The swinging sixties!
Yay! I’m now a sexagenarian. Maybe some of you are wondering what the heck that means… Well, don’t let the first three letters of that strange-sounding word give you any funny ideas. All I’m saying is, I’ve survived the fifties, I’ve leaped over, (no, make that clambered over) the 60 barrier and I’m now in the swinging sixties. Wait a minute… SIXTIES did I say? I’m already in the seventh decade of my life? Gosh! Where did all that time go? Seems like just yesterday that I was practising how to jive to the beats of Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock or the Beatles number When I saw her standing there or other foot-tapping songs that hit the airwaves on Radio Ceylon’s Binaca Hit Parade or All India Radio’s Saturday Date. Have I really been married for more than three decades? And how come I’m already a mother-in-law when I was a multi-tasking young mother only yesterday? Wasn’t it only the other day that I was crooning You are my sunshine from my heart as I put my boys to sleep? How could time have flown so fast?
Go on… grab your partner… shake a leg… celebrate!
A senior citizen
I remember how, not so long ago, I dreaded my fortieth birthday because it meant letting go of the thirties, and joining the ranks of the middle aged. I was in no mood to celebrate this milestone and dreaded having to admit to anyone that I was 40. I wished I could turn the clock back, began to worry about menopause and was petrified of the physical changes that would follow. But by the time I turned 50, I realized growing old was not such a bad thing after all and actually had a party to celebrate the occasion, telling myself I was not growing older, I was getting better. And then before I knew it I was 60. I was a senior. A senior citizen!
Surprisingly, I didn’t feel any panic about growing older, about venturing into the senior citizen years, for by now I had realized that there was more to life than looking young. I decided that growing older was going to be fun and on my own terms, and that I would live life to the full without feeling threatened by time marching on. I would continue to enjoy doing the things I loved, and go back to doing the many other things I loved but could not make time for earlier.
Older and wiser
And so, as a senior citizen, I now make time to sniff at the roses, and I’m not as rattled when scratched by a few thorns now and then. I take myself less seriously, in the sense that I accept I need not be perfect to be happy. I try to see the humorous side of things. And when I look back at some of the negative stuff (we all have our share of this, right?) from the new vantage point I’ve reached after covering many more miles on the road called life, I find I can understand what happened without getting all hot under the collar. I’ve learnt to accept the good and the not-so-good and get on with enjoying each day as it comes. I’ve decided to make the most of the time I’ve got, make the most of what I’ve got.
And so here I am, not staring down the barrel of the 60s, but rather, ready to hit the trail ahead firing on all cylinders. For life isn’t over at 60. I refuse to believe that the best is behind me. If you think I’m a fool for believing this, just look at what other seniors the world over are doing today – Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Clint Eastwood, Paul McCartney, Raquel Welch, Harrison Ford, Elton John, Hilary Clinton, Meryl Streep, Shabana Azmi, Shobha De, Sunil Gavaskar – they aren’t exactly sitting at home playing with the cat.
Bottom line: We’re still cool, more possibilities exist today than ever before, and we can still make a difference to our own life and that of others. And that is why as I script the first few pages of Chapter 7 of my life, I remind myself that age is just a number related to the years we’ve spent on planet earth. And that no matter what changes Time makes to our body’s external and internal geography, we can still feel as young as we want to.
If you like what you’ve read do stick around and visit often. And while you’re here, how about scrolling down, clicking on the comment button and tapping out a few words about your own ‘coming of age’?
See ya… and keep smiling!
After visiting your website i felt as if i had gone back in time…roughly two decades back…into the by-lanes of Portuguese Church in Dadar West where i did my schooling. Thanks to you, i also drifted back to those wonderful days i spent in Mapsa, Ponji, Ponda, Vasco relishing Sorpotel & Pau, Vindaloo, Xacuti and Bibinca at the ‘Hungry Macs’… tucked away in a small by-lane of Old Goa. To be honest, it’s only when i experienced Goa and its Caju Feni that i truly understood the profoundness in the words, “Let your mind roam…and the body will follow!”.
Eager to read your first book. But what stops you from uploading whatever is ready? It could be the first time ever in the world that a story gets uploaded as it develops…
Glad my site revived happy memories of Goa for you Milind. About my book, I’m still at the first draft stage. It will have to go through several revisions before I can show the first few sample chapters to a publisher. Have to take it step by step to completion…
Congrats Veena on a great site; your body of work is commendable. Happy to know that there are so many of us writers from Mazagon who are proud of and are sharing our Goan heritage around the world. Your portfolio speaks for itself and I really like the way you laid everything out clean & together – simple & effective. If there is one suggestion I could make, you could had a contact page with comments so that besides the blogs, readers can contact or comment on the site, like I wanted to do, not related to any blogs. Feel free to contact me for any help you need with the technical side or when you just need to bounce off some ideas — Stay Thirsty My Friend!!
Glad you liked my website Francis and thanks for the suggestion. I somehow overlooked adding the ‘Contact me’ page. I’ll take care of this soon.
It felt lovely going thru your site. I am impressed by your literary style and work background. Now I too feel less pressured looking at the looming 60’s – not too far off for me.
That’s great Bonita. Way to go!
Congratulations Veena on your awesome website!!! Enjoyed “The adventure begins” immensely and looking forward to reading the others.
I love your style of writing – it’s as though we are chatting and you’re sharing your words of wisdom.
Your talent, but more importantly, the wonderful person you are shines through and remember the “best is yet to be”! Enjoy life in the moment – the best gift you can give yourself!
Glad you enjoyed browsing through the site Maria.
What drew me to your site was your post on discounts for senior citizens. [I run a blog for this topic]. Then I was drawn to your ‘About me’ Page. Realised you are over 60 and a senior citizen. A few comments:
I too was a subscriber to Chemical Industry Digest. Happy to know your father wanted Governors to go (way back in 1955?) – bold thought. How about contributing such informative pieces to the Indian Memory Project on their website?
My purpose of commenting is two fold: To congratulate you on the excellent website. And to inquire if I can re-post – with due credit – some of your writings on senior citizens in my blogs.
Sorry for the delay in responding Mr. Vyasamoorthy. Thanks for the kind words.
Sure, do re-post my blogposts you’re interested in. But not the entire articles. That would create copyright problems for you. You could however carry the first 2-3 paras. Then add: “Read the whole article here.” And provide a link to the relevant page on my website at that point.