Amy Bryant Elderly . . . elderly! That’s the word my cleaning lady used the other day referring to me. It’s a good thing she cleans well, or she’d be out of a job! I’m used to being thought of as younger than my age. Up until I had 70 candles, folks thought that I was fifteen years younger. Once I hit 80 candles, they usually guessed that I was ten years younger. But the word elderly never entered the conversation. It’s another way of saying old, and not in a complementary way. Why am I so quick to run away from the term old, or any euphemism thereof? Now, I’m not foolish, and I do have a mirr ..read more

Apologies for that annoying post notice arriving in your in mail, where the print is tiny and the links don’t function. I hate that this is happening! Please be patient while I get some help from India to fix this problem. Cheers, Jane The post Tech snafu! first appeared on 70Candles.com ..read more

Mari, Almost 72 Someone once said I ought to call Mel Brooks; he could make a great story of my life. Growing up in the Midwest as the first daughter to live after my mother lost her first born @ only a couple days old! I later came to realize that perhaps my job was to prove that I would not die like Rita Diane did I am writing to you because I am approaching 72 in a few weeks and am once again reading (yes, among other things I am a bibliophile): 70 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU TURN 70. I wanted to share my story with you as I have been wanting to start a blog on being in the world not of the world ..read more

Janel I’m looking for a way to make visiting with family either at my small home or a flight away in theirs easier. One of the things I think about is that my job as a senior is to understand and ease the way for others. I think I do this pretty well except when I am in close proximity to my ADHD granddaughter and her mother. The mother was a single child, Ivy educated and excellent in her medical field. She does not set boundaries with her daughter. Nor did she with her son but he is manageable as a teen. The 10 year old granddaughter enjoys being the center of attention. She commands it and ..read more

Please ignore the Post notice. They’ve changed all these formats. Ugh! Working in it. Jane The post Apologies first appeared on 70Candles.com ..read more

No doubt you have heard about the massacre of 18 people killed in Lewiston, Maine October 25, 2023. Another 13 were injured, 3 remain in the hospital with very serious injuries. The first massacre I can remember after Kent State in 1970 was the Easter Sunday Massacre in Ohio in 1975.The murders since are beyond my comprehension. Forbes tells us the US now has 20 million assault weapons. Twenty million. Last week a local paper in Portland, Maine published this editorial: Why do we continue to accept a level of gun violence in the U.S. unheard of in other comparable nations? Why is there always ..read more

Judi Meirowitz Tischler, Age, 73 If you are worried that you have cancer, you want your slides read by my husband, pathologist extraordinaire. If you want to sort out a problem with a family member, my skillful listening might help you come up with a plan. When we decided to embark upon the marital adventure of partially renovating a small basement bathroom, and do it ourselves to avoid the expense of a contractor, our differences emerged within hours. As we prepped the walls for painting, a speck of dust was accidentally painted over, resulting in a small (dare I say microscopic) bump. Ms. Go ..read more

Sherrill Pool Elizondo, Age 74 I’m 74 and live in Texas. Summers are brutally hot and becoming hotter and the sun more intense. Several years ago I began seeing a dermatologist to remove skin tags. Nothing else turned out to be serious. At that time I wasn’t having a total body check. Nothing on my skin looked suspicious (even certain moles)…just skin issues like Eczema at certain times of the year and spots called Seborrheic Keratosis. When I was growing up in South Texas I ran around outdoors daily. Back then parents didn’t slather sunscreen on their kids! As a parent, I didn’t apply sunscre ..read more

Susan, Almost 75 As many of you know from my writings, I am new to Maine. It’s been nearly five years since I ventured north, just before the pandemic. Being sequestered for a few years has made me very aware of interpersonal relationships. Perhaps because I know so few people here. Now that we can get out and about I am just making a few friends. Over and over it seems just about everyone I meet is so self-centered. In a new relationship, one would think others might take an interest in another person and ask them questions. Instead it appears they just listen. Then they go on to talk about t ..read more

Miriam, Age 81 Nine months after my 80th birthday, my “8” and “0” candles still sat on my bookcase. I couldn’t decide if I want to be reminded of this frightening milestone or if I should forget it and continue to see myself as young enough for new adventures. I knew my grey hair, weakening legs, wrinkled loose skin and tiring at 9pm required limits I had to accept. Finally, before my 81st birthday, I stored the candles out of sight. Sure, reminders of my age are everywhere. They intrude when looking in the mirror, while walking up or down hills and in countless other ways. Aging sometimes bec ..read more