most favorite ages. I like myself more now than I ever have. I feel good about my weight. If I could just get rid of these wrinkles and Fibro/arthritis I wouldn’t complain. I wouldn’t be opposed to winning the lottery. Right now, I like my husband.(I always love him, but there have been times during our 37 years that I didn’t. That’s just marriage. ;)….Okay..way more than a 100 words. Thanks Diane for letting me write…even when I go over.
23 was a magical age. I had the long awaited freedom of adulthood, but still the optimism of youth. I lived in a cozy downtown apartment in Philly and spent the year pursuing dreams and simple pleasures. It was a year of meeting new people (including my future husband), exploring, and planning for all the wonderful adventures my future would hold. I was care free, happy, not weighted down. It was a time after college, but before the big responsibilities like owning a home and management. It was a time of freedom and chasing dreams. It was my favorite year.
I really like my age right now. I’m confident in who I am and what my strengths are. I’ve worked through most of my issues. My husband and I have raised our two kids who’ve grown up to be pretty cool adults. And, best of all, we have a fabulous 2 year old granddaughter! Just wish I didn’t need the “oil can” when I get up out of bed quite so much. 😉