Saturday, June 28, 2008

Where Have The Years Gone

I keep hearing that the older one gets, the worse the memory gets but this week for me it's absoutely not so.

In 1968 I was 25 years old and starting a new job. I remember distinctly that while I was filling out the new employment papers they said I would be eligible at 65 years of age for social security in the year 2008. To my 25 year old mind, 40 years seems so far away and I made a groaning noise and commented how long I would have to continue working before I would be able to retire. One of the other buyers, a woman named Althea was 63 years old and when I made that comment, she reached over the lunchroom table, took my hand, looked me straight in the eye and told me to appreciate the next 40 years, and savor each moment, because they would go past before I could blink more than a few times. She also told me that being forced to retire in two years (this particular company had a manditory 65 year age limit, something legal then) was not something she was looking forward to. I also stupidly remember thinking that she was nuts to want to continue working when she could retire and let the Government support her.

This week, I suddenly remembered every single word of that conversation 40 years ago. I also remember looking back at her 63 year old blue eyes with my extremely arrogant 25 year old green eyes thinking she was an old fogie who obviously somewhere down the line had lost it if she actually thought 40 years could flash quickly by.

Althea passed away in 1979 and I was lucky enough to attend her funeral. By then I was the ripe old age of 36. I have to admit that I was not quite so arrogent at 36 as I was at 25. I still had 29 years to 2008 and I was still not thinking that far ahead. All I could think was that Althea had only 11 years of retirement. It didn't occur to me that they were tough years for her financially. Being forced or retire after being a buyer in an office for so many years, she had to work as a clerk in a drug store, standing on her feet all day because no company would hire a 65 year old. I wish now, I could put my arms around her and tell her how brave she was and how much I now admire her.

You are probably wondering what triggered this long buried memory. On Tuesday, July 1, 2008, I will hit that horribly magical age of 65., which 40 years ago seemed so distant. Of course, Althea was right on the mark. The years have gone by so fast, I have hardly had time to blink more than a few times. I now know that social security is not that richest amount of money I thought it was all those years ago. Also, since then, the laws have changed and now I must work aother year to be eligible. Unlike Althea, I am looking forward to retirement. I have been a buyer for the past 42 years. It has been a wonderful career, but I am ready to pass the torch to some younger buyer who thinks 40 years is a very very long way off. Unfortunately, once I retire, I will no longer be able to remain in California where housing is expensive. My house payment is only $500.00 less than my social security, and one cannot live on $500.00 alone. Fortunately, I have some money put away in my 401K and very close friends who live in Iowa, where I will be able to live a very comfortable life, and not have to work in a drug store, standing on my feet all day.

So here's to all who will b eligible for retirement in the very near future. Those who want to continue working past 65 can now do so, but even though I could continue past next July, it's almost time for me to rest my now 65 year old weary green eyes and switch them from staring at a computer screen all day to black and white pages in good books, which have been waiting a long time to be read. I look forward to retirement, but also mourn the passing of the the many years, and regret that I didn't take Althea's suggestion to savor each and every moment. Fortunately for me, my mind has allowed me to return to that lunch room 40 years ago to give thanks to Althea who turned out to be a very wise woman after all.

1 comment:

Patti said...

Yes, we all should listen to our elders. Wisdom comes with age.

I have a few years left until retirement, but I still feel the passage of time. It is flying by!

Glad to see you back and writing, Moosie.

And have a Happy Birthday!