A Writer Looks at 70

 

Remember that old Jimmy Buffet song, "A Pirate Looks at 40"? It's one of my favorites of his...right after "Come Monday." Well, this writer is looking at 70--like today. It's my birthday. I'm 70...today. Not too many years ago, that number felt very far in the future. Well, the future is here and I'm 70. 

Can you get that I'm having a hard time with the reality of that number? I am--for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that I never expected to see 70. Genetics and my heart did not play in my favor, but here I am...70 years old. And I feel great and I'm strong and mostly healthy, thanks to the miracle of modern medicine and my cardiologist. What a wondrous thing! And I've been married to Husband for 50 years! Another wondrous thing! 

Best of all, I'm writing. The stories are still filling up my mind and my creativity still blossoms--sometimes a little slower than before, but all the people in my head continue to clamor for their stories to be told. And I shall tell them. One at a time... which, you know, really seems to be the way I tend to write, I can't write more than one story at a time, even though the noise in my head clangs now and then. The characters from future stories shove in while I'm trying to focus on the one I'm currently writing. 

It's always been that way... my brain gets deluged with people, ideas, story concepts, dialogue, beginnings, endings, middles. Those are the times--the overwhelm moments--when I have to stop, step away from the computer, the pencil and notebook and go somewhere else to breathe. An afternoon out on the deck or a swim in the lake or a walk around the 'hood and things get back in line. But, you know...and I think most other writers will back me up on this... the stories are always there. We are always writing, even if it's just running dialogue in our head while we load the dishwasher or wander through the grocery store or fold clothes. That creative spark is always there--burning bright like a bonfire sometimes, others, simply a little light. But it's ever-present. 

I'm rambling--I do that. So, I'm going to stop here with a little birthday gift for y'all. Tell me your best birthday ever in the comments below, and I'll randomly choose one commenter to receive the e-book of their choice from my River's Edge collection. 

Thanks for spending my birthday with me!