Sunrise to Sunset -Grow Old With Me

Grow old with me!  The best is yet to be.  ~Robert Browning

Sunrise in Las Vegas - 2001

I took this picture a week after September 11.  The sky was so fiery I thought we were being attacked.  I'm not known for getting up early so many will refuse to believe that I took this picture.

When my husband and I moved to Las Vegas eight years ago, we were 64 and 69.  We were still young enough and vibrant, or so we thought.  We had worked hard and were always active in charitable and educational organizations.  We had raised three sons and mentored many others.  After working over 45 years it was time to celebrate and let our hair down.

Us in Ann Arbor - Before Las Vegas

How different Las Vegas was from the intellectual and cultural energy in Ann Arbor, Michigan, our previous home.  In Ann Arbor, we were dignified college administrators.  We attended dinners, seminars, conferences, football parties, (Go Blue) the Big Boule Christmas Party, many college functions and traveled extensively.  (There will be more about Ann Arbor in future posts.)

Us after moving to Las Vegas for the Pimp/Ho Party

Our lifestyle changed completely.  No make up.  Have you ever tried to keep make up on when it is 110 degrees?  No more designer duds.  Shorts, tank tops, sweats, and jogging suits became our everyday dress.  Pantyhose was a thing of the past.  Heels and dress shoes were discarded; sandals and flip flops now.  We even gave our group a name, The Wild Bunch.  Several friends, after visiting, sold their homes in the Midwest and bought homes in Las Vegas.

In Las Vegas it was party in the house, party on the strip, party, party, party.  Don't be late for the party as it will start on time.  Party with this group, party with that group.  Many weeks at least two parties and often several parties in a night.  The Links, the Boule, the sororities, the fraternities, the Bridge Club, the Urban League, the Carrousels....

We dress for formal affairs several times a year but mostly we have casual parties such as, the Pimp and Ho Party, the Roaring Twenties, Po Ass People, patio parties, swimming parties, birthday parties, picnics, election parties, quick potlucks, anniversary parties, lunch just because, card parties, out-of-town visitors, any excuse work for a party.  Even our children, who are in their late 40s and early 50s, came to our parties because we were jammin' and dancing as fast as we could.

Remember we are seniors.

The Wild Bunch at the Pimp-Ho Party

The Wild Bunch Wives dressed for the Roaring Twenties

Winners at the 70s' party

How glad I am that we lived vigorously when we were younger.  Life changes so swiftly.  The seventies are different.  Old age manifests like itself with a slap in the face and warns you that there is no going back;  old age doesn't care how many days you go to the gym, or how many miles you walk.  You will never be young again.

Friends began to get sick, others passed away gently in the night.  The  infirmities of old age are upon us.  Arthur acts up (arthritis),  diabetes demands insulin, (at some of our parties diabetics are allowed to get in line first because of the insulin they just took)  blood pressure climbs, kidneys fail, knees need replacement, hearts don't pump as well, cataract surgery, chemo, radiation...the body is literally falling apart.

Our party mode has slowed but we are still hanging.  Everyone is tired.  Who wants to clean up after a party?  Now we are glad the party starts at four so we can be home by seven or eight.

What's on TV tonight?

One Summer Evening

Sunset in Las Vegas

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.  ~Henry David Thoreau