I turn 70 on August 8th. I used to think 70 was old—I don’t anymore. I don’t feel 70, maybe more like 50. But when I look in the mirror, it says 70.
Every birthday is a time for introspection and reflection, but especially those decade birthdays. As I engage in this self-assessment, questions abound about past, present, and future Marvin. How have past highs and lows shaped me? Where am I now in my life journey? Where am I going in (G-d willing) the days that lie ahead?
Some of my introspection is colored by a thought-provoking article by Anne Lamott, “It’s not so terribly strange to be 70” (The Washington Post, April 10, 2024). “Today, when I woke up, I was 70. Seventy! I think that I am only 57, but the paperwork does not back this up… When younger people ask me when I graduated from high school and I say 1971 [1972 in my case], there’s a moment’s pause, as if this is inconceivable and I might as well have said 20 B.C. That’s when I feel my age. But… I would not go back even one year.”
I have shared that the Blum Family Mission Statement focuses on Relationships, Productive Work, Spirituality, and Memorable Moments. I’ll use that framework to organize my reflections.
- Relationships- My gratitude for the supportive and loving communities in my life is off-the-charts. I am richly blessed by my connection with family, friends, and faith. I can handle whatever adversity life throws my way because I’m not flying solo.
- Productive Work- I am grateful to wake up each day with purpose. I’ve shared repeatedly my desire to keep working. Retirement isn’t in my vocabulary, as long as my mind and body cooperate.
- Spirituality- It brings me great comfort to know I’m a link in a long, unbroken chain of family who cling tightly to our faith. But aside from religion, I feel powerful spirituality from walks in nature, cuddling with my six precious grandkids, and painting pictures. Whether at the easel or not, I am always painting in my mind.
- Memorable Moments- Speaking of painting, Lamott writes of the beauty of shadows. “Shadows show us how life can gleam in contrast.” That’s true in all my paintings, but it’s also true in life experiences. The sweet moments are all the sweeter because they stand in contrast to the turbulent ones that taught me resilience, gratitude, and shaped me into the man I am today. So, as I reflect on births, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and graduations, I also recall life’s tornadoes (like the literal one that destroyed my law office in 2000 and the figurative ones like the deaths of loved ones).
We are living in turbulent times. The attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has impacted me forever, especially as we witness the extreme rise in antisemitism that it fostered. I am heartbroken but defiant. I lived through the turmoil of Vietnam and Watergate, and we survived. Today’s turbulence is worse for me, but once again, I have faith that we will survive it— we must.
As I start to wrap up, I’ll concur with some more of Anne Lamott’s age 70 wisdom.
- “I know how little I know.” Boy, as I age, I realize that more and more!
- “I know everything is in flux…so I don’t sweat feeling a little disoriented some days.”
- “I know that people and pets I adore will keep dying…I know the cycle is life, death, new life.”
- “Age is just a number when you still know how to shine.”
Looking back on my own 70 years, my main regret is all the times I worried about things that ended up never occurring—so much time wasted. The things that did happen hadn’t occurred to me, but we always managed to get through them. Going forward, my goal is to worry less. Laurie, my ultra-wise wife of 45 years (and truly the rock in our family), always lifts me up with these words: “If it happens, we’ll figure it out.”
I’ll close with words from a poem, “The Valuable Time of Maturity,” sent to me by my law school “Canoe Brother,” Bill Parrish:
I feel like the boy that got a bowl of cherries —
At first, he gobbed them,
But when he realized there were only a few left,
He began to taste them intensely…
I do not intend to waste any of the remaining cherries.
As Marvin Blum turns 70 this week, it’s a time for serious introspection and reflection.