You look up one day and you realize that you have grown old .....prematurely. This does not happen to everyone. So, I have made up my mind that this will not happen to me. What about you?
The thing that has compelled me to write this article is watching my mother in law struggle with her life. Here is a lady that has traveled the world, from Bali to Shanghai, Thailand to Tibet and from Singapore to Spain, Czechoslovakia and Vietnam is on that list. She has seen her fair share of the world. From her travels, she learned a lot about different cuisines and vegetables to eat and before it was hip to be a vegetarian, she was already on that path.
My mother in law is not diabetic, has no high blood pressure or any of the typical illnesses you see in people with debilitating health. She would pride herself in being astute on holistic cures. I remember she was still jogging with her daughters at age 60.
However, at age 75 she was diagnosed as having Parkinson’s with signs of Dementia. Parkinson’s is the type that stiffens the body, so she is becoming immobile. It is her inability to move that has caused her to be in the condition that she is in today. She retired early from teaching high school cosmetology, and as a widow, living alone, she began to sit. We all have heard, “you use it or lose it.” For her it was imperative that she move, but she didn’t. So ask yourself, are you moving enough? Are you eating healthy? There are some that aged very well. Let’s consider President Jimmy Carter and his late wife Rosalind. Rosalind died at 96 and President Carter is still hanging on at age 99. It could be attributed to the great lives and great health care they had access to as a former-U.S. President and First Lady. It’s evident, they made great choices in their lives. Are you making great choices?”
Personally, I look good for my age. I am reasonably healthy, not on any medication. I try to eat well and get some exercise at least three times a week. My doctor says I should walk daily but I am hard headed but I’m getting there. However I do stretch, do push ups, play golf when the weather permits, and always dance at parties and events. Plus, I consciously eat something green everyday. I definitely should do more since I do smoke and drink occasionally. Yet, I feel I make decent life choices.
If you want a good life going into your golden years, let’s try not to get into that bad behavior of just sitting on the couch and switching channels. Get your butt up and walk down your street, and then your block. You’d be surprised at how much territory you can cover.
If alone, move out of that “home alone” situation into living with your children, a senior center or with a friend while you are well. Alone is not good! Get involved in senior center activities. Take a foreign language. Take some dance lessons, take an art class, just do something different, anything...regularly! Peace!
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