Day 9: It's All in the 'Tude

 Today I was reading a portion of the Axios Finish Line I received in email. In it, Mike Allen wrote that people begin to feel their youth slipping away when they are 42. They begin to feel old at age 52. He asked for input from the readers. When did I start to notice my age and how am I navigating it?

I am noticing my age now and am ignoring it. I did think about it during my efforts to find a part-time gig online. The advice I read from the AARP was that seniors could find jobs working from home. I began looking in August 2022. I applied everywhere my skills matched the employers’ requirements but was passed over repeatedly.

It must be my age, I thought. This year, I finally began working as an online tutor. I love it. I have an interview this week with our school district’s early childhood education program. I have an AA in Early Childhood Ed and years of experience tutoring children and assisting teachers. Yet, I wonder what my interviewers will think when I meet them. Will they see an asset to the team, or will they see the wrinkles on my neck and face?

I am sixty-eight. What does 68 feel like? I can’t say because in my mind, I am young. My body moves more slowly than it used to, and I have challenges with opening jars that I never had before. I have creeping arthritis and ache from time to time. Sometimes I need to nap.

The challenges don’t slow me down.

As for opening jars, pill bottles, and what have you, I have tools to help me when my fingers don’t want to cooperate. I have rheumatoid arthritis, especially in my fingers. I used to keep handwritten journals. Over the years, it’s become more difficult to hold a pen or pencil and write more than a few sentences. I got around that and use my laptop when I want to write. As for texting and instant messages, there’s a blessed thing called a microphone.

One of my favorite activities is walking, especially on park trails. When our grandson was small, Ted and I must have visited every park in southern New Jersey. I used to have to stop and take breaks because of issues with my spine. I have spinal stenosis and mild scoliosis. Despite that, being out in the fresh air and in the company of my husband and grandson was so invigorating and joyful. Last November, I had a minimally invasive procedure on my spine. Now I can walk a 2–3-mile trail without stopping for a break.

For me, navigating the years is all about attitude.

When I was forty-two, I still felt like a young person. I married and began having babies in my thirties. That year, they were 9, 7, and 3. I was working full time by day and my late first husband Rich worked nights to save on daycare. When I came home from work, Rich passed the children to me. I would take them on walks to local playgrounds or the library. We participated in scouting and school activities. I didn’t give a thought to being 42.

At 52, our grandson was two and living with us temporarily. Kids that age are highly active. I noticed increasing pain and had gained too much weight, but I didn’t slow down. My now husband Ted and I were like new parents all over again. We weren’t rocking chair grandparents to say the least.

At 55, we decided for the sake of our health to have bariatric surgery. Together, we lost a total of 350 pounds. What a difference it made. Now when we took our grandson to a park, we were happily able to get on some of the equipment with him.

It’s all in the mindset, despite any pain or physical limitations. It’s all in making adaptations to make activities easier. It’s all in staying in motion. If I were going to answer Mike Allen, these are the things I would tell him about navigating my senior years.

I am participating in the American Cancer Society’s challenge to write for thirty minutes each day in May. I do a lot of writing and I can meet this challenge. I plan to make a blog entry each day with what I’ve written.

I wanted to participate in memory of loved ones who fought cancer bravely but succumbed:

My brother-in-law Jeff

My sister-in-law Ann

My dear friend Kay

My Uncle Bob

My Uncle John

 

I also wanted to help raise money to support research and a cure for those currently fighting this vicious disease.

My Facebook to the fundraiser is here.