By Lynn Kellogg
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” – a quote from Satchel Paige. Good question.
Ever since childhood I’ve been a good swimmer and enjoyed diving through large waves. When succumbing to that pleasure a couple years ago, my companion asked how old I was. “Eighteen” I replied, how old are you? “Thirty” was the response. We laughed, both of us in our seventies, then plunged into another whitecap.
September is National Healthy Aging Month. Established in 1992 as a health promotion to highlight the positive aspects of aging and encourage healthy, active lifestyles. September was chosen to incentivize a fresh start, like a back-to-school routine, hopefully making it easier for people to adopt new health habits after summer.
The Healthy Aging Brand expanded over three decades, resulting in the Senate officially designating September National Healthy Aging Month in 2021. It’s a great time to think about your eating habits, socializing, and activity or exercise levels.
Sometimes we’re our own worst enemy, focusing more on what we can’t do than what we can. An interview with Michael J. Fox was impressive. With his advanced Parkinson’s, he commented that if he saw only what he could no longer do, he wouldn’t be able to bear it. Instead, focusing on what he could do, or might be able to achieve, allowed him challenges, successes, and continued quality of life.
Similarly, a local friend I don’t see very often has ALS, which has progressed to confinement in an electric wheelchair that can support his body positioning. I happened to see him at a local concert. When he caught my eye, he smiled and nodded across the room. Impressive resilience.
People born with disabilities are way ahead of many in attitude adjustment. Use of varied implements and tools that ease or make possible daily functioning is learned early and normalized.
Perhaps especially in an ageist society, those of us with full body function often find adaptations to later life decline or disease so negative we stop trying. Not a good attitude if you’re privileged to live long enough.
Scooters, wheelchairs, varied crutches, oxygen, walkers, grab rails and so on are all tools to maximize independence; signs of resilience. A friend asked to use my late husband’s all-terrain scooter to attend a beloved music festival – resilience!
While we’re almost at the end of September, don’t let it pass without thinking about your health in a positive proactive way. “Curiosity Has No Age Limit” is this year’s Healthy Aging theme. There are five Key Wellness Pillars to consider under this theme.
First: Physical Health. Stay active with consistent movement like walking, tai chi or an exercise regimen.
Second: Mental Engagement. “It’s never too late to be what you might have been”. This quote by George Eliot appears on the lobby screens at the Campus for Creative Aging. Give something a try, maybe a new hobby or puzzle. Work to balance positive and negative aspects of life.
Third: Social Engagement. Proven to be the most beneficial for both physical and mental health, social connections are important. Say yes to invitations, create some, volunteer, or head out to community events. It pays off.
Fourth: Financial Security. Review your budget and plan ahead to reduce stress.
Fifth: Rest. Prioritize sleep to support overall brain function and restore energy. Aim for seven hours or more, recognizing changing sleep patterns come frequently with age. It’s total hours of sleep in a day that counts, not necessarily the sequence.
Other ideas or questions in your mind? Remember – you’ve got a friend in the local Area Agency on Aging. Check out www.areaagencyonaging.org to see a host of information and opportunities. Good luck!
Lynn Kellogg is former CEO of Region IV Area Agency on Aging in Southwest Michigan. The Generations column appears each weekend in The Herald-Palladium.