Living to be 100 years old? Hmm...

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, soul nourishing romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you make choices to overcome the darkest nights of your life to choose love and light.

Romancing The Genres’ theme this month is “What You Look Forward To As You Age?” Being in the eighth decade of my life I’ve given this theme a lot of thought.

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Growing up I did think about, even wanted to live to be 100 years old. I thought in terms of all the world and personal events I’d see and be a part of. My earliest memories are of the mid-1940’s. I remember seeing my mom cry when, I later realized, my dad must have gotten his draft papers. I remember my brother, Jim, as a small child, toddling around. He was 3 years younger than me.

Spoiler alert: I wasn’t thinking of living to be 100 years old then. I saw my parents and grandparents (late 20’s and 50’s respectively) as Really old.

I remember when people celebrated their 100 birthday, they were written up in the newspaper, interviewed on the radio, received a letter of congratulations from the President of the United States…and then when television became a major form of communication, they were interviewed by reporters and even Johnny Carson.

Maybe it was being ‘noticed’ or ‘special’ that appealed to me. Growing up in the 1940’s and 1950’s being a girl was not something that supported any of us living outside society’s rules for us. I could be a nurse (not a doctor), a secretary (not the boss), a teacher (not the principal much less the superintendent) and I could get married and support my husband’s career. What heady stuff, living to be 100 years old! And most of those people reaching that age were women!

How I wish Girl Power was
Alive and Well in the
1940's, 1950's, 1960's
and more
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I do remember my dad explaining to me why I was going to college. Yes, it was to get an education so I could be a public school teacher, but it was more about my having a profession I could fall back on if my husband wasn’t able to support/take care of his family. Do notice the pronouns.

I loved history. My college advisor said I would never get a teaching job as a history teacher because those jobs went to men because men could also coach sports. Remember Title 9 wasn’t in play then so there weren’t school sports programs for girls or women.

But I digress. Back to living to be 100!

My maternal aunt, Helen, lived to a few months from her 105^th birthday. I was excited to spend time with her when we gathered to celebrate her 100^th! I was full of questions and she patiently answered them. The two that made a lasting impression on me were

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+What has changed the most in your life time? Transportation. She was born in 1909 and the automobile was not everywhere as it is today. She lived to see jet airplanes, rockets and people on the moon.

+ What advice do you have for me? Life happens. It has ups and downs. Take it as it comes and you’ll be happier.

Now in my 8^th decade what do I look forward to?

Not the same things I did when younger. I no longer dream of celebrating my 100 birthday.

Why? Because I’m not fond of all the technical advancements so seeing more of those are not an enticement to me. I’ve no interest in populating Mars or any other planet. I am interested in making Earth more user friendly with cleaner air, water, food.

I’ve reset my goal to live to be 100 years old to living to 96. Why 96?

Queen Elizabeth died at 96.
Roselyn Carter died at 96.
Angela Lansbury died at 96.
Katherine Hepburn died at 96.

I admire each of these extraordinary women.

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Also at 96 (2037), I will have lived long enough to see my great grands graduate from high school (2032 and 2034) with a few years to spare. My granddaughters will be in their 40’s and well on their way to their life goals. I expect many of my friends and other family members will have already died. That’s not something I look forward to, it is something I accept is part of what makes up my life.

So in the intervening years I look forward to

Reclaiming and maintaining my physical health.

Enjoying each day to the best of my ability. I will admit that on higher pain level days finding that joy is a bit, well actually, quite a bit more difficult.

Staying focused on my spiritual path because when I do that everything else falls more easily into place.

What is my spiritual path? The foundation of The Sacred Women’s Circle novels. I’ve learned over the decades of my lifetime that there is more than one path to The Divine.

In my books, I share how seven women from divergent backgrounds come together and find a shared path. A path where each of them claims a spiritual practice that sustains them through various life challenging times.

Domestic violence, breast cancer, infidelity, abandonment, injury, loss are part of each of our everyday lives. How do you cope with these life events? Check out The Sacred Women’s Circle novels to see how Lily, Elizabeth, Diana, Ashley, Hunter, Gabriella and Sophia dealt with them in their lives.

Learn more about my books, workshops and training on my website JudithAshley.net.

You can find my books at your favorite e-book vendor as well as through my website www.JudithAshley.net and Windtree Press. Print books are available at Arte Soleil in Portland, OR. Get the addresses from my website. And be sure to ask your library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshley.net

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

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