Does October last forever?

This post will be a short one. The sun is shining and the grandkids are visiting---waiting to thump Grandpa at croquet. However, I do have a couple seeds I’d like to plant before I forget them. (That’s another of those October obstacles.)

As you can see from the heading I call these pages October Years, which allows me to focus on that particular time of life, as do my stories. I happen to find it a fascinating time. I’m not sure I would have expected that twenty or thirty years ago, but it’s true. I like to explore those October times, and what they mean to me and those who inhabit my stories. Hopefully the time I spend on these blog posts also make my stories more effective.

In the beginning that title came with only a single qualifier---”a writer’s blog.” That’s because I wanted readers to know where I was coming from. I write stories, and I’ve found the blogging format a good way for me to revisit what I’ve written---to see if what once made sense to me still does. I have no interest in backing away from that luxury

Then, more than a year after my first post, I added the tag line---”thriving in our 60s and 70s.” That came to me in the wee hours of a sleepless night. That happens from time to time. It’s why I keep a pad next to the bed. Without having to turn on the light and wake Roma, I can scribble my notes and hope that I’ll be able to read them in the morning. I consider it a necessary skill, since story ideas seem to arrive on their own schedule, not mine.

In any case, I woke one morning to find ”Thriving in our 60s and 70s” spelled out  on my pad in large letters, partially written on top of each other. What the heck was I to make of that? Like so many great, and not-so-great, notions its context had been swallowed by my return to sleep. I’ve lost some of my very best ideas that way. At least I think they were. I can’t remember for sure.

Anyway, I added that line to the heading, hoping to urge folks to keep thriving in what I call the October of life. I liked the way that emphasis fit with my stories. (The “writer’s” part of the title.) Still, though I want to give the blog an authoritative tone, from time to time I pause to ask myself what makes me an expert on “thriving in my 70s.”

True, I do meet the age criteria. I’m getting old, and in the process wearing Roma’s patience more than a little thin. Still I try not to let those shortcomings hold me back. I write about the importance of relationships, and how they can mend broken lives. Whether in a book or a blog that is my message---and I welcome the chance to spread it. 

Now however, I sense the hint of a new challenge on the horizon. Though I have yet to face it head on, I know it is waiting out there---at least I hope it is. You see, I’ve spent the last few years staking my claim on October, along with our 60s and 70s. Now, however, something new lies not so far down the road, assuming I travel that far. It is called 80, and truth to tell it sounds more like November than October. Though I accept its arrival reluctantly, by all accounts it is preferable to the alternative. It may not be time to start changing blog titles, but it does give one pause, doesn’t it? Before long I’ll need to think about how to “thrive in our 80s.” 

On that semi-depressing note it feels like I need something to perk me up, to help me move beyond those dour possibilities. Perhaps my croquet game will be up to snuff for a change. That would help, you know---holding my own against those March and April kids.