Yes! I’m 70!
And I’m going to pause for a bit to breathe after the big celebration with my family in a spectacularly nourishing spot where the kids could romp and the adults could visit and one Nana even dipped her entire 70-year-old body — and yes, I got my head and all my hair wet! — into the north Pacific which apparently wasn’t much warmer than 10 C (about 50F).
I had a workout with my trainer this morning (my ankle is getting stronger every day) and then a delicious lunch at a French bistro downtown — a birthday treat from/with my sister. Tomorrow is my Italian class, and then the rest of the weekend (it’s our May long weekend, marking the birthday of the late Queen Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria — “The 24th of May, the Queen’s birthday / If we don’t get a holiday, we’ll all run away.”) I’m staking out some quiet time to have a think or two about what significance that number — SEVENTY — does or doesn’t have.
Meanwhile, I’m leaving you a few photos from our family getaway — more in my most recent Instagram posts. I’m surprising myself by including the one my daughter took of me in the cozy bathrobe with my crazy hair still untamed, fresh out of bed, chatting with her daughter — because I love this photo, somehow, I quite like the way I look in it, and I think that’s a good way to feel about oneself when entering a new decade, particularly this one. . .
I hope you’ve had a chance to read my last post — about making silly mistakes and then recognizing the wisdom they offer and about helping oneself — as in “self-help” or “self-care.” It’s a post I enjoyed writing and I hope to follow it up soon with some thoughts about what it might mean to “help oneself,” especially in this Third Age.
But first, that long weekend. . . I’ll be helping myself by breathing mindfully and imagining myself back on the beach . . . what are you up to?
Happy birthday!!! What a wonderful celebration you had! I look forward to hearing more about you thoughts on turning 70. I can feel it coming nearer…
My husband’s birthday was also this week; on Wednesday he turned 68. This weekend we’ll have a birthday ride and brunch with our friends. We have no close relations nearby; our children and grandchildren are in Oregon and Washington. We’ll be in Oregon soon to help celebrate our eldest granddaughter’s 4th birthday.
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Happy Birthday to your husband — a birthday ride (I’m assuming that means cycling?) and brunch with friends sounds like a perfect celebration. . . And I have to say, if you have to travel to see children and grandchildren, the Pacific Northwest is a good place to visit 😉
I love that photo of you with wet hair in the white robe…very relaxed and natural, an honest reflection of you at 70.
Will be interested in what you are thinking about as you enter the new decade.
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Thanks, Leslie! My hair is actually dry there, but very, very bedhead-y — I wet it later to tame the curls and the volume a bit 😉
70 is looking pretty good for you . Lovely pictures especially the one with your beautiful granddaughter- her wonderful hair ( yours is spectacular too ) What am I doing now ? Well we are at the end of three weeks holiday in Scotland & just about to leave our little hired cottage on a hill with it’s sea view , very similar to your last photo & we are surrounded by gorse too ( love the coconut scent it has ) As ever , I’m sad to leave but looking forward to seeing what’s happening in the garden & catching up with what is happening in the neighbourhood . It’ll take us nine hours to get home so I better be off .
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Those three weeks would suit me perfectly, the little cottage, the sea view, the surrounding gorse and the walks . . .
I think that’s actually broom in my photos although I didn’t get close enough to check for thorns. I love the splash of colour (although both gorse and Scotch broom are a problem here — introduced by settlers nostalgic for that scent, I’m guessing, to the detriment of the native ecosystem).
Dear Frances, many happy returns of this day, at best in the same setting! I’ll be 55 this year and, as sombody else said in the comments – you are my role model! Not in every topic or viewpoint, but in the way you interact with life.
I wish you all the best and thank you for this intelligent and hospitable place in the internet 🙂
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Aw, thanks for those kind words! Much appreciated!
…and the photo with you in the bathrobe with your granddaugther is charming and will become a heirloom!
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😉
A very happy birthday to you! I hope that cake turned out to be as toothsome as it looked and – as I do – that you had some for breakfast the next day. That photo of you and your granddaughter…there is something about the way that mothers look directly into the eyes of their children (and grandchildren) that makes me smile when I see it. And when they gaze back. Trust, I think.
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It was one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten — but we each had one exquisite slice and it was gone. Nothing left for breakfast.
