55 m hx anxiety on bp med 1st reading usually 147/80 2nd and 3rd 124/70. ls this ok or should i always expect to be in the optimal range?

Not to worry: This is actually very typical. The first measurement is very commonly higher than the second or third. Classically this is attributed to anxiety about measuring and also just time for your body to relax. Best practice is to measure 3 times with a few minutes in between measurements due to this common phenomenon - this will give you the most accurate measurement. Hope this helps.