I turned 80 on Jan. 20, 2020. I celebrated coast-to-coast for over a month. I arrived home from California on Feb. 26th. Wow! I just made in time to be home in Scarborough before the arrival COVID-19.  Little did I realize my life as I knew it was about to change.

For the last 16 years, since my divorce in 2006, I never stopped. I traveled alone to Sicily to visit the country where my mother was born; took Viking River tours of the Danube River, to Bordeaux, and the Caribbean; visited friends in England; Alaska; Florida; a hot air balloon ride over Sedona, Arizona; sixteen trips to California to visit my son and his family. This is just a small sample of my many fascinating adventures and experiences I have had over the years.

Two months after my 80th birthday on Friday, March 13, 2020, everything came to a halt. Life was “canceled” and my car stayed in the garage. I cleaned furiously, cooked creatively (that didn’t last long), and read. I went walking every day. I entertained outside once the weather improved. I missed not gathering family and friends around my dining room table.

Last Thursday, I turned 82-years old. My life since turning eighty is a work in progress. It hasn’t been just COVID-19. I paused and reflected on the past 24 months. I am changing physically, more aches and pains. It takes me twice as long to get things done. My fingers are deformed and don’t always do what I ask them to do. The other side of turning eighty is friendships remain the same but more challenges arise in our daily lives. I miss those carefree lunches, overnight trips and spontaneous Happy Hours. I have lost three mentors/sages who guided and shared their wisdom. Today, I have become the mentor/sage to others.

I haven’t crossed the state line since I arrived home from California in 2020. My years of hopping on a plane and going wherever has come to a standstill. My son is getting married in June in California. I ponder my trip with excitement and caution.

I am hope-filled. I am living the cycle of life with each new year. How I face it will make the difference. I will end with a quote by Victor Frankl that has become my mantra: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

— Special to the Telegram

Copy the Story Link