Just enough

Growing older can be both a blessing and a curse for so many reasons.

People surrounded by young grandchildren and family can be swooped up in all the chaos that goes with this, but people who do not, or whose funds do not permit unlimited travel, shopping, eating out, and exploring places that require fees can be left out.

Volunteering gives purpose and joy to days that go above and beyond mere existence.

Household chores can require more effort now than they once did and health requires more careful monitoring, but there is still a lot of time left in most days.

In the past I might have walked more, or rearranged furniture more, or even gardened more, but now the bones in my feet have a lot more to say about what, when and how I do things.

The secret seems to be being endlessly creative.

Over time (and when you are my age there is a lot time you've been over) many things become kind of old hat and less inspiring than they once were.

I do not have the money to travel the way I wish, but maybe that would get old after a while too. I don't think so, but it might, so I just have to make the best of what I have in this moment.

I read. I draw. I walk. I muse. Sometimes I knit, or watch movies. I find new ways to meet people, new opportunities to volunteer, new ways to fill in the time I have been given on this earth in a body fortunate enough to be relatively healthy.

And sometimes I write about the difficulties of those blessed with just enough money, just enough health, just enough good fortune to be caught in the cusp between old age and youth for a very long time.