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    Suddenly Sixty: And Other Shocks of Later Life
    Suddenly Sixty: And Other Shocks of Later Life
    Suddenly Sixty: And Other Shocks of Later Life
    Ebook80 pages30 minutes

    Suddenly Sixty: And Other Shocks of Later Life

    By Judith Viorst

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    About this ebook

    Judith Viorst is known and loved by readers of all ages, for children’s books such as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; nonfiction titles, including the bestseller Necessary Losses; and her collections of humorous poetry in her "decade" series, which make perfect gifts for birthdays, Mother’s Day, graduation, Christmas, Chanukah, or at any time of year.

    Suddenly Sixty is a funny and touching book that speaks directly to the sixty-ish woman, inviting her to laugh about, sigh over, and come to hopeful terms with the complex issues of this decade of life.

    Among the poems in this charmingly illustrated collection are those exploring the joys—and strains—of children and grandchildren, and the intimacy of old friends who’ve ‘known each other so long/We knew each other back when we were virgins.” There are poems that tip their hat to mortality, wrestle with a husband’s retirement —“He’s coming with me when I shop at the supermarket/So I won't have to shop alone. I like alone.”— and acknowledge the fact that at this stage of life we’d “give up a night of wild rapture with Denzel Washington for a nice report on my next bone density test.” Offering plenty of laughs, a few tears, and cover-to-cover truths, these are poems for everyone who would “rather say never say die than enough is enough.” Every woman who has reached this decade will—rueful and smiling—find herself in the pages of this book.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateFeb 21, 2001
    ISBN9780743212168
    Suddenly Sixty: And Other Shocks of Later Life
    Author

    Judith Viorst

    Judith Viorst is the author of the beloved Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which has sold some four million copies; the Lulu books, including Lulu and the Brontosaurus; the New York Times bestseller Necessary Losses; four musicals; and poetry for children and adults. Her most recent books of poetry include What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? and Nearing Ninety. She lives in Washington, DC.

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      Book preview

      Suddenly Sixty - Judith Viorst

      Suddenly Sixty

      IT’S HARDER TO BE FRISKY OVER SIXTY

      Inside my shoes and my panty hose

      I’ve painted blue nail polish on my toes,

      A skirmish in the war that I wage

      Against the constraints of my current age.

      Despite the advent of Medicare,

      I will still buy bikini underwear

      And scorn the notion that seniorhood

      Means it’s too late to be up to no good.

      I would if I could.

      Don’t give me extra time to walk down the jetway.

      And please don’t get up and give me your seat on the bus.

      I’d rather be engagée than Emeritus,

      Though it’s harder to be frisky over sixty.

      I’m not prepared to sign up for Elderhostel.

      Retirement communities? Save your brochures.

      I’ll keep right on trucking as long as my strength endures,

      Though it’s harder to be frisky over sixty.

      I’m standing firm against the Early Bird Special.

      I’m out on the dance floor strutting what’s left of my stuff.

      I’d rather say never say die than enough is enough,

      Though it’s harder to be frisky over sixty.

      I don’t intend to stop showing a little cleavage.

      Nor do I intend to stop flashing a little thigh.

      I’m still not too old to give it the old college try,

      Though it’s harder to keep trying,

      And it’s harder to keep trucking,

      And it’s harder to be frisky over sixty.

      THE BLISSFUL COUPLE

      They laugh together.

      Read together.

      Dance together.

      Paint together.

      Listen to music together.

      Walk, holding hands, together.

      They love exchanging

      Warm

      Wet

      Mushy

      Kisses.

      He rushes to greet her,

      His arms outstretched,

      Joyfully calling her name,

      When he sees her arrive.

      Who, you are wondering,

      Is this blissful couple?

      She is his grandma.

      He is almost five.

      THE NEW ALPHABET

      A’s for arthritis.

      B’s for bad back.

      C is for

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