The Last Boomers Have Entered The Twilight Zone

But That Shouldn’t Slow Us Down

Making the Most of My Twilight Zone (Photo Credit: D L Perrett)

A friend of mine turned sixty last month, and I jokingly sent him a message saying, “Welcome to the Twilight Zone”!

It was a tongue-in-cheek message, but his response was sobering to say the least.

“Yep, and that means that if I live to the average (USA) male life expectancy* of 76.5 years, then I probably have a little over 5000 more days left on this planet.”

That got my mental calculator activated because I turned 65 earlier this year! My number comes in at under 4200 days! That doesn’t sound like a lot of time. We usually never know how long we have left on this earth, but I have already lived longer than my Dad. On the other hand, one of his sisters has just clocked over 101 years old, and my Mum lived to ninety-six.

Having digested the reality of that sobering message, I began to think about where I was 11,5 yrs ago, and that was equally enlightening. And encouraging.

Because 11.5 years ago, I was 54 years old. My two children were still at university, and I was deep into my career as a Veterinarian.

How many great times have I had in the past 11.5 years? How many difficulties have been faced and overcome? How many places had I travelled to? How much have I learned?

The bottom line is that even if I only make it as far as the average male life expectancy of 76,5 years, there is still a lot of time left and living to do.

Of course, along with increasing age come new challenges. Negotiating the transition into retirement is often a bigger obstacle than we care to admit. Keeping physically and mentally fit is non-negotiable if you want to enjoy the twilight zone. Financial stability, regardless of the actual value of your purse, is also a goal.

And so, since the beginning of 2022, when I retired, my focus has shifted radically from career and raising and educating kids with my wife, to travel, mental and physical well-being, and working out how to keep it all together on a third-world currency income (still with my wife!)

As Baby Boomers, we might be entering the twilight zone, but to quote Dr Seuss:

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”

And so we have and will continue to do so!

More thoughts and reflections to follow, and if you would like to see how we are doing on the road, then pop over to NoTiesNoHeels and BoomerOdyssey

• I don’t live in the USA, but that number seems more realistic than the European average, which is in the 80’s or many 3rd world country numbers that I have already gone past!

Originally published at https://kperrett.substack.com.