Life in Retirement

"Feelin‘ Groovy"

By: Jack Peaker

Members of the Evergreen Seniors Centre are sometimes asked:

"Why and when did you decide to get out of the fast lane and start taking things ‘nice and easy’?"

For that we may have to go way back to a wintry morning some time ago, with a large house with empty bedrooms and a demanding garden, when the realization hit hard that the children we’d done our best to raise to the point of no return had irrevocably flown the coop.

No more having to rush our porridge and take our coffee with us.

But there’s another reason for us being here today, doing as much - or as little - of what we like best. When the children were small, "The 59th Street Bridge Song", better known as "Feelin’ Groovy", was a monster hit with the immortal opening:

"Slow down, you move too fast.

You've got to make the morning last."

My goodness, how this entered my brain and stayed there. Through the years and years of caring and sharing and cooking and housekeeping, whenever I felt my situation getting the better of me I’d belt out the words at full volume.

Oddly enough, I’d paid little attention to how the song ends and only recently discovered it predicts with amazing accuracy what happens when you do slow down:

"I've got no deeds to do, no promises to keep,

I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep,

Let the morning time wash all my troubles from me.

Life, I love you, all is groovy."

Yes, Simon, Garfunkel, and Uncle Tom Cobley and all, it really is.