SOAPBOX SATURDAYA Meme for the Young Minded Over Fifty Crowd
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WHAT DOES BEING OVER FIFTY MEAN TO YOU PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY & EMOTIONALLY?
I finally got to move into my home last weekend. That's why you didn't see a Soapbox post here - I was busy lifting, toting, unpacking, washing, cleaning and setting up house. In addition I was sleeping on a futon on the floor because my bed hasn't come yet! So, excuse me if you hear any creaking - it's mostly my back, hips and knees in complaint!
Here's what I noticed about this move compared to moving into my last house in 1986 - I hurt a lot more and worked a lot shorter day! Yes, I finally had to admit that "I'm not as young as I used to be." It's killing me to admit it, it's really killing me to find it out!
I lost my keys THREE TIMES! I didn't have a "place" for them set up and was dropping them wherever I happened to collapse. Then, thanks to my over 50 brain, I couldn't remember where I put them! I find my short term memory is a thing of the past along with bell bottoms, platforms and a size 8 dress. It's killing me, I tell you - physically, mentally and emotionally!
I find I am having to update the concept of my capabilities on a daily basis and this is a big pain for a control freak like me! I am faced with a body that will not respond to the demand to work 24/7, a mind that needs the help of electronic devices to remember appointments and a tendency to look back more and more instead of only looking forward.
I find myself thinking of family and friends who have left my life as I unpack memories of my times with them and a bittersweet nostalgia settles over me. I see my circle of life narrowing a little more every year as I say goodbye to another beloved pet, friend or family member.
I am seeing these maudlin tendencies and not liking them much, they are a path to depression and a downhill slide into "old age" and I'm not ready to go there yet. So, I am making a concerted effort to shake it off and focus on the rest of my life instead of my past as much as possible. Yes, it's normal to have these feelings at this time of life but I don't have to let them rule my life either!
Thankfully I have my work to keep my mind focused on less melancholy things - loving my work is probably keeping me from turning into a totally doddering old fart whining about "the good old days"! I still have good friends and my boon companion, Pixel, for company and companionship. And I have my sense of humor and desire to be happy which always makes me shake off the "old" and get on with the business of living life one day at a time. I'm lucky in many ways and I am thankful for the friends, the work and the love that I have. This gratitude helps me maintain my sanity and my spirit. My work, my friends, my loving pet and my spirit of adventure are my saving graces and ones I am heartily thankful for.
What are your experiences with the business of entering into the last half century of your life? Are you fighting the "good fight" and still looking to the future? Are you loving your life or not? Why? What are you doing to keep yourself happy, whole and forward looking? If you're not, what could you do to change that?
Let me know, share your experiences of "growing bolder not older" and maybe we can help others who find themselves facing the same potholes on Memory Lane in the town of OverFifty.
PREVIOUS SOAPBOX POSTS:Here's what I noticed about this move compared to moving into my last house in 1986 - I hurt a lot more and worked a lot shorter day! Yes, I finally had to admit that "I'm not as young as I used to be." It's killing me to admit it, it's really killing me to find it out!
I lost my keys THREE TIMES! I didn't have a "place" for them set up and was dropping them wherever I happened to collapse. Then, thanks to my over 50 brain, I couldn't remember where I put them! I find my short term memory is a thing of the past along with bell bottoms, platforms and a size 8 dress. It's killing me, I tell you - physically, mentally and emotionally!
I find I am having to update the concept of my capabilities on a daily basis and this is a big pain for a control freak like me! I am faced with a body that will not respond to the demand to work 24/7, a mind that needs the help of electronic devices to remember appointments and a tendency to look back more and more instead of only looking forward.
I find myself thinking of family and friends who have left my life as I unpack memories of my times with them and a bittersweet nostalgia settles over me. I see my circle of life narrowing a little more every year as I say goodbye to another beloved pet, friend or family member.
I am seeing these maudlin tendencies and not liking them much, they are a path to depression and a downhill slide into "old age" and I'm not ready to go there yet. So, I am making a concerted effort to shake it off and focus on the rest of my life instead of my past as much as possible. Yes, it's normal to have these feelings at this time of life but I don't have to let them rule my life either!
Thankfully I have my work to keep my mind focused on less melancholy things - loving my work is probably keeping me from turning into a totally doddering old fart whining about "the good old days"! I still have good friends and my boon companion, Pixel, for company and companionship. And I have my sense of humor and desire to be happy which always makes me shake off the "old" and get on with the business of living life one day at a time. I'm lucky in many ways and I am thankful for the friends, the work and the love that I have. This gratitude helps me maintain my sanity and my spirit. My work, my friends, my loving pet and my spirit of adventure are my saving graces and ones I am heartily thankful for.
What are your experiences with the business of entering into the last half century of your life? Are you fighting the "good fight" and still looking to the future? Are you loving your life or not? Why? What are you doing to keep yourself happy, whole and forward looking? If you're not, what could you do to change that?
Let me know, share your experiences of "growing bolder not older" and maybe we can help others who find themselves facing the same potholes on Memory Lane in the town of OverFifty.
Reinventing Boomers - New Life After 50
What is Today's Economy doing to Retiring Boomers?
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