JUST A NUMBER
For this week’s writing challenge, we’re asking you to explore what age means to you. Is the the loss of youth, or the cultivation of wisdom? Do things get better as you grow older, or worse? There are many ways to interpret age, often depending on your relationship with the passing of time.
For my response to this challenge I circle back to a prevailing thought that demarcates my life in two parts: the years prior to January 8th 1997 and the days from then until now. What you may ask had such a dominating force on my life? Could it be graduation from high school or college, a new job, the day I got married or something entirely different?
It was the seminal event that changed my entire perception of age and the importance there in. I had an average childhood, you know what I mean, the type where years were like milestones. Thirteen was a big deal because I achieved the rank of teenager. Sixteen meant I could drive, at eighteen I registered for the draft and got the right to vote.
But with the good milestones came the ones not so coveted, like turning thirty. I can remember when I was younger thinking thirty was so old. Something like middle age and even though I wanted to achieve the plateaus that allowed freedoms, I dreaded this magical number. I dreaded it so much that I was a royal hind end when it came and whined incessantly about it.
But that was in 1995. As you may remember from above my important date was january 8th, 1997. This was the date my only sibling, Kevin, died from ColoRectal Cancer. He was twenty-nine, much too young for the doctors and medical professionals to have considered the type of disease that claimed his life. I already knew life was precious before this, but on that day i learned age is simply a number.
As I tell everyone now birthdays are not something bad. The only alternative is to stop counting or surrender to death. I choose to count as many as I am blessed to celebrate.
Other Golden Year posts:
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- Ilya Fostiy. Muse | The Bliss of Reality
- Youth Insults My Intelligence | Bumblepuppies
- The Illusive FEAR of Getting Old | Musings | WANGSGARD
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | In my world
- Looking Back (and Traveling) | JGTravels
- Thoughts on Aging | melissuhhsmiles
- Yelp for help…… | Obsessive Compulsive Running…….
- Youth is a B— | The Backwords
- Riding Into The Sunrise
- Weekly writing challenge- golden years | A picture is worth 1000 words
- The Defining Number | Through The Eyes Productions
- I am not my mother | Twisting Suburbia
- Weekly Photo Challenge – Perspective | Joe’s Musings
- Artfully Aspiring
- Wisdom of a Toddler | Artfully Aspiring
- I Couldn’t Wait | Fish Of Gold
- Young or old? Here’s how to tell | The Crayon Files
- The Elders of Us | Wired With Words
- Aging with grace and acceptance | Ezhealthcents
- I’m a Writer, Yes I Am
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | imagination
- Thirsty thirties | Scent of Rina
- Weekly Writing Challenge: GOLDEN YEARS | Thinking Languages!
- Wholehearted living… One day at a time. | masknolonger
- You’re As Old As You Feel | A Day In The Life
- Social Media has changed me | The Bohemian Rock Star’s “Untitled Project”
- Golden Years | Icezine
- Counting The Scars/ Weekly Writing Challenge | standinginthestorm
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Golden Years | Mirth and Motivation
- Fearless Youth | the intrinsickness
- Golden Years | mnemosynesandlethe
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | MythRider
- i am always looking | y
- nobody has said if | y
- Age is Just a Number | Random Words
- The Age of a New Season | Mary J Melange
- Stories From My Mind
- It is OK, I am here | jessicadafoe
- We’re Still Aging! | theeyelife
- Age isn’t defined by a number (unless you’re a minor…). | …Properly Ridiculous…
- Working Girl | Never Stationary
- Golden Years (DPChallenge) | Between Madness & Euphoria
- “Unforgotten” | Cosmic Heroism
- And Here We Are, Stuck Moving Forward | A Cool Glass of Lemonade
- Age is Just a Number – – Ha! Age is a Bunch of Numbers! | Once Upon Your Prime. . .
- Y’alright? | TNT
- GOLDEN WHAT? | SERENDIPITY
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | KiwiBee’s Chaos
- A Letter to Myself…(WP weekly writing challenge) | Daily Observations
- Is there an app for that? | the REmissionary
- Moving Through the Ages | In the Spaces Between Words and Images
- The Miracle | Rolbos ©
- Birthday Muttering & The Space Time Continuum | Unload and Unwind
- Life is a Terminal Disease, Thank God! | jlaneb
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | Thoughts of an INFP
- Kids Make the Best Bookies: A Childhood Gambled on God and the Mob | reinventing the event horizon
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Nursing Reunion (Golden Years) | Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist)
- 48. EMBRACING TOMORROW | Gateway of Infinite Pathways
- Weekly Writing Challenge: (Tarnished) Golden Years « cognitive reflection
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | Of Glass & Paper
- Age is relative… | Hope* the happy hugger
- here we are, the | y
- golden years | yi-ching lin photography
- A master of sugar craft – (passion and destiny) | Travelandfoodworldwide
- The Defining Number | Through The Eyes Productions
- DP Challenge -Golden Years | My Other Blog
- What do age and time really mean? | jenniferannefleming
- Things Pondered: Life, Aging and the Meaning of It All | Sweet Tea and Poetry
- Maiden, Mother, Crone: all in one | ALIEN AURA’S BlOG: IT’LL BLOW YOUR MIND!
