Eighth Decade

I recently started my eighth decade. My family got together and surprised me with a weekend of partying away from home at Erin's Liquidity Winery in Okanagan Falls. I was asked, "What would you like to do this decade"? The question is simple but the answer is complex.

I have done many things in my seventy years, adventures big and small and I do not have a bucket list. My adventures now are small and sometimes contemplative. I find enjoyment in watching the natural world unfold in front of me wherever I am. 

To answer the question is difficult because time at this end of life is always a little uncertain. Of course there are many things that will remain undone even had one another lifetime.

It has been two and a half years since I wrote those three previous paragraphs. The very weekend of my 70th birthday, a disc in my back ruptured and severely damaged the main nerve to my left leg, leaving it somewhat paralyzed. As you can imagine, that slowed my adventures somewhat. Over time, the pain was relieved and some movement returned to the leg, so now I also use a cane as is befitting of someone into their eighth decade.

This summer (2017) I travelled with my sister through Iceland to Finland, our country of birth. Long airport walks are a bother but otherwise it was a good adventure and grand to see the relatives once more.

This summer (2019) Betty and I travelled to Europe. We broke up the long flights by a few hours at airports. Son Shane had made investments with a company that supplied airport lounge passes so we were able to take advantage of this to stretch and use full size washrooms and have free meals. This time I used the wheelchair service at airports. What a blessing! They wheel you from one gate to another through back hallways and straight through lineups for security and customs. We put on 1250 kilometres driving in Ireland, meeting up with old friend Niamh Kelly, and then a further 1600 kilometres in the south of France with Shane and Karley. So, in spite of slowing down, the adventures continue.