It Turns Out 62 is a Great Age!

On September 18th I turned 62. I remember when I was a teenager thinking that when I reached the old age of 61, 62, the fun parts of my life would be over. I remember being sad, almost depressed thinking about the future. (I told my sister about my thoughts, and she told me to knock it off.) I found my 20s to be a decade of facing fear, pretending to be perfect, and very stressful. My 30s were better, meeting my husband and becoming more confident in my professional life. Then in my 40s I became a bit frumpy, working all the time, not exercising. I believe in my 50s I was living in my power decade, ultimately selling my business. I wondered what my 60s would bring.

I wish I could have a chat with my teenage self and let her know that being in our 60s is NOTHING BUT FUN and CHOICES. When I was in my teens, my parents told me what to do. Having a business in my 20s, I had to do what I thought was best to grow that business. In my 30s and 40s and even 50s, I was tied to trying to keep clients happy, doing what I thought would be best for the company, sacrificing a lot.

Now that I am 62, I get to do what I want (for the most part).

As a young girl, I was not allowed to play recreational soccer. There were no girls soccer teams in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s in San Diego. I was obsessed with playing and was always on the soccer field playing with my brothers. When I would be watching a game on Sundays, the men’s league, during their halftimes, I would take corner kicks and goal kicks by myself, running after the ball all over the field. I would shoot on the goal by myself. I remember one afternoon at Robb Field (a soccer field in Point Loma) thinking to myself, when I am older, and I get to make my own decisions, I am going to play soccer.

So on my 62nd birthday, I celebrated by playing a Sunday morning soccer scrimmage with some of the nicest guys in San Diego. As is typical on a soccer pitch, there were people from different countries, ethnicities, social-economic backgrounds, and I felt pure joy. I asked them if I could take this photograph to show the world that being a 62-year-old woman can be SUPER FUN. Old ideas are not what define us.