Tag Archives: #aging

13Dec/18
Kindness rocks

I’m How Old?!?

and how did this happen…

Kindness rocks

Don’t let anyone dull your sparkle!

This past week I turned 69! Yes, you heard me…69! Next year, 2019 will be the big 7 OH! I just have to say, thank goodness the Today Show just announced this morning that 70 is the new 40! Whew! What timing! I am so relieved to hear this…

I think us “Old People” are in much better shape at this age than our ancestors were. We exercise and take better care of ourselves. I never saw any of my grandparents exercise. Ever! But my longest living grandparent who lived well into his 90’s was always active and in fact the day he passed he was mowing the grass!

My grands never quite knew my age and last week we were chatting about that while FaceTiming on my birthday. The youngest asked me how old I was and I asked him, how old do you think I am? He said, “54” To which I replied…. “you were always my favorite kid!” Then the 16 year old gets on and says it wasn’t till about a year ago till I finally knew how old you really were or how old you weren’t! He says, “so how old are you really?” I asked him why he said it like that and he replies…”well, once I asked you how old you were and you said how old do you think and I answered 50 and you said that’s good! So I always thought that was right!” And I replied, so what’s your point? He said I want to know! I said..69! To which he replies, you sure don’t look or act like it! ….I took that as a compliment!

“Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese.”~ Luis Bunuel

I really beleive age is just a number and wish we didn’t focus so much on that number. Why are we so caught up in the whole…”how old are you” thing? Our focus shouldn’t be on the number, it should be how we feel inside. I still feel like that little 12 year old girl who had a dream of being a writer. I can still see myself sitting at my fathers desk writing my novel. I can feel it like it was yesterday. I’m not sure what I do now is worthy of being called…a writer. But I do write!

I have to be honest and say I haven’t been doing a lot of it lately. I’m not even sure why. But I promise I plan to do a lot more of it in the coming year! I have been focused on some changes that I want/need to make next year and that has taken up so much thought and so much energy, I haven’t had much left for anything else.

You know it’s funny or…maybe sad that I know some people in their 40’s who are “old” and some in their 80’s who are “young.” I’m not sure how that happens or why but I want to be one of the latter. So let’s not put labels on us “older” folks. Let us try to focus on the person inside!

”Age is a matter of feeling…not of years.” ~ George William Curtis

Honestly, I have to say I have never lied about my age! Well…maybe a few times when I was under 21 and wanted to get in the bar and have a few drinks…but that’s another story. I’m proud I made it this long and proud of what I can still do at this age. Ok, there have been a few times lately when my body is saying, you can’t do that…to which I reply…Just watch me!

I come from some good stock and good genes! I take care of myself, walk every day, exercise, take vitamins and apple cider vinegar every single morning. I can also do a 2 minute plank, which makes my #2 grandson very proud!

So here’s the deal! I am not a number! You are not a number! Let’s be the best we can be and not let age define us! Onto 2019 and the big Seven O! Bring it on!

”Cherish all your happy moments; they make a fine cushion for old age.” ~ Booth Tarkington

What are your thoughts? Do you let your age define you?

 

 

19May/16

Hey, I Still Know Stuff…

I may be getting older but I still know a little something

Listen to me kid..

Listen to me kid..

Do all the young whippersnappers around you make you feel old or like you don’t know anything? Do you sometimes feel left out of conversations at dinners or a party because of your age? Do you feel you are totally dismissed, like you couldn’t possibly have a clue at “your age” of anything remotely relevant to the subject. Or worse, when you do finally have a chance to comment, you get the “eye roll.”

There have been several occasions lately where I felt this way. Maybe it was just me and the way I was feeling at the time or could it be I took the comments the wrong way, but it seems like this happens all too frequently these days. I have heard some of my friends talking about this and have seen comments on social media where the “older generation” is made fun of or mocked because how could they possibly know about anything current or interesting. I personally have felt it in a store and on the phone with a company I was dealing with.

It is all a little disconcerting to be treated in this way. To hear comments such as, “well that was then and this is now,” or “yes, I know they did it like that back in your day, but this is the way we do it in today’s world.” They may as well throw in “you old geezer” when saying these things because you know it is what they are thinking. It makes me angry to be treated like I don’t know anything or that I am incompetent because I am a certain age, it is the same way I felt when I was growing up and was treated at times like I couldn’t possibly know anything because I was a girl.

We should never be too quick to judge people on what they know just by looking at them. Nor should a whole generation be judged by their age. My generation, The Baby Boomers have gone through so many times and eras of change and revolution. We changed the world back then and we are changing it now. We have been through and seen so much and come out on the other side and in doing so we may have just gained a tiny bit of knowledge that we can pass along in today’s much different world.

“Age is not how old you are, but how many years of fun you’ve had.” -Matt Maldre

Our generation did not have all the electronics that we have today. We didn’t have computers or even calculators. So we had to learn all of this later in life. Kids today from the moment they are born are electronically connected and they know how to do things we are just learning to do. I have taught myself how to do most things by trial and error and believe me there were a lot of errors. But that is how you learn and continue to grow. I started this blog and had to learn so many things about how to get it out there for the world to even read it. I amazed myself at what I had a accomplished and that I did it all by myself. So I know a little about some stuff.

We should not be dismissed, we are still relevant. We know stuff. We know a little about a lot and we know a lot about a little. These wrinkles you mention mean I have been many places. These age spots you focus on mean I have lived and done things you will never do. These old eyes you look into have seen things…some wonderful and some I hope you will never see. When you look at us try to see what is really there. Try to see us as a whole person and see where we’ve come from and what we brought along with us. See us as having something valuable to offer. We may surprise you.

I remember growing up and listening to my grandfather for hours on end thinking he was the smartest man I ever knew. He had been through so much in his life and had so many wonderful stories and such valuable information to share that I just wanted to soak up everything he told me. I hung on his every word and loved listening to him.  And I don’t remember ever rolling my eyes during one of these conversations, not even once. Do the kids today even care about what we have to tell them? Do they want to hear our stories? I hope so.

So what do you think about this? Do you feel like the younger generation thinks we are no longer relevant? How do we change this? The bigger question is, should we even try?

We are relevant and we know stuff! Just ask us, we’ll tell you!

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~ C.S. Lewis