Wonderful words, Don. I agree with all of them. As I get older, I'm going with the Mexican take on aging: the older we are, the wiser, and more treasured we are. In my husband's culture, there's a lot more interaction between the generations, and respect and reverence for the aging population.
(I'm a little late responding, since I just found this issue buried in my email.)
When I was a student at LSU, I'll never forget meeting the widowed, septuagenarian mother of a classmate, Jeff Curtis. All of our circle of friends LOVED Mrs. Curtis. She was sharp, lively, fun...not to mention she invited us for dinner occasionally.
We all came away from her agreeing "We're not worried about getting old if we can be like her!" She was an inspiration for us all.
I just turned 70 the sixth of August. When I think of other people that are 70, it sounds really old. When I think of my self at 70, I think of maybe 55 years old, because I don't feel 70. Hopefully, my subconscious will help me stay young.
Thanks for this. I see this with some medical providers, with whom we aging folks spend a lot of our time. When I take my mother to the doctor, I find I spend a lot of time choreographing. For example, if the doctor addresses me and talks about my mom in the third person, I turn my gaze exclusively to her in order to get the doctor to do the same. And if we encounter the dreaded infantilizing "we"--"Are we taking any heart medications?," my inner snarky self wants to reply, "I don't know--ARE we?" but instead I engage my mom in the conversation with an emphasized "you" (although she's usually already answered because, well, she's not a child).
Wonderful words, Don. I agree with all of them. As I get older, I'm going with the Mexican take on aging: the older we are, the wiser, and more treasured we are. In my husband's culture, there's a lot more interaction between the generations, and respect and reverence for the aging population.
(I'm a little late responding, since I just found this issue buried in my email.)
When I was a student at LSU, I'll never forget meeting the widowed, septuagenarian mother of a classmate, Jeff Curtis. All of our circle of friends LOVED Mrs. Curtis. She was sharp, lively, fun...not to mention she invited us for dinner occasionally.
We all came away from her agreeing "We're not worried about getting old if we can be like her!" She was an inspiration for us all.
I just turned 70 the sixth of August. When I think of other people that are 70, it sounds really old. When I think of my self at 70, I think of maybe 55 years old, because I don't feel 70. Hopefully, my subconscious will help me stay young.
Thanks for this. I see this with some medical providers, with whom we aging folks spend a lot of our time. When I take my mother to the doctor, I find I spend a lot of time choreographing. For example, if the doctor addresses me and talks about my mom in the third person, I turn my gaze exclusively to her in order to get the doctor to do the same. And if we encounter the dreaded infantilizing "we"--"Are we taking any heart medications?," my inner snarky self wants to reply, "I don't know--ARE we?" but instead I engage my mom in the conversation with an emphasized "you" (although she's usually already answered because, well, she's not a child).
I do believe you’re right, Don.