Jeni and Rocky hiking in Spain 2023

My high school boyfriend and I used to sing “When I’m Sixty-Four” by the Beatles. At the time, the lyrics had us imagining that we might have a long and happy life together. Of course sixty-four seemed ancient and so far in the future that we also found it hilarious to even consider it. As you can guess, we eventually grew apart anyway.

Now that sixty-four is less than two weeks away, it amuses me to think about what I assumed I’d be like when I was sixty-four! Gratefully, I’m much more lively than I expected to be and so are Rocky and my friends.

You may already know these famous Beatles lyrics…

When I get old and losing my hair (hair color, yes, but not losing my hair quite yet.) Many years from now. (only days now!) Will you still be sending me a Valentine, Birthday greetings, bottle of wine? (Not counting on this from my high school boyfriend, of course, but I usually get special treatment from Rocky.)

Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight, if it’s not too dear. (Haven’t been there yet! But we certainly like to travel.) We shall scrimp and save. (Moving to Spain helped us do this!)

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?  This is a good question for Rocky, especially the feeding me part as I have grown accustomed to him doing almost all of the cooking since we moved to Spain!

Of course, Rocky, You’ll be older too. And if you say the word, I could stay with you. 

Recently Rocky and I dove into the movie, Nyad, a biopic about marathon swimmer Diana Nyad. The movie captivated my attention in part because I remember Nyad’s real-life journey to become the first person to complete the “Everest of swims”…executing a 53-hour 110 mile swim from Cuba to Florida through dangerous open ocean and without a shark cage. The second reason for my rapt attention was that Nyad was sixty-four years old in her final attempt.

Let me be clear: I do not want to do any marathon swimming! I rarely even dip into the Atlantic ocean for more than a few minutes at a time because the water is too cold, even though we live minutes from the beach. What I could relate to more was her commitment to “never give up on your dreams” and her belief that “you are never too old.”

Without giving away too much of Nyad’s story, I want to emphasize that my dreams are more right-sized for me. Breaking records of any kind will never be my goal. (Well, maybe with the exception of  Duolingo, the very addictive language-learning app!) I try not to shy away from learning something new though, and make it my mission to help others do the same.

During our Greece retreat this year, many of our sixty year-plus guests tried stand-up-paddle-boarding for the first time. Of all of the activities we promoted prior to the retreat, this was the one that had the most guests expressing doubts they could do it, myself included. As it turned out, all who tried it in Lefkada were amazed that they could get on the board and either kneel or stand with relative ease.

Thanks in part to our patient guide Mike from AquaSups Lefkada, and the weather gods who delivered the perfect conditions: the sun was shining, the water was warm and there were very few waves. What we thought was going to be a bit scary was more like a standing meditation but one that left us all grinning and exhilarated from our accomplishment.

In the movie, Nyad, what intrigued me more than Diana’s immense physical achievements was her moment of realization that she would need the help of others to accomplish her goal. This insight helped her tap into gratitude for those who were supporting her and transformed her into someone less selfish and a better team player.

Nyad’s friend, Bonnie, who stood by her as a coach and lifelong friend inspired me the most. Bonnie and Diana’s story reminded me of my favorite characters in Indian mythology: Jambavan and Hanuman.

According to the ancient stories, Hanuman, the Monkey God, was a devilish youngster who played tricks on the other gods just for fun. This angered the gods who decided to teach Hanuman a lesson. They put a spell on him which caused him to forget his own super powers until he was reminded of them by someone else.

One day, Hanuman’s friend Sita was kidnapped. Hanuman felt powerless and became despondent that he could do nothing to help rescue Sita. His friend Jambavan,  the King of the Bears,  noticed Hanuman was depressed, and reminded him that he had super powers. Finally realizing his own power, Hanuman flew across the ocean in one leap, and rescued Sita.

In essence, Bonnie did the same for Diane. Ultimately, Diane had to be reminded of her own super powers, and those of her team members, in order to accomplish her dream.

We all need a Bonnie or Jambavan in our life, no matter how old we are. We need someone to remind us that we can try new activities, learn new technology, sample new foods and even learn a different language. We need someone to encourage us to say, “Yes!” to life.

As I step into this long-ago imagined age, this is who I want to be: someone who can inspire others to take a Hanuman-sized leap; to travel to a foreign country; to hike challenging trails or take long walks; to speak even a few words of another language; to be brave enough to sample international foods; to make friends with people from a different background, country or culture; in other words, to live life fully.

When I’m sixty-four, I hope you’ll still need me…. You’ll be older too!  I’m imagining sixty-four as just another number on the way to ninety-four. (When I’m ninety-four, I’ll have to update this blog, of course!)

I’ll finish with more lyrics from the Beatles: Send me a postcard, drop me a line, stating point of view. (Email works as well! Just love to hear from you.) Indicate precisely what you mean to say. Yours sincerely, Wasting Away (Definitely not!)

Notes from the author:

I love it when I can help someone else check off a bucket list trip or activity! In the process, I get to realize my own dreams. Yesterday, I added a Camino trip to our list of retreats in 2024.

Already I’ve heard from many friends who told me that walking The Camino was on their bucket list. I can’t wait to share this adventure with them. How about you? What’s your dream? Read more about the Camino 

Want to read more about Hanuman and Jambhavan?