The word turn usually requires a deliberate action. As you drive your car and make a turn, you are changing direction. To open a door, you turn the doorknob. Most examples of turn or turning have an underlying intent that causes a change. However, when you turn the following year in your age, it comes without intent- it just happens whether you want it to or not. 

I knew 2024 would be a big year for some time, but it has surpassed my expectations; let me explain. 

This year, my husband and I are turning sixty. Today is my husband's actual sixtieth birthday- Happy Birthday, Ken! As for me, it's seven months away, so I will bask in my younger age as long as I can! But as I look ahead, I am filled with hope and excitement for the years to come. There's still so much I want to do, so many memories I want to create. 

I am not a fan of turning sixty, but I don't have a choice. All I can do is embrace this new age. It's a strange feeling, this transition. I still feel young at heart, but the mirror tells a slightly different story. But what am I? Am I an elderly person? I sure hope not! A quick internet search revealed a few ways to categorize my turning age.

1) A person between 60 and 69 is called a sexagenarian.

2) One study classified this age as young old (60 to 69); that's pretty funny!

So, I'm turning into a young-old woman? I don't like that any better! I prefer sixty as the new forty, or I'll even accept the new fifty, but sixty sounds rather old, yet I know it's just a number. 

It is often said that aging is a gift, and I am trying to embrace that concept. I see it in my folks; my dad turned 88, and my mom is now 85. That is remarkable. As I age, so do my kids, which is another concrete phenomenon that seems rather abstract. But being able to be here and present is a gift unto itself. 

Adding another year to your life represents events that have happened until now. So much has happened in sixty years of living, of which Ken and I have known each other since we were teenagers-but look at us now! We have turned from teenagers to marriage, to parents, and now we are grandparents!

We have now entered a whole new realm. There is a new identity to who we are. We are parents to the nth degree, and it is pretty thrilling. We are no longer the young couple we once were, but we are embracing this new phase of life with open arms. We are grandparents, and it's a role we already love. 

I'm glad I still have several months before turning the big 6-0. Today, with all my family in town, we will celebrate the patriarch of our nuclear family—he continues to show strength, consistency, dedication, determination, and love towards me and our growing family. May this new decade bring unimaginable joy!