the aging factor

Ha! My whole intent within the last 24 hours
was to write this blogpost
about birthdays and aging

but somewhere in there
i got distracted
SQUIRREL!
and wrote 2 other posts instead

so i'm back
3rd time in 24 hours

in April I attend a Leadership Conference
That oddly enough, had a session titled
Redefining Aging
And it was so surprisingly good!

she asked us to go back to our childhood
and think of someone who you thought was really old

in my mind I saw
Uncle John Walraven
Grandpa Van Haaften
Great Grandma Lautenbach
Auntie Rose
Uncle Bill & Aunt Johanna
Great Grandpa Tinkler
Uncle Harold

I adored each of them
Each has left an impression with me
As a child I didn’t “see” their wrinkles or their hair color
What I saw and honored was their experience
They were marvelous
For their character
And their stories

So why do people deny their age?
Why are we so fearful of aging?
What is it we fear?
Wrinkles and gray hair? Last time i checked...harmless.
Why do we consider it a compliment when someone says we don’t look our age?
Who decides what old is? What does it look like? When do you become old?
Have you thought about how awful it is that we played a card game called Old Maid?

Just today I shared a conversation with a co-worker friend
About how much I love my 30s
The 30s feels like it’s been my best decade
She said the same thing
And we hope that 10 years from now we say the same thing about our 40s!

With each year
We have the opportunity to become…
More active
More compassionate
More creative
More generous
More wise
More resilient
More debt-free
More!

Mariah Burton Nelson gets the credit for helping me think about old differently
She suggested we have fun with it
perhaps with a chant
“We’re old. We’re bold. We’re always too hot or too cold.”

And the shocking conclusion to her excellent session
Was when we all stood up and sang
To the tune of “My Favorite Things”
from The Sound of Music
these lyrics written by Mariah Burton Nelson
titled “Women Who Exercise”
--start humming and sing along now--
Women who exercise
build bones and muscles
Less risk of stroke and
Less strain on blood vessels.

Less diabetes
Arthritis and fat
Physical happiness!
How about that!

OSTEOPOROSIS!
Deep vein THROMBOsis!
These would FEEL so bad.

But when we get moving
We rarely get sick
More good news:
We’re RARELY sad!

We are all athletes
I hope you believe it
Fitness is yours
I know you can achieve it.

Make it a habit
and learn how to train
Your BODY will love you
and so will your BRAIN!

FEWER BACK aches!
FEWER HEART aches!
Better sleep…and sex

Go golfing or swimming
Invite all your friends
Good HEALTH is all YOURS…
Go flex!