What milestone have you reached lately? We all have landmarks or turning points in our own personal life; graduating from college; retiring from work; getting married; having their first born; travelling or having a special birthday.
My dad will be reaching a milestone on August 28th. He will be turning "90".
Worldwide, the average life expectancy of a man is 71 years. The current life expectancy in North America of a male is 78.93 years. And the odds of living to 90 is a 30% chance. Dad has beat the odds. He probably needs to go by a lotto ticket this week.
Just recently, dad told my sister that he has had a good life. He graduated from high school, went into the Navy; got married and had a family and was successful at managing a wholesale plumbing company for almost 40 years. For the past 30 years, he has enjoyed fishing, traveling some with my mom and just going to the lake and sitting on the dock and looking out into the wide span of water.
In the past 10 years, his hearing loss has been a challenge. Even with his hearing aids, he is deaf. It is very hard for him to communicate with family and friends. His body is beginning to slow down and he enjoys his naps. It is tough getting older, as you are not able to move as fast or think as fast as you use to.
Dad's daily schedule consists of sleeping, eating brunch and dinner, channel-surfing on the television, waiting for the mailman, writing checks for those bills and balancing the checkbook. Not bad for being 90.
About a week ago, one of the deacons from church, Jim expressed to me how much he missed seeing dad at church and assisting him with the offering. Even before COVID hit, dad hadn't attended church in almost two years. It is a challenge for dad to get in and out of the car and to walk distances.
Jim looked forward to seeing dad each Sunday. Jim knew that dad would have a twinkle in his eye and a tale to tell him.
Dad's keys for a long life are a sense of humor; marrying a good woman; fishing; things were either black or white(no gray); attending church weekly; paying your bills on time; being somewhere on time and enjoying happy hour each evening.
Since 2020 is the year of "COVID", there was no way that we were going to have a party. So instead, we decided that dad needed to be showered with cards. His enjoyment in life is watching for the mailman daily(except Sunday) and my sister and I thought, he should have something good in that mailbox daily. Back in July, my sister and I put together a flyer of photos representing dad of his 90 years of life. Of course, we had a photo of him with a mask. We began to ask family and friends to start mailing him a card. We wanted his birthday to be celebrated for days, weeks and months. Dad started receiving cards back in July. Every time, he received a card, he said "it isn't my birthday yet".
With dad not being able to hear us explain why he has been receiving cards, I wrote him a letter. I told him that we were letting everyone know about this great milestone that he was about to reach and it was something that needed to be celebrated. We wanted him to be flooded with cards from all over the world and especially from the United States.
I explained that "90" is something to celebrate. People 90 and older now comprise 4.7% of the older population(age 65 and older), as compared with only 2.8% in 1980. Ninety is a number of humanitarianism, compassion and idealism. It is a number of philanthropy and tolerance.
It was also interesting to find out the various celebrities that are turning "90" in 2020. Here are a few celebrities:
Clint Eastwood = May 31st
Sean Connery = August 25th
Gene Hackman = January 30th
Buzz Aldrin = January 20th
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor = March 26th
Robert Wagner = February 10th
John Astin = March 30th
Joanne Woodward(Paul Newman's wife) = February 27th
I let him know that he was in good company with people turning "90". Dad knew he was in good company, as his sister will be turning "93" in September. Longevity definitely runs in their family.
Mom has had as much fun as dad has in receiving cards daily. She has recorded each person that has sent a card and what state or country that they are from. He has received cards from Canada, France and Japan. Mother has draped the cards all over the house so that dad can see them everyday. As of today, one week before dad's 90th birthday, he has received "110 cards". Wow! Thank you to everyone who sent a card. Your card made a difference.
It has touched my parent's hearts to see people take the time to send a card and letter to someone that they don't know. I have always said that mankind is "good" and they want to do "good".
Milestones are important. I encourage you to take time to recognize those landmarks, achievements, anniversaries and breakthroughs. Also, if you know of someone who is reaching a milestone, help them celebrate.
