We, Jane and Ellen, the creators of this blog for women who are close to 70 (a bit younger or a bit older or exactly 70), are amazed that we have reached this landmark, and wonder about the range of experiences of other women at our stage of life. We are old friends who met in 9th grade and have seen each other through 60 years of development and change. We’re fascinated now by this new and often exciting, sometimes challenging, time of life. Jane who lives in Texas turned 70 in July. Ellen is cautiously approaching her 70th birthday in March at her new home in upstate New York. We really look forward to hearing your stories.
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I just happened to click on this website and I really like it. I just turned 59 and I am looking down that road that you, Ellen and Jane are traveling. I am married to a man who is 9 years my junior. So in 10 years I will be retiring and he will still be working. I think it’s wise to plan who you will live your life in retirement especially if you are in good health. This is a second marriage and I started having my children later in life, so I don’t have any grand children at this time. I am hoping they find someone they love and get married first.
I do plan to travel with my husband. we have not travelled very much. We have worked and continue to pay for two kids in college. One daughter has 1 year left and the other has 3. Rather than put that money for our retirement, my husband prefers to pay for the kid’s college. Go figure??
I plan to continue working part time -just a few hours a week after I retire.
I enjoy cooking, gardening and yoga. Hopefully I will be healthy enough to enjoy my retirement years.
I have relatives in Massachusetts and will enjoy the summers there. Jane I live in Texas.
Anna, yes -looking ahead to ways to spend retirement years is a topic important to all of us. Thanks for your note.
Jane
Found this blog Googling Nora Ephron–her book, I Can’t Remember Anything, is next selection for my book club here in Florida. I’ve not gotten there yet, but evidently it is in part about Nora turning 70. I turned 70 in 1980.
Turning 70 for me was the only decade birthday that I dreaded. Just seemed as if it was the end of life. When long time friends (a married couple I’d known for more than 30 years) invited me to go along on a trip to Yugoslavia–Del had checked and there was no single supplement for this trip–I did just that. It was just the kind of travel tour I like–go to one place, stay there and take day trips.
So I simply got out of the country! On my actual birthday, March 14, we were on a cruise to some island off the coast of Dubrovnik. Claim of that island (as is claimed in several European locations) was that it was where the Moslem armies were stopped centuries ago, from taking over all of Europe. En route to the island we had lunch, a couple bottles of champagne the whole shipboard dining room sang happy birthday–mostly in Yugoslavian.
There were a couple other day-trips that stand out in my memory. One to a sleepy country, seemed like vintage WWI, on the top of a mountain–Montenegro–reached by hair-raising bus trip. Endless hairpin turns. The other was (and I can’t guarantee the spelling) Medugorje which is a Catholic shrine something like Fatima. People from all over the world making pilgrimages with severely handicapped children seeking a cure. I’m neither Catholic nor even particularly religious–but it is a moving experience to share.
Whether it was that shrine experience, or just getting out of the country to a place that was still unique in 1980, I came home completely restored to my usual attitude on life. Malaise over! Since then have had two decades of enjoyable living, have published a few books–most recent about the pop culture of sociable bridge called Bridge Table or What’s Trump Anyway?–and just launched a blog only a month after this 70 Candles blog was launched, on January 1, 2011. Mine is about bridge with a sub-topic Nonagenarian Notions about all the 90-year old bridge players. My motto is, for a long and happy old age, it’s better to have played bridge badly than never to have played at all.
Thank God, I am not alone!
I knew there were active, intelligent, aging, seeking women out there who haven’t given up in this quest for happiness and the fulfilled life!
I have bookmarked this site and plan on becoming a regular visitor…I have found someone to talk to.
Ione