Wow. We went to the
Social Security office this week and I completed my application for retirement
benefits. Really. I am eligible for Social Security. Whoa, Nellie!
Because I'm taking a spousal (reduced) benefit until I
reach age 70 - when I can take my own full benefit for a lot more than I could
now - (I know, TMI) we had to show them our marriage certificate. Otherwise, I could have done the whole thing
online. Seriously. Online. Isn't that handy?
 | |||
| Essi (and my beloved's hand) outside the Social Security office |
We have only recently entered the winter* of our lives, and
we are enjoying this frost time / silver hair time.
Essie and I are proud of our silver hair. We see an enormous value in living to this
age. We have experienced the challenges,
heartaches, joys, triumphs and adventures of our own life journey. We don't feel the societal perception of our
years. We feel younger in many
ways. We have learned and been
taught so much through the seasons of our lives. We're not ashamed to grow old, to look in the
mirror and find wrinkles, sagging parts, and age spots. How glorious to be allowed the privilege of walking
through this season, this winter of our lives.
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous
life.
Proverbs 16.31 ESV
*We could measure our lives in terms of the seasons. And guess what? When I turn 66 in September, my life-seasons
calculation has me right at January 1!
Starting retirement for real, turning the calendar.... I just love how all this works out.
I don't love math, but here's my process, if you're
interested. If you're not interested,
I'm pretty much done for this week except for a heartfelt Thank You for visiting.
Dates of the 2018 seasons:
Spring - vernal equinox - March 20
Summer - summer
solstice - June 21
Fall - autumnal
equinox - September 22
Winter - winter solstice - December 21
Each season holds approximately 91 days. If we, for the sake of the metaphor, start of
our lives at the vernal equinox (March 20), our last day on this earth would be
March 19, the last day of winter. Using the Social Security benefits planner life expectancy estimate,
we could average the lifespan to 85.
When
you are considering when to collect retirement benefits, one important factor
to take into account is how long you might live. According to data we compiled:
A man reaching age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age
84.3. A woman turning age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until
age 86.6.
https://www.ssa.gov/planners/lifeexpectancy.html
If we divide the number of days in the year by the average
life expectancy, every 4.3 days would equal a year. So, at the summer solstice, 91 days divided
by 4.3 gives us an approximate age of 21
years. We call that adulthood. See how cool this is? At the vernal equinox, our approximate age
would be 42. Middle age? At the winter solstice, our
age would be at or near 63 and a half.
At or near retirement. HA!
Eleven days later, January 1 would be the date on my life calendar when
I turn age 66. Full retirement. I think that is so, so cool. Well, anyway.... it makes sense to me. :-)
If
you re-work this and find out I have done my math wrong , either let me
know and I'll re-figure everything and
re-post it. .. or just go with the concept and live with my "loose" averages.
I'm kind of fascinated with
this idea. Seasons as a metaphor for life is not a new concept, but I've never matched the date and the years before. They really do line up nicely. There is even a scriptural precedent for doing this! A favorite verse in the
Psalms is
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of
wisdom.
Psalm 90.12 NIV
I'm pretty sure there's a much easier way to number our days, but
this image works for me. Thanks for
reading!
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