What is there to fix about aging? Maybe drugs or surgery can fix pain, but not our loss of certain abilities, such as our memory, or a slew of the unavoidable maladies aging brings. When people write or speak of aging as a “golden time,” one immediately knows they are not part of this population. Even if a keen observer, even professionals who study old age in medicine, psychology, and other fields can only speculate and opinionate on what it’s like to be over seventy years old.
I have repeatedly written that aging is not for the weak or faint of heart. Most who are strong and active in their middle age are inclined, as we were, to ignore that they are on the brink of knowing this personally. I biked, skied, hiked, and generally thought those days would simply continue. Who is old? Not me!
So, how long will we live? I never gave that any thought; we just lived each day as if the days following continued in the same fashion. Looking back, would thinking about our again process have been the better path? Frankly, I am satisfied with how we lived our lives and our many adventures and challenges.
Even now, being seriously old, each day is lived as fully as we are able. Admittedly, our days are a repeat of the day before, other than the wonderful people who come to visit us. What a blessing they are to us! They give all of us an opportunity to relive events that meant so much, whether they be challenges, successes, or failures. Life, as we often said throughout all of our programs, is “a learning experience.”
Sy