The Patisserie’s website says in its description, “Chocolate truffle layered with vanilla sponge, perfumed with Kirsch and topped with chocolate spikes.”
Mmmmmm. . . .
Beautiful photo of you with your granddaughter! And what a wonderful birthday weekend, amazing memories!
Seventy looks so full of life,energy and love in your arrangement,dear Frances!
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Thank you so much, K!
Happy birthday Frances. I am sure you will continue to make the most of the new decade. I have found it quite liberating in many ways .
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Thanks Caryn! I’m going to be asking about this in an upcoming post — curious to hear from those of you in the vangaurd.
What a perfect family celebration of your 70th birthday! It’s exactly what I would choose for myself — as many of my children and grandchildren as possible under one roof. The breathtaking setting of your getaway was a wonderful bonus.
We had a chance to see most of our family last weekend, but on this Victoria Day weekend, I am up to not very much at all, and quite content with that. After a long period of sporadic supply-teaching, I have just started a long-term contract to end the school year … I’m enjoying it while at the same time finding it exhausting. So three days in a row of no alarm clock and no busy classrooms sounds good to me!
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Well put — “as many of my children and grandchildren as possible under one roof” — I would have loved to have them all, but was very fortunate to have as many as possible 😉
I can imagine the challenges of supply-teaching at the end of the school year, having to learn and adjust to a class’s dynamics at a time when the students’ energy is changing with the season and the anticipation of the end of term. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Happy Birthday, my friend. What a beautiful spot to celebrate. And beautiful photo of both of you. And the hair, the hair (both red and grey) is magnificent. We should all take our photos in our bathrobe with wild, wonderful, fresh from the sea (or from bed, or wherever) hair. xox
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Thanks, Sue!
There you go — a good idea for your next invitational post — how many readers do you think would submit that photo? 😉
I’d do that one!
Love your laid-back style! 70 does look good on you! Looking forward to hearing your insights. Xx
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Thanks, Genevieve — and see, Sue? You’d have at least one taker and you’ve already got my photo 😂. . . But then, septuagenarians might just be braver than most of you youngsters, Genevieve perhaps just an exception 😉
I’m in, Sue!
Bon Anniversaire!
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Merci!
Happy Birthday, Frances! I reached the 70 milestone in October. I do have moments of wondering how I got to be this age already and pondering what the remaining years of life might be like, but overall, I’m enjoying being 70. I’m more conscious and more appreciative than ever of all that I can still do.
An ocean girl at heart, I love the photos of your birthday getaway. And oh, that beautiful blue sky! Over here in Alberta, we are under an ugly blanket of smoke. Thankfully, we’re a long distance from the actual fires, but the air quality is absolutely terrible. As much as I’d like to be outdoors gardening, golfing, and going for a walk, I think I’ll be spending most of my time indoors today.
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Thanks, Elaine! I know you’ve had some challenges (I think I’m remembering correctly) that will make you particularly appreciative of being a septuagenarian. Good to know you’re enjoying your newly earned status — I expect I will as well (’cause the options are limited! 😉
Your air quality is a big concern, I know! Looks at least as bad as anything we’ve had over the last several (too many!) summers (I think I heard on the news the other day that Alberta’s is currently the worst air quality on the planet. And BC is affected as well (I have family in Ft. St. John who have been evacuated and now are back but on alert). Take care. Indoors!
Congratulations! Many happy returns XO
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Thank you!
Wonderful pictures of you and your family. wishing you the happiest of birthdays!
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Thanks Darby!
Happy birthday! Remember it’s just a number. You’re looking wonderful with damp hair. Sometimes perfection is overrated, almost unnatural. The tousled look suits you
Ali
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Thanks! (True, but a pretty big number 😉
I’m lucky if tousled suits me, given the hair I live with! (it’s actually dry hair, my regular morning bedhead, which I will later duck under a tap so I can direct the curls a bit.
Happy birthday! I like outfit photos but candid shots tell a different story with more dimension. And that chair! Big enough for two to curl up in, for those of us who knew and loved the Friendly Giant, way back when.
The weekend…sleeping in my bed (the joy!!!) after a month on a futon, weeding (so restful), cycling for the first time this year. Plants moved to sunroom for the summer. Taking coffee/drinks outdoors as of last weekend. Windows open wide. Late spring and summer here is incredible.
