How do you feel about getting older, entering the next chapter, maturing like a fine wine, becoming a golden oldie, moving into classic status … Stop! That’s enough with the euphemisms!
Well, as I was trying to say, Dr. Bill Thomas, a well-known geriatrician who has written and spoken extensively about aging, has presented a three category model of aging mindsets: how we think and feel about growing older.
One is the deniers who can’t imagine getting old happening to them. It happens to people around them, but they are going to make sure to do everything that will prevent it. They internalized that getting old is full of disappointment and a loss of independence and control. (That’s my younger brother, but hey, he is only 67.)
There are the realists who understand the realities of getting old — the loss of flexibility, mental sharpness, strength — and understand that even with the best intentions, age will catch up and change what we can do.
And there is the third stage where few of us have ventured. They are age enthusiasts. They understand the downside of getting older, but they also see the blessings and the opportunities they are now free to explore. They deal with the natural results of aging and live lives of enthusiasm and possibilities.
Every stage of our lives had its difficulties, but we were too busy living our lives to dwell on them. But our sense of self never ages. We are who we are, and we will be until we no longer inhabit this planet.
Okay, I am getting a little deep here and getting lost in my own thoughts. But the point is that there is much to be enthusiastic about as we age: our grandkids who we can spoil and not suffer the consequences as we did with our own kids, renew old acquaintances on Facebook and other social media, be silly since there is less social pressure to do what is expected, explore new creative possibilities, and you have time to reflect on all the precious memories we have accumulated over the years.
It’s hard to avoid the many challenges we encounter as we age: health, finances, loneliness. But during these later years, we can also be enthusiastic about what lies ahead. As Laura Carstensen said, “Aging is inevitable. How you age is not.”
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Brain Tease. Cryptogram puzzles, in which each letter of the alphabet is replaced by another, are a powerful tool for cognitive training and language development, as they require pattern recognition, vocabulary knowledge, and logical deduction.
There are several websites where you can create your own cryptogram puzzles. See if you can decode this Yogi Berra quote I generated using the Puzzle Generator Cryptograms website at puzzlegenerator.org/cryptogram-generator.
QSVQNL UG ZG GZITK HTGHST’L YXFTKQSL, GZITKVOLT ZITN VGF’Z EGDT ZG NGXKL.
— NGUO WTKKQ
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The name of the Beach Boys’ 11th studio album, released in 1966, and ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as the second greatest album of all time, was Pet Sounds. I received correct answers from Bruce Johnson, Doug Nelson, Donna Mollet, Rhonda Spies, Pat Evenson-Brady, Tina Castanares, Mike McFarlane, Judy Kiser, Rebecca Abrams, Eva Summers, Stephen Woolpert, and David Liberty, who is this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket. And last week, as I was jumping on a Pogo Stick that wouldn’t let me off, I missed Craig Terry, Doug Nelson, Patti Jo McCarthy, and Becky Podvent.
Summer will be here soon, and for the next several weeks, to get us in the mood, I’ll be asking questions about those summer hits that we danced to, or better yet, listened to while we were innocently “necking” on the living room couch. But first, where we first heard many of those hits was a television show hosted by Dick Clark (the world’s oldest teenager!). I watched it often to learn the latest dance moves — not that I ever used them!
For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the name of this television show that featured teenagers dancing to popular songs from the Top 40 charts? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or send it with a 45 record of “Disco Duck” sung by Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots (1976) that was showcased during the “Rate-a-Record” segment and became a national hit — for some peculiar reason.
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Well, it’s been another week, trying to keep an open mind without my brains falling out. Until we meet again, keep dancing the night away, even if it’s only in your dreams.
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“The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest that perhaps they’re too old to do it.”
— Shirley MacLaine
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