Seven days to 60, and a party of nine

It's getting close, folks, and people are already celebrating my entry into the 60s. Hold on here. We've still got a week until it's official. But I'm accepting the earlybird birthday special.

Some members of my family threw me a small party last night, and I'm so grateful for the work they put into this gathering to usher in my 60th birthday. My mother, my brothers and my sister, as well as their spouses and significant others, were there. That made it a party of nine, including me and Jill.

The menu was incredible, steak and lobster, and the meal was topped off with German chocolate cake. We ate, drank and told stories all evening. There was a lot of laughing and a lot of reminiscing. This party went late (considering my age) and we didn't leave Eddie's and Linda's house until 1 a.m. I had a great time.

But I'm not used to partying that late, and when the alarm went off this morning for church. I was very tired. But I made the 9:15 a.m. service and got my usual seat -- fourth row from the back on the right. The seats in the back go first, as Pastor Tim is fond of pointing out.

It was nice having this small gathering with my brothers and sister and my mom. My mother earned sainthood long ago raising five children, including four boys. I'm the oldest child and over the next few years my siblings will be turning 60, too. But right now, turning 60 is all about me.

Is it too late to get a life?

My friend Kathy, who turned 60 today, gave me a great book by Anna Quindlen, the author and Pulitzer-winning columnist. It's called "A Short Guide to a Happy Life," and I devoured it as soon as I opened it. It's only 50 pages, so it was a very quick read. It was an early birthday present. Kathy is the one who I kid about being much older than me -- 12 days. But those 12 days are huge right now. She is in her 60s and I'm still in my 50s.

The book by Quindlen offered a lot of wisdom that she gathered from her own life experiences, and from those who influenced her. I've been feeling very philosophical on this road to 60 so this fit my mood perfectly. I'm 12 days away and I'm trying to make sense of it all.

As my family and friends know all too well, I'm a workaholic who has desperately tried to find a balance. It keeps tipping toward the job, especially as I get older. Isn't that supposed to change as you age?

It makes me recall my 41st birthday in 1990. My family was going to meet me at a Fresno restaurant to celebrate my birthday. The problem was that I had to finish a crucial news story about a very tight congressional race. There were high-profile charges and counter-charges between the two candidates and it took all evening to sort them out. I told my family members to go to the restaurant and I'd meet them there. The hours slipped by and I couldn't get away from the newspaper until the story was done. There was always one more detail to check.

That news story was a solid piece of reporting, and I was praised for it. Meanwhile, my family had finished dinner and headed home without the guest of honor showing up. They boxed up my steak dinner. About 11 p.m., I got to my parents' house to pick up my daughter, and claim my birthday meal. My family understood, but that memory has stayed with me 19 years later.

That's one reason the Quindlen book struck such a chord. She offered this bit of wisdom: "No man on his deathbed said he wished he'd spent more time at the office."

She also suggested that you consider your thoughts if you just had a aneurysm. What would be important then? Getting that last bit of work done at the office, or spending as much time as possible with the ones you love?

"Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over the dunes, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over a pond and a stand of pines. Get a life in which you pay attention to a baby as she scowls with concentration as she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger."

I think part of my journey to 60 is about getting a life. I surely don't have it figured out yet. In a highly competitive job, you are expected to perform at your highest level all the time. But I'm trying to find the proper balance, and that gives me hope.

Countdown to 60 is now in a sprint

It's coming fast. The milestone of turning 60 seemed so far away in June when I started this blog and now we are inside two weeks. I don't feel any different, but saying you're 60 sounds so very old to me. I suppose it's too late to lie and tell people I'm 59 when they ask my age. That's the downside of putting your birthday details on the Internet.

I didn't make my goal of throwing the shot put 36 feet by Oct. 4. I'm stuck on 27 feet, 6 inches as a personal best. But I'm stepping up my training and hope to get close to my original goal in the next two weeks. I'll keep you informed on my progress. I missed two seniors meets -- one in San Diego on Sept. 12 and one in Las Vegas this past weekend -- so I may have to wait until next year for formal competition. I just wasn't ready to compete.

This diary of my thoughts, fears and bits of wisdom that I've picked up over my almost 60 years has been an interesting way of marking this important milestone in my life. I never would have thought that so many of you would be checking in. My original belief was that this blog wouldn't be read by many people. But a little radio publicity on Alan Autry's KYNO talk show helped get the word out that I was writing this blog.

Thank you for participating, especially all of you who have added great comments to my entries. You have offered wisdom and wit, and made this a better blog with your comments.

So I'm 13 days away from 60, which means I'm 59 years, 11 months and 352 days old. But who's counting?

So what have I learned on this road to 60?

Well, here's something tangible. In a blog post in June, I discovered I wasn't using enough sunscreen. Columnist Debra Bass said these are the five most important rules for skin care:

Buy sun protection; don't forget to use sun protection; apply more sun protection than you think you need; don't forget to reapply sun protection; do not underestimate the power of sun protection.

So at age 59 and 11 months, I've been using enough sunscreen to keep Neutrogena in business.

There are other things I've learned. It's difficult for me to write in such a personal way so I think I've learned to be more introspective during this exercise about my journey to 60. That's been good for me.

I also learned that a lot of people feel the same way as I do about getting older and they have identified with this blog. That's very cool.

They've told me they are OK with getting older but have some of my fears -- remaining in good health as they get older, wondering if those increasing memory lapses are the beginning of Alzheimer's, hoping they have planned well enough for a financially secure retirement. To that latter point, I say don't retire and keep buying lottery tickets.

Looking at the calendar, I see I'm now 20 days from my 60th birthday. I was asked the other day about what will happen to this blog when I actually turn 60. To tell you the truth, I don't know. I'm having fun writing this. But if it's about turning 60, it seems a bit foolish to continue it after I hit 60.

So the jury is still out on the question of this blog's future.

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.