What’s good about getting older?
You do eventually prefer using the word “old” and not feeling like replacing it with “elder” or “senior” or something else that may sound nicer, but means the same thing.
One of the best things that has happened to me – and perhaps others – is very odd. For most of my life I’ve read at least two books a week; when I had more time, five or six years ago, I’ve seen the time when five or six books wasn’t unusual. Of course this was after I had retired from a 60 hour a week job and hadn’t zoomed into volunteering with so much investment of time.
Nowadays, I do well to read a book in a week. But the best thing is that a lot of my favorites I can now re-read as I don’t quite recall all the details – just that I loved that book. I hope I’m not alone in this enjoyment. Regardless of the latest Patterson or Grisham book, I know I can count on finding a copy of “Cathedral” or “Trinity” or “The Source” – all recalled as good page turners.
When you get older, family get togethers are truly anticipated and all those squabbles about unimportant issues are forgotten. There’s no point – and surely not enough time – to micro-manage someone else’s life.
My mother would be pleased to know that now that I’m old, yes, I’ve stopped trying to change the world or even the minds of some of the people I had no patience with. Back in the 1960s when I came home from Boston or Manhattan for a weekend, she would listen patiently as I raved about the Peace Corps or some kind of sit-in or other big civil rights event – then patiently she’d advise me not to get too riled up, I couldn’t change the world.
For women, getting older is a surprise every day – yet another gray hair, additional wrinkles and shifting of body mass. The health professionals call this “consistent with aging,” which is acceptable but we don’t have to like it. We should just accept it, get used to it and pay attention to what’s important – good health.
It’s tempting at my age to sometimes say exactly what I feel, but most people my age were raised at a time when (believe it or not) etiquette (manners) was taught in school and practiced in most homes. So, although I’d like to tell our governor to think before he speaks, I’ve refrained from actually communicating that.
It does become easier to give up some things, like going to yard sales, picking blueberries on uneven terrain and washing the floor on hands and knees. I personally have also given up the trip to Europe and volunteering for an archeological dig in Ethiopia. Given all that can happen, and usually does as one ages, I’m glad to wake up every day and know who I am and where I am. Getting old – just another of life’s adventures.
Kay Soldier welcomes reader ideas for column topics of interest to seniors. She can be reached by email at kso48@aol.com, or write to 114 Tandberg Trail, Windham, ME 04062.
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