“At Seventy”

~ Elizabeth
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Great-grandmother Jennie Nash

It is a lot of fun to see where I got my tendency to “fill out” in my later years. But it is also lovely to see the demeanor of my great-grandmother who seems to have an almost smile as she sits for this portrait. I often have a hint of a smile, though I am trying to keep a straight face.

Anyone who has arrived at seventy will notice that time does funny things. Parts of it stretch out endlessly, such as late at night. Other parts zip by as grandchildren, only recently babies, approach adult height. I learned long ago that the Greeks had two words for time: chronos and kairos. Chronos seems to refer to time in our ordinary use of the word. Kairos has a more clear sense of the perfect moment. The following short poem shares my reflections as I turned seventy.

Seventy

And so I join them

out walking mornings,

lingering at checkout stands,

smiling at babies.

Taking time.

Chronos a fabrication.

Kairos the only solid ground.

18 thoughts on ““At Seventy””

  2. I love that. I’ll be 66 this coming June, not sure how I will handle that, probably fine. I feel strange that I don’t ever think about how old I am. I get frustrated when I can’t do what I used to.

    The picture is beautiful, people back then just seemed to always have a sweet, even handed disposition. Always a smile.

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