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Sam's birth was "a rebirth for me, physically, spiritually and emotionally," Moss says. "Perhaps parenthood in the late stages of life could be the real Fountain of Youth."
Moss, who also has grown children and two grandchildren, was among readers who responded to my December column on the health of boomers as they reach an age once firmly associated with retiring, slowing down and kissing youth goodbye.
Instead, Moss is kissing his baby. And many other new 60-year-olds told me they are drinking deeply from their own fountains.
Lise Hansen of Whitefish Bay, Wis., celebrated her big birthday by traveling to Spain and Italy and sharing "good food, great wine and a lot of laughter" with two friends also turning 60.
Hansen writes: "I am a two-time breast cancer survivor and, man, do I survive. I am definitely 17 on the inside."
Different strokes for different folks
I heard from one man who spent his 60th birthday purging his digestive system for a next-day colonoscopy — an unconventional but healthy party idea — and from folks who marked the passage by running marathons, mining gems and climbing mountains.
"I feel much better than I anticipated I would at 60. I have a few aches and pains, but they're all self-inflicted from pursuing my love of rock climbing and mountaineering," writes Paul Huebner of Portage, Wis. He marked his birthday by climbing Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming.
Jim Ford of Baton Rouge, who took his wife, son, daughter and nine friends to Paris for his birthday, says: "I feel great … and I'm working hard to keep it that way." Ford says he eats right, walks every day, enjoys an active love life and "tries not to get stressed out about stuff."
Of course, some 60-year-olds are facing physical and mental challenges.
Sandy Yops of New Berlin, Wis., writes: "I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, colitis and was a little overweight. (All inherited!) I take medications to control the three problems, joined the YMCA and have lost 8 pounds in three months and now feel much better. … Turning 61 next year will be a piece of cake."
George Feist of Fresno, who is 100 pounds overweight and battling diabetes, high blood pressure and other problems, acknowledges that he has started reading obituaries more closely, especially when the deceased are near his age. He adds: "I have this impulse to look up favorite movie stars and famous people to see when they died and how they died."
Still, there are realities
Even some 60-year-olds who are feeling OK say they struggle — in true, self-examining boomer fashion — with the meaning of their age.
"It seems to me that no matter how we talk about '60 being the new 40,' 60 years old is getting pretty old," writes Larry Hulbert of Puyallup, Wash. Hulbert says he works out regularly, feels better than he did at 50 and still worries. "I recently wrote down several performance measures, showing where I'm at physically at 60 years old. I wonder what those same measurements will show when I'm 70. I'm fearful that no matter how hard I try, I will see a drop."
Of course, there's more than one way to fight the ravages of time.
Valerie Stephens of Bisbee, Ariz., marked 60 by going to India for "a body makeover, tummy tuck, breast reduction and face work," she writes. "I felt like a younger person and wanted to match the outer with the inner."
But Sue Lottridge of Estero, Fla., who turned 60 in August, doesn't want to change a thing. She says: "My life has been good to this point. I have no reason to think the next 30 years will be any different."
I turned 60 on January 11, 2007.
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