Turning 60 and living to write about it

I continually get asked why I'm writing this blog about turning 60. The short answer is that I'm a writer, and I process things by writing them down. It helps me think when I'm at the keyboard, and I've thought a lot about the milestone of being 60. So the "Surviving Turning 60" blog just evolved.

My first blog posting was on June 10, and my 60th birthday was still more than four months away. I headlined the item "Is 60 the new 40?" and concluded that it wasn't. This is a milestone unlike any other.

"You can't get away from it so you must manage this age sort of like the way you manage the garden," I wrote in that first post. "Weed often, but not so often that it makes you tired. Good things will come with a little water, a little sun and some luck."

So here I am 26 days from age 60 and still trying to make sense of it all. This blog has been an adventure. I've read more about the pros and cons of aging than I can remember (that memory issue is one of the cons). I've also become a bit self-absorbed writing about me in a personal way that I've never done as a newspaper writer. I've felt exposed, even while writing under the pseudonym Opinionman.

I'm training for a seniors track meet in the shotput, trying to lose weight and get healthy, and using all the senior discounts that my age entitles me to. You've read about those things, as well as the passages along the way, including the many weddings I've been to this year.

I believe this blogging experience has made me a stronger person. As we age, we all want people to think better of us, and we try to do a bit of late-in-life polishing of our rough spots. This blog has given me wonderful insight into who I am as I turn 60.