The Freedom To Speak Your Mind

A short 4 years ago, my friend commented about my birthday. Actually, it was my next birthday she was talking about.

"Just think! You are going to be 60 next year!"

Bam! Talk about slamming into a brick wall! Me? Sixty? Never! How could it be?

I loved turning 40. The 40's were incredibly freeing in so many ways.

Fifties came and I celebrated the whole decade! After all, as Oprah says, "50 is the new 40!"

It honestly never occurred to me that 60 came after the 50's.  Couldn't I just be Fifty-ten,  then 50-11? You have to admit,  50-12 has a certain ring to it!

The last six months of my 59th year made me feel like I was on combat mission, belly on the ground, soldier crawling towards enemy lines. Pausing to dig a fox hole now and then, trying to stop time, but that big 60 kept pulling me.

What an incredible waste of 6 months! Sixties are better than the 40's and the 50's (except for the knee pain which was probably caused by creeping around on my elbows and belly for half a year).

There are so many glorious benefits to being 60-ish.

My favorite benefit of all is the freedom to speak my mind!  Not that I make comments like, "That is the most ignorant thing I've ever heard!" or "You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you?"

I do have filters, but having retired, I don't have to agree with an abusive boss! I don't have to write letters and memos that make her look kind or thoughtful. I don't have to agree with everyone sitting around the table at dinner. My heart isn't crushed if someone walks away from me when I've spoken my truth.

The next favorite benefit is that I can make a stand! If I stand alone, that's okay because I am standing up for what I believe. I can live in my own integrity!

Another favorite perk is rising out of bed at 4 a.m. to read or write or simply sip a cup of green tea and ginger.  The stripping out of my clothes and jumping back into bed around 9 or 10. Other mornings I head to the shower, brush my teeth and get out my softest, most comfy pajamas and spend the day in them.  If someone knocks at the door, I greet them completely guilt free. No shame! They can judge me all they want. I know that deep down in their souls, they wish they were in their jammies, too!

Let's see!  (tapping my make-up free chin while in deep contemplation) There are so many special boons, it is hard to choose the next favorites.

There is the make-up thing. I can get around with absolutely no make-up, if I choose. There is a natural aliveness about aging skin, the lines around the eyes that shout, "I have laughed and I have lived!"   Without foundation one can see the scar on my left temple from the spoon that stuck in my head when my brother shot sweet peas at me when we were kids. (I can write really long, run-on sentences like the previous one and people just accept it " 'cuz, bless her heart, she's old!")  Without makup I can't disguise the bump in my not-so-perfect nose. I am really proud of it; reminds me of playing street football with the boys (I was always first picked for teams. Yes, I was that good!)

Benefit Boon Blessing of being in my sixties; I can have sex as much as I want without the fear of pregnancy! (Beat that all you 30-somethings in your 5 inch spiked heels!) I can have sex where ever I want because if caught I can blame it on dementia!

Let's not forget clothing!  In your 60's you can wear whatever you want! I can wear white to weddings because I are not going to upstage the bride. I can wear skirts to work in the garden and jeans to church. I can dress to the nines to go to the drive-thru at In and Out! I can sport torn jeans and my Doobie Brothers sweatshirt to Outback.

Being in your sixties and a little bit silly appeals to all your nieces and nephews. Your nieces think you're cute and your nephews will refill your gin and tonic without any prompts!  They put extra green olives and gin in them too!

If the sixties are this good, what secrets and whimsical treats must the 70's be hiding? Seven more years and I get to unwrap that package. I won't be holding my breath though, because there are so many delicious discoveries about being in my sixties still to be made.

Continuing Introductions

This post is a continuation of yesterday's introduction to the characters I was instructed to dig deep into my personality to discover during a workshop.  We all have different aspects to of who we are, what our habits are, what we think and do. The workshop suggested we name at least 5 different characters, give them names and flesh them out.


I do not suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder but I do know that there are many faces to one's personality; you know, Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy, Happy and those other guys. My crew is very diversified, one even stepped out of the shadows to introduce herself. There are actually several Happy's and a Grumpy residing in my personality.

