Sunday 20 January 2008

49 and counting

On the assumption that if I mention it often enough , it will come as no shock when it happens, I need to start writing about reaching 50 - there see - sounds like I have already . That wasn't too painful.

I've got 24 years of catching up to do as I'm still 26 in my head. The only difference is , when i get up from a chair now , it takes a few seconds of leaning to get the body tilting forward sufficiently to make a smooth getaway without looking like an arthritic old hag. I also know who Nobby Stiles is or was. But there have to be more advantages that that ?

Wisdom comes high on the list as does the ability to say no without having to make excuses. If I live to 80 then that gives me about 1500 weeks to go and as life's too short to accept invitations you don't want. A friend of mine has been life coaching on the etiquette of polite but firm refusals. The mantra you have to repeat , so that it trips off the tongue with ease , when asked to chair the PTA/run a committee/volunteer to clear up after a school event is ... 'I'm so sorry , I can't help you with that right now'.

Brief, polite, firm. What more could you want ? Don't fall into the trap of elaborating . Short , sweet and to the point . Keep it simple.

Which brings me nicely onto my next piece of wise advice. Devise a word to see you through the year . Mine is SIMPLIFY. So far so good. I'm so fed up with choice or rather too much of it. When I go to buy bread I want the choice to be brown or white or maybe sliced or unsliced. It doesn't need to include every form of international cuisine, shape, colour, size and flavouring . Today I saw a loaf described as slow baked. I really don't care how long it took them to bake it. I just want to get it home and eat it . How long they left it in the oven for is their problem.

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