Milestone birthdays are just that. Moments in our lives that appear to be harbingers of change. Think 18 when we become legal adults, despite how dopey most of us are when we’re still in our teens. Or 21 when we can legally belly up to a bar and say, “Yes, I’d like a sweet, minty, Mojito, please.” Turning 30 has us questioning whether we’re fully engaged in life—on the road to a successful and fulfilling career and considering whether we’re finally ready to start a family. Turning 40 sometimes smacks us in the face with a midlife crisis where we ponder our failures and wonder if we’re accomplished enough to head to that high school reunion. Thankfully, things seem to calm down when 50 rolls around. We know who we are and are less likely to worry about what others may think of us. Sixty skips by on the way to magical 65, when we get to retire from the daily grind. Which brings me to 70.
Seventy, for a reason I can’t quite pinpoint, is different. I mention this because I became a septuagenarian earlier this year, and I’m still trying to figure out what to do with that fact.
Dr. John Messerly in his article How Does Life Feel Different At 70, was spot on when he wrote, “While I don’t feel old… there is still something about turning 70 that freaks me out. I feel like I’m about 40 on the inside, but that’s not what my birth certificate shows. It is just hard to believe that you were a kid or teenager and then, seemingly in an instant, are a senior citizen.”
Exactly!
“Life just looks different,” Messerly went on to explain. “You become increasingly aware of your mortality…You know that much of your life is not on the horizon but behind you. Much of the journey is over. This thought fills you with pride in what you’ve achieved and sadness for what can never be.”
When I look back at my life, I recall a roller-coaster of ups and downs with heart-stopping turns that required me to pause, consider, and change direction. Despite the failures, I’m rather amazed that I completed all I set out to. And still I sometimes feel there’s more I should be doing.
I recall speaking to a former boss when he sat in his office one day in shock. He’d been fired and was clearly distraught. In an effort to soothe him I said, “Work is what we do. It’s not who we are.” He brightened a bit. So, when that “What do I do now?” question hovers, I remember that sentiment.
When I googled the question about living at 70, I got the usual suggestions: eat well, exercise, maintain a healthy sleep routine, get annual medical checkups, and socialize. So staying upright, strong, and well adjusted appear to be the main goals in my seventh decade.
I’d like to say that at 70 I am content with my life and happy to sit and smell the proverbial roses. But that would be a lie. I always feel there is something more to accomplish. And maybe that is ultimately the point.
Wolf Catcher
Anne Montgomery
Historical Fiction
In 1939, archeologists uncovered a tomb at the Northern Arizona site called Ridge Ruin. The man, bedecked in fine turquoise jewelry and intricate bead work, was surrounded by wooden swords with handles carved into animal hooves and human hands. The Hopi workers stepped back from the grave, knowing what the Moochiwimi sticks meant. This man, buried nine hundred years earlier, was a magician.
Former television journalist Kate Butler hangs on to her investigative reporting career by writing freelance magazine articles. Her research on The Magician shows he bore some European facial characteristics and physical qualities that made him different from the people who buried him. Her quest to discover The Magician’s origin carries her back to a time when the high desert world was shattered by the birth of a volcano and into the present-day dangers of archeological looting where black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.
Bookstores, libraries, and other booksellers can order copies directly from the Ingram Catalog.
Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.
Author Anne Montgomery 