What's Up, Doc? 60 Can Be a Magic Number

By Randall Freeman, PhD

I turned 60 last month. (I refuse to say years old because that sounds ominous.) Today I attended the memorial service for (yet another) good friend. He was 75. The math scared me. He was only 15 years older than I am now.

Then I arrived home. I entered my house and heard my (almost) 15-year-old (doesn’t sound ominous for that age) daughters. I put aside my foreboding and realized that I was still the father of a relatively (no pun intended) young family.

Yesterday, I participated in a school board training in Anaheim. As we neared the end of the day, my (younger) colleague and friend sitting next to me turned to me and said, "You’re a kid, aren’t you?"

I smiled at him and replied in the affirmative. My body may have experienced six decades, but I don’t have time to dwell on it. Over the past 40 years, I have been repeatedly told that "When you are good, you are 8, when you are bad, you’re 12." They’re right.

I thoroughly enjoy what I do. Whether it’s teaching kindergarten, volunteering at the Boys & Girls Club, or being a dad, I am constantly around young people. How can I feel old under these circumstances?

I witness friends turning old almost overnight at times. I seem to feel that when they retire, they retire from life and just wait to die. Then there are those friends who are 20 years my senior and never appear to age. They are busy living, usually serving family or community.

I look at retiring from my current classroom teaching profession sometime in the next 3-5 years. I am searching for a purpose that will place me in the latter group rather than the former one. I cannot and will not give up this position until I am assured of finding a new direction and purpose. I am not willing to just sit around and wait to die.

A young friend of mine became a grandmother today. A year younger than me, I was madly in love with her in junior high school. Now she’s a grandma! Life is amazing!

Randy Freeman and his family have lived in Menifee since 1993. Randy teaches kindergarten in Perris and his lovely wife Karen teaches first grade here in Menifee at Freedom Crest Elementary School. They are the proud parents of four beautiful daughters: Daniela, 18, and 14-year-old triplets Sarah, Holly, and Megan. Other family members include dogs Scruffy, Mikko, & Max, 17-year-old cat Hunter, and turtle Tuttles. Randy earned his PhD in early childhood education in 2011 and has served on the Menifee Union School Board since 2008. Randy has wisely decided to delete the bit about being Karen's boss in order to continue living in his happy home.