- Do you hear what I hear? | the Art of Practice
- Goodbye my Child | Victoria.K.Gallagher
- Here’s The Thing About Age (That No One Seems To Know) | Sammi Talk
- The Blog Farm | Weekly Writing Challenge: The Golden Years
- It’s Magic ::E.N.Howie’s Motivational Moments
- Here’s The Thing About Age (That No One Seems To Know) | Sammi Talk
- Worlds Apart | Apoplectic Apostrophes
- Death and Suffering: A fear of the Unknown | Thorough and Unkempt
- The Path | siobhanmcnamara
- Weekly writing challenge, the Golden years : It’s all Gold, a 95 word story | Challenged for Words
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | Wendy Karasin – Musings of a Boomer
- Turning 26 | Eclecticfemale’s Blog
- Teenage years? | Paper Plane Pilots
- Meaning of age | MamaAsparagus
- Beauty In A Plastic Age | the TEMENOS JOURNAL
- The Young Old Lady, Mrs.Thopmson | alifemoment
- Twenty-seven: The Year of My Death | Schizo Incognito
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years: After the Lights Went Out: The Lost Years | Just Be V
- Wrinkles | The Seminary of Praying Mantis
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | Sarah Alison
- On Being 22 | motor city blondie
- Bending God. | thejimmieG
- If You Could Have Immortality..Would You Take It? | B.Kaotic
- “HIM” Weekly Writing Challenge | standinginthestorm
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Perspective Through The Ages | Fit 4 Life, LLC
- Aging like a fine Wine | C Life, Live Life
- “Can I See Your ID Please?” | littleladyme
- Birthday March | accidentallyreflective
- The Golden Years : Fashion Sense Vs. Fashion Sensibility | The Day After
- youth | yi-ching lin photography
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- along the hem of | y
- Age Illusions and Disillusions: Men and Women Turning Thirty (Weekly Writing Challenge) | Ana Linden
- Mourning the end of a Chapter | A Fit and Focused Future
- Premiere… | Words ‘n Pics…
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | The Willows Weeped
- A Hand Across the Ages | Toss the Typewriter
- That Age Old Question | Life’s Unfiltered Ramblings
- You know those giant pill holders? I have one. | poema
- The 18th of August 1941 – Germantown, Maryland | Forgotten Correspondence
- Things I cannot change | Lesie’s World
- The Golden Years | Starting Write Now
- A Soundtrack to the Ageing Process | Fun with Depression
- Golden Years | Jennifer Paige
- The Loss of Youth | adventures in adulting*
- Weekly Writing Challenge:Golden Years | Simply about Life
- Sorry Stevie | fifty5words
- Middle March | Love in the Spaces
- Oh No! I’ve Turned Into My Own Mom Parenting A Child Who Is Just Like Me | . . . Furthest Sense
- Effectively Ageless | rarasaur
- Golden Years | hello from Sandy
- Positive(ly) thought(less) | soulfoood
- Into the unknown | Colour the moment
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | Purplesus’ Blog
- Age ain’t nothin’ but a number… | The Mrs. Z Files
- On Being Where I Am | Imperfect Happiness
- The Sociopath At The High School Reunion | Glorious Results Of A Misspent Youth
- Maybe Not | Glorious Results Of A Misspent Youth
- My own individual, stubborn, uncooperative often self-centered nature that still doubts itself | An Upturned Soul
- DP Challenge: How I made myself old | one hundred thousand beats per day
- Playing the Generation Game | I’m Drew Llew, how do you do?
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years, 13.03.14 | Markie’s Daily Blog
- My Memories – Oops, I Mean Memoirs – Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | writesomethingtoday
- I’m Young, Get Over It | Victim to Charm
- Centenary Sparkle | litadoolan
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Amazing post – really enjoyed it. I can totally relate to looking forward to those milestones and also the dreaded 30… 40 etc. You’re right – as we get older we realise that age is only a number…
I’m sorry for your loss.
Many thanks for the mention and good luck with your book!
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It’s amazing and brilliant that you draw positive from something so challenging. Your strength serves you well! Inspiring post.