Well yes, retirement age has come for me!
In May I will turn 65 and since January I have already been filling out the various forms to ensure the benefits I am rightfully entitled to.
My daughter Giorgia will also get married in May, just four days before my birthday, which will therefore, fortunately, go completely unnoticed.
Age, gray hair, wrinkles have never impressed me; in fact, I hope one day to be 100 years old, with lots of silver hair and lots of wrinkles, because for me every year that passes is an achievement, a moment of reflection and planning.
On May 29th of each year I set goals that I hope to achieve within the following 12 months. This year I started thinking about my goals well in advance, because while filling out the forms I asked myself: "So far, have I done everything I wanted to do?".
I don't mean the Formula 1 driver I wanted to be when I was younger. I want to say: "What is the balance of my life?".
I think I am a person who is very centered on true values and the true joys of life, unlike many people whose goals are purely pecuniary or self-interested. Of course I am a privileged person, but this has not protected me from pain, strong experiences, disappointments, illnesses, etc.
My nature pushes me to sing when I need to vent and to write when I need to reflect. This is where I feel like my balance sheet isn't balanced.
But at my age it's now difficult for me to let off steam because things slip away from me: therefore, I sing less.
As far as writing is concerned, paradoxically what I lack is time. There are now four books that I have in mind to write, or rather they are already written in my head, but there is no time to put them on paper. I am still very busy with my family, my work, my multiple commitments.
Am I getting frustrated with all of this? Of course not! I still have at least 35 years ahead of me. The real thing I have always asked of life is not to survive my children: this is what I am truly afraid of.
