ML: Sibling Observes Medicare B-Day

They make these candles with the elderly in mind. Only two required on the birthday cake. Not a bad idea when you turn Medicare age, as my brother Mike did yesterday. … A bunch of us gathered at the Thompson cabin for the party. I made it there late because I attended yet another memorial service — second one this week. This was for everyone’s friend Carole who missed making her 60th birthday by two days, due to lung cancer. Carole of Keokee, as many of us call her, had a good party with attendees filling the Oden Grange Hall. After leaving early, I thought about how birthday parties for people our age are becoming more and more meaningful, as we count our blessings every time we lose another friend/ Marianne Love , Slight Detour. More here .

Question: My older sister turned 64 on Flag Day. I’ll be 60 this November. I and my siblings have replaced our parents’ generation as the next one to go. What’s the best way to view 60 and older — as a blessing that you’ve made it this far? Or a source of worry that you’re on the downhill side of things?