The Early Bird Club

I think I belong to a special club. It’s special because the members don’t know each other or see each other except by the rare chance we meet in print somewhere. In my early morning hours when curtains are still closed and lamp light glows softly in the corners of the room I find ideas to be great company. They lure me along unexplored paths with frequent viewing places into the past and future. Then my friends in the Early Bird Club seem to walk and stand beside me whispering, “Isn’t this absolutely marvelous?”

I don’t know what the others do about breakfast but I generally have a bowl of cereal topped with one chopped-up date, fresh berries, half a sliced banana and milk. A mug of black coffee too. These, enjoyed in my comfy chair, launch my day well before daybreak. Even my canary and finch are asleep as well as a small Chihuahua I’m room and boarding for a granddaughter.

Sometimes I venture out to take in the morning paper but I don’t like to take it out of its sleeve yet. I get enough of media talk later in the day. What I enjoy most in these morning hours is the company of those ideas I mentioned. I especially enjoy new ones, introducing them to old ones and listening to them talk. I do a lot of wondering and asking questions that seem hard to answer. I feel like a child pestering her parents with “Why? Why? Why?” And when I listen, I usually get answers, or at least indications of where to go next for them.

Living alone in one’s senior years would not be everyone’s choice. Some are far too social to enjoy that, but I love it. Still, I also love the fact that I have a spare bed in my bedroom and it is often occupied by one or another of my children or grandchildren, friend or other relative. Most recently I had a dear granddaughter stay a few days with her three week old baby boy. Now, that was the cherry on top!

My sister-in-law lives alone in another state. We were visiting on the phone yesterday and, as before, she commented on blogging. “Why anyone would want to read about another’s personal life and thoughts, I don’t know.” My answer was, “The beauty of it is, they don’t have to! Many of my friends and relatives know I write a blog but rarely, if ever, read it. I don’t care. It’s like fishing. You catch a fish and that is fun, but it’s also just fun to stand on the river bank and watch the bobber while enjoying the setting of serene solitude.” We weren't talking on Skype, but I could just see her shaking her head.

I don’t aspire to living to be the first to reach 150, but if I should, maybe some would like to know how I did it, and they might get a hint or two from my blogs. I’m learning more about healthful and happy longevity myself as I head into these advancing years. Here are a few tips:

1. Get up early.
2. Think about the good things of life.
3. Never stop learning.
4. Be willing to change your mind. 
5. Love, love, love, and never hate! 
6. Treat each day as the grand prize of days. 
7. Again, get up early! It won't hurt you to get up early and it can be far more satisfying than dreamland. What's more, you might learn how to be young again by finding the Fountain of Youth. I welcome you, whoever you are, to The Early Bird Club!