I am behind closed doors driven inside by the heat and humidity. At nine thirty it was already 81˚. I expect I will spend all day inside though maybe I’ll go out in the early evening to the deck just for a bit of humid, stale air.

I am Older than I ever thought about being. When I was a kid, I saw myself old in my twenties and nearly decrepit by my thirties. I wanted to be thirteen then sixteen then twenty one so I could vote and drink. That age seemed the pinnacle of life when I was ten. Now, I am older than 70. Parts of me are wearing out. It takes a bit for me to recall a name or a place. Sometimes if I doodle a little, the waiting time brings back what I need. Other times it comes back to me but long after I needed it. I wear my glasses all the time. I want to see where I’m going, actually, not proverbially. My back is bent and painful. My knee hurts. I have carpel tunnel syndrome in my most useful wrist and hand. I used to carry 50 pounds of cat litter upstairs. Now, heavy is lightweight. I carry things a little at a time. I have adjusted to getting older.

I consider myself lucky because I Love living every single day. I marvel at sunsets and starlit nights. I remember the first time I saw the man in the moon. He was grinning then and he still grins now. I have a wonderful family and amazing friends. I have seen a bit of the world and am chomping (or champing) at the bit to see more. I have a list. My body may ache but it gets where I need to go, just far more slowly. I haven’t lost my sense of humor or my appreciation for the absurd. When I’m driving, I sometimes have to stop to appreciate up close the beauty which caught my eye: the garden filled with flowers, the ocean or a cranberry bog red with berries. Christmas delights me just as it had when I was a kid. I love the smell of the tree and the colored lights in my yard. I stand and admire my garden every morning. I watch really bad science fiction movies and love them every time. I am happy with life.