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Thank you! True about candid shots — and about the Friendly Giant chair! The lodge had really great furniture like that — elegant rustic, very “make yourself comfortable” and in fabrics kids wouldn’t ruin.
Your weekend — sounds just perfect, especially after a Manitoba winter (and a sneak peek at summer, thanks to Venice, which must have made you a bit impatient for moving outdoors back home).
Να τα εκατοστήσεις, a traditional Greek birthday wish meaning may you live to 100! It sounds like a joyous weekend, full of much love and laughter. Your tousled hair is glorious. And the photo with your granddaughter is very special. My weekend was mostly simple with one special event. My daughter cooked a wonderful dinner for the family on Saturday, where maple glazed salmon was the highlight, complemented by a gin and tonic cocktail flavoured with lime juice and raspberries – highly recommended! On Sunday, at my daughter’s request, the two of us attended An Evening with Nigella Lawson, at our fabulous, Art Deco style State Theatre. It was a great event, with much laughter and wisdom, and so special to share it with my gorgeous girl.
Congratulations on 70! And good to have time to breathe and let the celebrations embed in your memory and appreciation. I would say that 70 is only to be celebrated. This year, with 64 on the horizon for me in a few months, I’m now older than my mother ever reached. It makes me appreciate every day.
Love your tousled hair photo! Not sure I can join in – my hair doesn’t really tousle, being straight, I don’t own a dressing gown (I always just get showered and dressed as soon as I get up), and the North Sea is cold! Tho I just checked and today it’s around your 10C mark, so perhaps…There are several wild swimming groups around here, including the aptly-named Bluetits.
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I’ve swum in the North Sea before, long ago, with my cousins at some of the Teeside beaches of North Yorkshire (not as far north as you are, obviously) — Brrrrr! My dip the other day in the 10C water was very quick, but it was very rejuvenating, tingling all over! And yes, that’s a well-named group!
Happy Birthday! I recommend the 70’s to you. I’ll be 79 in July, and this decade has been a very happy one. I’m a bit concerned looking toward 80’s, but on the other hand I said to a walking buddy the other day, “Partly I just want to cross the line and be called 80! 80’s mean I don’t have to be a bit embarrassed by any wrinkles. It’s expected.” And I can be proud! I’ve heard it said that you know you’re old when you brag about the number.
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This is good to know, Roz — thank you! (and with your attitude, I expect you’ll find the 80s a good decade as well)
Happy Birthday, Frances. I love your grey curls. My hair is limp and fine. Hard to manage.
That place looks wonderful and a weekend with most of your family sounds like heaven. Your seventies could be a surprising time. I have had more physical problems, but I have also experienced more joy and wonder. I never dreamt I would be successful in Italy.
I think you are living your best life – travel, writing, family, sketching. You do it all with style.
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Thank you Caterina — your success is inspiring. It’s good to know that there can still be significant happy surprises.
Happy happy birthday! Take the whole month to celebrate.
I’m not one for numbers, I totally never thought about my age until Covid when we kept being told how vulnerable we were at a certain age and lined up to get vaccines by age. That contributed to my anxiety, being led to believe I was vulnerable. I’d just turned 70. Now I’m trying to forget my age again. I totally believe you are as old as you feel (and that’s ouch on some days) and my mantra is “Lord keep me flexible of mind and body.”
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Thanks Frances! I do like the idea of a month of birthday celebrations!
(and I also found that the pandemic’s emphasis on age made me feel more conscious of mine than I ever had been. I like your mantra!
Happy Birthday Frances! How wonderful that you celebrated with your family AND with a dip in the ocean. That is a great thing to do to bring in a new decade. The photo of you and your granddaughter is very special. I can see why you like it so much. The cake looks delicious. Yum!
Enjoy your reflections and making plans for the future. I have no doubt that you will soon be on another adventure to celebrate the start of the next decade.
We just had a three-day trip to Vermont last weekend and it was lovely. The scenery was beautiful. We walked a lot and ate a lot of good food. We have another three-day weekend this weekend and I’m looking forward to time at the beach. We’ll be doing the cooking this trip and it will be fun to grill outside again.
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Thanks, Dottie!
Your trip looked great — I’ve enjoyed your Instagram photos!