Everyone, if they are fortunate enough, will experience the advantages and disadvantages of old age. Being a successful senior requires certain skills and attitudes that need to be developed throughout life. These qualities will not magically appear as the twilight years approach.
Family members will be among the first to notice when their elders begin to slow down. In time, Grandma or Grandpa will no longer wish to participate in the active activities their younger relatives enjoy. Older folks may repeat the same stories to the same person several times. Operating the latest gadgets may seem to be beyond their capabilities, and furthermore, they may exhibit no interest in learning to do so.
So how can one prepare oneself to "age gracefully", when family members and even the senior himself or herself, must admit that he or she is no longer in the prime of life? Here are a few suggestions:
* Maintain as many friends as possible who are your contemporaries. Since everyone is at the same stage of life, you will have many of the same interests. You can laugh together at the foibles of youth as well as your own age-related blunders.
* Develop interests which are enjoyable and can be done alone: reading, painting, photography, needlework, writing, or baking. Besides being satisfying hobbies, some of these activities produce unique gifts. When the young folks receive homemade cabbage rolls, lasagna, or a handmade sweater or afghan from you, they may decide that their elders are not so irrelevant after all.
* Become your own best friend. Give yourself permission to watch a late movie and sleep until noon, to enjoy your favorite snack often, without counting calories, to splurge on a bottle of perfume or on a visit to a spa. Get a personal DVD player and enjoy movie classics whenever you wish. These are your "golden years", and it's permissible to pamper yourself.
* Nourish yourself well, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Eat and drink wisely and in moderation, develop an appreciation of good art, music and literature, and attend the church of your choice regularly.
* Join a seniors' center or church group for seniors and participate in activities offered. You'll be socializing with people of a similar age while sharing activities, outings and adventures geared for enjoyment. As a dividend, you will not be left tired out for the next three weeks.
* Visit your doctor regularly. You need to maintain good health to enjoy these "golden years" as long as possible.
* Overcome your aversion to new-fangled gadgets and get a computer. They are really not hard to operate and they will be your window on the world. Enlist a patient younger person as a coach and have him or her write down instructions so you can practice on your own, at your leisure. Soon you'll have friends around the globe with whom you can visit any time, day or night, no matter what the weather.
Growing older, admittedly, has some disadvantages, but it also contains an excess of blessings which are sometimes too numerous to count. If prepared for properly, and eased into gently with a positive attitude, the twilight years can be one of the most enjoyable of all the seasons of life.
The other day a man asked me what I thought was the best time of life. "Why," I answered without a thought, "Now". David Grayson
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