Senior news: Remembering the good ol’ days has benefits

Over the last six years since I turned 60, I have found getting older is a series of adventures: never knowing what to expect next. And I never knew how many of those adventures would have to do with this body of mine: the occasional broken hip, incapacitating dizzy spells; hearing loss (my hearing in one ear is so bad it doesn’t need a hearing aid so hearing aids are half the price!), a nose that springs a leak without any warning, foretelling things to come, anxiety dreams about forgetting words during conversations — do I need to go on?

And even though the body isn’t always cooperative, there are advantages to growing older. Really. I can take a midday nap without anyone raising an eyebrow; I feel entitled and sometimes even compelled to give unsolicited advice about life to fortysomethings; if I forget or misplace something, I am excused because, you know, older folks are like that; and I have learned so much about health problems I could start my own medical practice.