In my previous post, I introduced, Sinthya, Carly-Anne, Bill and Mrs. Richardson. Today I would like to reveal BabaMara, our magical, mystical cuddly crone; Ms. Machado, a teacher with incredible patience...for the most part. Last, but certainly not least, is snarky Beatrice; Beware Of Beatrice

BabaMara

Magic comes easy to BabaMara, it is in her DNA! She has long, unruly hair, as white as the whitest snow. She often wears it pulled back in a twist or in a long, thick braid but there are always lose curls and waves tickling her neck or framing her face. She manages to get most of it on her head, when she bakes bread or on hot days. BabaMara is ancient, she has lived other lives and brings the wisdom of centuries with her to the crew.

Photo Courtesy of http://sabrina-linda.tumblr.com

She never loses her temper, she bakes wonderful breads filled with secrets; she creates salt scrubs filled with answers to questions we didn't even know we had. She often takes us by the hand and walks with us in our dreams and if one should turn scary, she will whisper in our ear, "Breathe, Dear, it is only a dream." 

BabaMara wears long skirts (the better to shelter elves and brownies ) and deep pockets which are always full of whatever it was you were needing in that very moment. Her blouse sare long and flowing and full of color; they fly behind her in the slightest of breezes.She is usually barefoot, even in the garden or the farmer's market. Carly-Anne painted BabaMara's toenails a bright heavenly blue several months ago. The color matches the sapphire in her toe ring perfectly.  In spite of the passage of time and activities of daily living, BabaMara's nails look as if they were painted this morning. They never chip or grow out.

BabaMara is fluffy, not too fluffy, just the perfect amount of fluff for a soft place to lay your head when you need comforting and yet she can get out in the garden and take long walks in the mountains. She also has just the right amount of fluff to be able to peacefully float in a lake or pool without moving a single muscle.

BabaMara loves to float in the pool as naked as the day she came into the world, listening to the sound of her breathing and heart beat as it reverberates in the water. It reminds her of all the lifetimes she experienced, the births she's prepared for and the births and lifetimes to come.

Don't tell anyone, but BabaMara has "the sight"! She knows things! She knows when you are pregnant before you do. When she wants to speak to you, she imagines your face and your essence and lo and behold, the phone rings or there is a knock at the door and there you are!She sees angels and sometimes they talk to her.

Ms. Machado

Ms. Machado. Now she is a very nice woman. As I said earlier, she is the epitome of patience. She teaches; and not just us. She teaches those around her. She teaches babies concepts like over/under and above/below. She taught us to stop and crack open a dictionary when a new-to-us word pops up in our reading. She teaches us to try it again, when we have tried and tried and tried and failed.

She is a pretty young woman with olive skin and large brown eyes. She always wears a pretty pencil skirt and very pleasant soft blouse in light pastels. She has a deep hunger for knowledge and understanding.  She asks lots of questions of those around her which Mrs. Richardson find annoying, BabaMara finds delightful and Carly-Anne finds intriguing.

And finally, Beatrice

Beatrice is having a bad day! Beatrice is having a bad day, every day.  She has a constant frown and tight lips. She doesn't like heat, she doesn't like cold. She doesn't like whining and she absolutely doesn't stand for bullying.

Beatrice wears a long dark coat with deep, deep pockets. The rest of the crew will often dump whatever problem they have had, or sadness they are feeling in Beatrice's pockets with a quick,
"Carry this for me!" No please, no thank you, just "here, carry it".  When her pockets started to spill over, the Crew bought her a large canvas backpack to carry the overflow.

There are days when Beatrice just grumbles and snaps from the weight and burden of worries, concerns and hurts she carries.  Several times when she has slammed a door or barked out in anger, the crew jumps back and asks, "Hey, what was that all about?"

The Heavy Burden~Daumier ~ wikigallery

She tells them things like, "Well, he treated you like crap last week and I was protecting you!" Only to hear back, "Oh, That! That was so long ago, I forgot!" Beatrice swears alot!

Beatrice forever has her panties in a twist and her knockers up which causes her to always be aware of Anger Management issues and Impulse Control, which only adds to her burden.

The Crew have gathered several times to discuss giving Beatrice a 30 day notice but when she tries to pass the backpack and trench coat to the others so that she can hightail it out of here, they all go back to their activities and leave Beatrice to simmer in her corner.