**Diary Entry**
Shed turned seventya milestone! For the occasion, shed bought fabric and ordered a dress. Elegant, refined. And to match, shed found silver earrings online, pricey but worth it. When she put it all on and looked in the mirror, she saw a younger woman staring back. *You really cant go without treating yourself now and then*, she thought. *It lifts the spirit.*
Then she set to work in the kitchen, preparing a feast for her guests. Her sisters were coming, and her brother was bringing their elderly mother, whod soon be ninety-five. The table gleamed with fine china, and the food was irresistible. When everyone arrived, they settled the old lady in the place of honourshed sit awhile, then rest in the next room when she tired.
The birthday girl changed into her new dress and fastened the earrings. When she stepped out, the room gasped. She thrilled at their admiration. The first toast was raised, then the second, as tradition demanded. But then one sister spoke up:
*Honestly, Im surprised. Ordering a dress at seventy? And earrings that costly? What for? Youre at home all day, same as ever. No husband to impress, no work, no theatre outings. Youve got cupboards full of lovely old dresseswear those out first.*
The others nodded, chiming in about their own overflowing wardrobes and unworn clothes. All at once, the new dress felt tight, the earrings heavy, dragging at her ears. A hollowness opened in her chest. *Seventy is seventy. Lifes passed by, and here I am, a dressed-up old woman.* Her smile faded, her face turned to stone. She didnt want to talk, didnt want to eat. The guests sensed the shift and quieted.
Then her mother, silent until now, spoke: *My mother lived nearly a hundred. So did my father. Long lifers, we are. When Mum turned ninety, Dad went to the market and bought her a crimson shawl. At supper, he pulled it from hiding and draped it round her shoulders. She sat there, stroking it with gnarled hands, looking twenty years younger.* She paused. *Things arent for their own saketheyre for our joy. Love and kindness make us happy.* Then, sharper: *Have you forgotten?* She turned to the critical sister. *And youmind that sharp tongue. Words cost nothing, but they can cut deep.* With that, she rose to rest.
The table stayed sombre. The sister muttered an apology, but the air stayed thick. Stilted chatter, forced laughterno warmth, only the weight of those poisonous words.
Then the door burst openher favourite niece and husband, all smiles. They hugged everyone, toasted the birthday girl. The husband knelt, presenting roses, then sang a line from an old ballad. The niece held out a tiny box: a string of river pearls. *Where on earth did you find these?* the room murmured. She fastened them round her aunts neck, dragged her to the mirror, clapped, laughed.
Just like that, the gloom dissolved. Glasses clinked, laughter rang. The talk flowed, the food tasted wonderful again, and the womanelegant in her dress and pearlssat thinking, *Seventy? Theres so much ahead. Just live and be glad.*
**Lesson Learnt:** Joy isnt in the yearsits in the love around you, and sometimes, in a new dress and a string of pearls.
