Aging Gracefully
Lately, I’ve been thinking about aging.
Jenny Joseph’s famous poem “When I am an Old Woman I shall Wear Purple” is wonderful; she concludes by saying:
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
and pay our rent and not swear in the street
and set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
I'm, err, 43. Firmly in my middle age years, mentally and physically, and still working on setting that good example. I'm no longer young, but by no means elderly. The signs of aging are accelerating. Gravity is winning the battle; the smile lines and crows' feet are more prominent; the old injuries are becoming more pragmatic; my eyesight is noticeably worse and the mood swings and headaches are probably a good indication I'm heading into perimenopause. (No, this post isn't about female hormone stuff.. just an objective observation.)
I wonder… what does aging hold for me? It's certainly much better than the alternative.
Today, my flight was full of predominantly elderly folks headed for an Alaskan cruise, north to south route. They were fairly active folks with a positive outlook. Some had hearing aids, coke-bottle-bottom glasses, canes, even a sling for a shoulder injury, but mostly the group was hale and healthy. (Please, though, fanny packs slung over a broad belly are really not a good look for anyone.)
These ladies and gentlemen, though, were so slow and particular. The folks near me had to rifle through suitcases to find what they needed (not electronics!) for the trip, lift stuff up and down into the overhead bins, and tended to forget and relocate items. They basically blocked the aisle for much of the boarding process and the actual flight. They were fairly oblivious to those around them, not noticing when they held up lines or bumped into others. You know, they probably have no reason to be in a tearing hurry anymore – they're not juggling all that we middle-aged folks do, and that's probably a great relief.
Am I headed toward slow, fussy old age? Probably. I'm borderline OCD, very particular, and tend to micro-focus and tune out the external world. Plus, I can be quite cranky and critical on a bad day.
Since I feel the effects of age even now, I can't imagine what my body will feel like when I'm 70. Will I be able to garden, climb stairs, walk the dog, enjoy my hobbies? It seems that the successfully, happily retired folks I know focus heavily on quality of life, enjoying each moment. I have noticed the most active and healthy older women are the slim, agile type –larger elderly ladies seem to be noticeably in much worse health. I guess I'd better get to work on arriving there in better shape!
My mom, who I brag about often, is my hero in this regard. She is 73 right now, and is training for the Senior Olympic nationals in swimming next summer. She also runs agility and does dance class with her Australian Shepherd, takes yoga and does distance walking. Aside from her recreational activities, she does a tremendous amount of work keeping the mini-farm up – digging irrigation systems, building garden beds, decks, fences, hauling rocks, etc. I would love to be as energetic and lively as her 30 years from now.
My hostess Barb – newly self-employed in the financial planning field - and I were talking about retirement expectations tonight. Her very solid advice was to plan for the same type of lifestyle in retirement that you have in your everyday life… not to shoot for some pie in the sky standard of living with lake houses, sports cars, international travel and expensive hobbies. That's food for thought, as I'd always hoped to travel more as a retiree but probably need to look at the expense of travel realistically.
I would like to retire someday, maybe a bit early, although with the last year's stock market performance that's a little further away than before. I need to focus not only on saving for retirement, though, but also on building a healthy body and outlook so that I'm able to truly enjoy those later chapters in my life.
Wearing purple is all good and fine, but if I try to strap on a fanny pack, just say no.
Posted on Monday, May 19th, 2008 by Jeri
Under: health | 4 Comments »


