Hello 65...

When I turned 35, I thought the world had ended.  I remembered thinking back in my 20's how ancient my friend's sister must have felt at 35, so the reality of actually being that old was devastating when I hit that mark.  It was my only really "rough" birthday, and looking back, it's hard to imagine that I was that traumatized. I have had some friends longer than that!

I'm turning 65 in a couple of days, a birthday many a woman would cringe over.  But since that memorable 35th years ago, I have remained relatively nonplussed with each succeeding number. Granted, I'm underwhelmed when I count the wrinkles that appear on a yearly basis, and certainly not too excited with the new little aches and body annoyances that accompany the aging process, but I like where I'm at in my "story". There is something precious about the wisdom and clarity that age brings...something that having a bikini-ready body can't match.

I was never around old people growing up.  My grandparents were long gone, so I never had the benefit of all that sage advice that comes with life experience. These days it seems that growing old and wise is not as revered as it was in former generations, and most of us who are in our 60's and 70's today are just victims for the Wall Street hackers of Depends, Viagra, scooters and that walk-in bathtub thingie...can't wait til I can have one of those!

So since I'm only going to be 65, I want to start early dishing out advice to the younger set...here's my top words of wisdom based on lessons learned in these 65 years:


Laugh at yourself.  You are your biggest source of screw-ups, missteps and downright bad choices in life, so learn to take yourself a little less seriously. Everyone else is laughing - you may as well join in.

Have faith. You don't have to believe what I believe, just believe in something with your whole heart and soul. Okay...if it's not Jesus, you might be wrong...but hey, I'm not passing judgement or anything.

Don't worry. If you can't control it, then don't waste your energy thinking about it. ( I'll let you know if I ever conquer this one...but I know I'm right!)

Don't wish your life away.  You are probably not going to win the lotto, so don't spend your days thinking about what you're going to do with the money.  Live today's day and enjoy it.

Eat well, drink some wine for your health and stay away from liver pate.  It doesn't matter who it is or how famous a chef they are, it's still liver...it's an ORGAN that CLEANS your blood of waste..nasty stuff.

Once a Mom/Dad, always a Mom/Dad...forever. There is no such thing as the empty nest, just a vacant room for a time.

Pretty underwear makes you feel better. Your mother was right about this and a hundred other things she told you growing up. It's a good daughter/son who recognizes the wisdom of their parents early in life.

Divorce is easy - marriage is work. If you're not good at picking, perhaps you should stay single. The unfortunate side of this advice is that you don't always know you've picked badly until after you're in it. My mantra as the eternal optimist: third time's a charm:)

You can't put a price tag on friendship.  Friends are precious and they need to be cultivated - learn how to keep them.

Pot makes you crazy, booze makes you sick and meth...well I never did that, but I hear it's murder.  Live your life awake. Enjoy the little things and find other ways to cope with the sh**.

Don't read the newspaper. If you think you are "keeping up", you better think again. Behind everything you read and hear, there is someone who just wants you to see their side.  Think for yourself. Read my blog...I'm totally impartial to everything:)

You are never too old to ride a roller coaster.

There ya have it...like I know what I'm talking about...not saying I follow all this sage advice, but I wonder if I would be different today if some old 65 year old had rambled on to me when I was 20. Like my Mom always says, "You wouldn't have listened, anyway, Laurel." She's right.

And that's a wrap.

Laurel. I'm still hot!!! LOL!!!