June 11, 2012. I was having dinner with my youngest daughter. We were celebrating my sixtieth birthday. She asked if I had any plans for the next ten years of my life. I told her I wanted to travel and also find one more good relationship.

Looking back over the last ten years, I’ve hit both of those goals. I’ve done quite a bit of domestic traveling. I’m two months away from going to Alaska, which will be my fiftieth state. I’m also in a relationship that’s closing in on five years. Two for two.

There were also a few things that never crossed my mind, much less as part of my plan. Parkinson’s Disease, Melanoma and spending eighteen months in a shelter were challenging. However, there’s nothing wrong with some adversity. It helps you to be grateful for everything good in your life.

We’re now a little less than three weeks from another milestone birthday. Hmmm…at this age maybe they’re all milestone birthdays? Anyway, these change of decade birthdays also gives you an opportunity to make new plans…to set new goals for your life. I do have a few of those. I’ll share them with you on my actual seventieth birthday column in eighteen days…but who’s counting.

However, I will share one thing with you. One thing I didn’t mention to my daughter at that dinner a decade ago was that I hoped to live to seventy. That may not sound like much, but I know plenty of folks in my age range that didn’t get there. Some didn’t get close. So, one goal is to actually make it another ten years. Eighty is a nice round number. I’d take that right now with everything after that being a bonus.

Ten more years would give me an opportunity to make some special memories with my grandchildren. Oh yeah, remember that joke about being a grandfather? Well, that joke became a reality almost two years ago. And the girl who I was joking with is the mother of my grandson. And number two, a girl, is due in early November. On the day of that meal, my daughter had recently turned twenty years old. I wonder if being a mom of two was on her ten-year plan?

Related Post: The year of being seventy

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