Countdown to Eighty: Your Final Decade of Do-It-Now

“But change comes in increments: It's different when you break seventy, and then after eighty, it's never the same again. And the way the world perceives you is never the same either.” —Sonny Boy by Al Pacino

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Another famous anonymous quote that haunts me is, "Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end, the faster it runs out."

At sixty, I sought wisdom from men in their seventies, asking simply, "How should I approach this new decade of life?"

The advice was always, "Keep going. You are still young and vibrant."

When I turned seventy, I asked the same question for this new decade. The advice was "Keep doing what you are doing until you can't do it anymore or aren't interested in doing it anymore."

I followed the sixties decade advice, and it worked great for me. The seventies advice, not so much.

It didn't make sense to me. I felt too much like, "Shut up, stop thinking about this aging thing, and just keep on, keeping on."

My thought was, "Really? I'm in my seventies. I want to squeeze a bit more out of life. I'm not sure where, but I know I need more out of this last decade."

I came to better understand the seventies decade by becoming a caregiver. I am now the primary caregiver for my eleven-year-old sister. At eighty, she fell a couple of times in her Miami apartment and was unable to get up. Luckily, a neighbor heard her calling for help.

In addition, she began to experience dementia and the loss of her administrative function. Both of these conditions have advanced over the last three years. She is not getting better. She is slipping away, her independence is slipping away.

It was time to move her to Atlanta so I could be there for her when needed.

Visiting her in her senior living facility has also given me the opportunity to meet other people in their eighties and nineties. This “look forward a decade” has proved to be invaluable for me. It brought the seventies decade I am living in now, into perspective.

When I read Al Pacino's biography, the quote I wrote at the beginning of this article snapped everything into place for me. The seventies decade is the last chance to do the things I always want to do. There is no time to put anything off anymore.

Trips? Take them now.

Ride motorcycles? Keep doing it until you know you are unsafe.

Spend time with my children? Now. Do it!

Be with the grandchildren? Get on it.

Visit friends and hang out? Take the time now while you can still eat a steak.

Always wanted to share Jesus with that certain someone? Call them up, love them, and buy them a meal. Share.

You get the picture.

As Pacino said, "And then after eighty it's never the same again."

Everyone I meet wants to live a long, long time. I get it. But the seventies is the last chance to live the way I want to live. And to do the things I want to do. There is no putting anything off anymore.

Jesus, after he returned from the dead and before he was resurrected, told the Apostle Peter,

"Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” John 21:18

This is the difference between the seventies and the eighties. Told by the creator of the world, Jesus Christ.

Seize the seventies. Before someone else decides where you're going.

Let’s bust out of our routines.

Try. Fail. Do. Live. Go. Love. Share. Explore.

It’s our last chance.