“How many old people does it take to change a light bulb?”
“Change?!!!!!!”
Growing older is often associated with an unwillingness to change.
Sadly, it’s often true. You may have heard phrases like “I’m too old to think about that” or “I’m too set in my ways to change now.”
From the womb to the tomb and beyond, our physical bodies constantly undergo change. Continue reading
This is NOT Mrs. Miller.
What do you think when someone speaks of being “90 years young”?
I’ve always heard that expression as a cute substitute for “old.” Since the expression rarely refers to someone younger than 50, it’s at once an admission of age and a determination not to be categorized.
On NPR’s August 9th Weekend Edition, in a story entitled “Remember: The Ball is Your Friend,” essayist and “literary activist” E. Ethelbert Miller tells about his 59-year-old wife’s decision to play basketball for the first time in her life. In passing, he mentions that the “challenge” he and his wife face is “being 60-young instead of 60-old.”
So I’m not the only one! Continue reading
Ever since listening to Krista Tippett’s interview with Stuart Brown this past Sunday morning, I’ve been observing and thinking about the value of play. Play is not only helpful in the physical, social, emotional and mental development of children, but without play, even adults don’t function as well as we should. According to Mr. Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play,
“[Play] is uniquely and intrinsically rewarding. It generates optimism, seeks out novelty, makes perseverance fun, leads to mastery, gives the immune system a bounce, fosters empathy and promotes a sense of belonging and community. Each of these play by-products are indices of personal health, and their shortage predicts impending health problems and personal fragility.” Continue reading
Did you know that as you age, you are more likely to use both sides of your brain?
In an intriguing report in The Globe and Mail, a Toronto newspaper, Sarah Hampton cites recent research at Duke University, in which MRI’s and PET scans of the brains of people over 50 showed that when they perform tasks, they use both sides of the brain at the same time. The brains of younger adults tend to be more asymmetrical – one side is more dominant than the other.
This was good news to Dr. Gene Cohen, founding director of the Center on Aging, Health and Humanities at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who has been a gerontologist since his medical school days. His most recent book is entitled The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain. Continue reading
Everyone wants to age, unless they have some kind of suicide wish. When you’re under ten years old, you call it growing up. When you’re a teenager you may say, “When I get older,” but you say it with hope, not dread.
So when does the dread start? At what age do we stop wanting to admit we’re aging? 20? 30?
Remember how when you were 12 you wanted to be 18 and when you were 18 you wanted to be 21? Is that the age when we stop wanting to be older?
In this age of emphasis on the kind of energy that only the very young can have, some people dread turning 30, because they see only a downhill slope after that.
But I believe it’s all in your attitude, which is why I’ve decided that 106 is the age to dread. By then I’m certain to be blind, deaf, toothless and no longer ambulatory. And that’s the year my oldest child will turn 80 years old and may not be able to take care of me any longer.
So go ahead. Try to talk about aging like a teenager would: With hope, with plans for the future. Why not? Because if you’re aging, it means you’re still alive.
Grab your life, shake it up, and drink it with enthusiasm.
Let’s talk about it. What age do you – or did you – dread the most? What are you planning for the future?
Okay, I’ll admit it – I’m in my 60’s.
But that’s okay!
Really!
In fact, it’s great!
Because I believe you’re never too old for discovery, for looking at the world with wonder. In fact, I’m convinced that’s what keeps you young in mind and body.
Once you decide you want everything to remain as it is – or (perish the thought) as it always has been – you can declare yourself old, even if you’re only 28.
So this is my place to share my discoveries on many topics, from many sources – my family (especially my children!), my friends, books, magazines and yes, the internet. I hope you’ll join me as we discover and re-discover the joys of life at all ages.