Time Marches On

I knew I must be getting old when I instinctively began saving newspaper articles in a folder I'd labeled Getting Old Stuff—articles such as "Resources for Finding Senior Citizen Discounts," "Choosing a Geriatric Doctor," and "Planning Ahead While You're Still Around." Additionally, I noticed books appearing on my bookshelf such as American Guidebook for Seniors and Aging Well and other similarly thrilling titles.

I began collecting little items such as the Senility Prayer (not to be confused with Serenity Prayer): "Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference."

I was drawn to terms like "riper years" and "second wind." I caught on to the fact that "power surges" and "your inner child playing with matches" were references to hot flashes.

Growing up, I was not concerned about growing old. My big worry was that the Second Coming and End of the World would come before I was old enough to get married and have a family. Growing old wasn't even on my radar screen. Besides, growing old only happened to old people, and I certainly wasn't one of those.

My twenty-fifth birthday was quite traumatic. To realize that I had already lived a quarter of a century was rather unsettling. Turning thirty was something I thought would never happen to me—but it did. And I learned that after thirty your body has a mind of its own. Now I know that it's easier to turn fifty than to turn thirty. When you turn thirty, you're an old young person, but when you turn fifty, you're a young old person.

Demographers predict that 25 years from now, there will be more people over fifty than under eighteen for the first time in U.S. history. One thing is certain: We're coming to a neighborhood near you.

Like it or not, time marches on. Scientists say that each of us is actually three different ages rolled into one: (1) chronological age, marked by the calendar; (2) physiological or biological age, the condition of the sum and parts of our body; and (3) psychological age, how old we act and feel.

We may ask ourselves, "Why do I look so different from the way I feel inside?" Years ago I interviewed several senior citizens for an article I wrote titled "The Bright Side of Growing Older." When asked what it is like being older, one woman stated, "It isn't very much different from being young. You really feel the same inside. How old do I feel? It depends on the day, of course. I am just myself. I don't feel old or young; I just feel me."

Another woman said, "Your spirit never gets old.... Your body might, but your spirit doesn't. I think, `Seventy-four! Where did all the years go?' Inside, I feel about twenty-five."

Rinda Sudweeks stopped jogging at the age of 70. When I interviewed her at the age of 74, she was walking briskly at least two miles a day except for the two days a week she worked at the Provo Temple beginning at 4:30 a.m. In the summer she gardened her one-third acre lot, preserving the fruits and vegetables—75 to 100 cases each year—which she gave to her married children.

Rinda said enthusiastically, "I love to be active and I love people, and I love making things that I can give away and share with people. I love to be happy. I love to work, to tell you the truth. I like to feel tired at the end of the day. I couldn't stand to just sit. When I watch TV, I'm always doing things with my hands, as well." She added, "I will not let myself say I can't do a certain activity anymore because of my age. I don't know why you ever have to stop anything unless you just don't like to do it."

Now, that is a positive attitude!

In most cases though, the body wears out long before we're ready to vacate the premises. While aging often brings limitations—yet, in the ripeness of age, the spirit can bloom. Perhaps we can make friends with mortality.

Of course, how long we live will never be as important as how well we live. And while we may not be able to control the length of life, we can control its breadth and depth.

At any rate, I am forced to concede that aging is something that is virtually unavoidable. As someone said, "Aging begins at birth and continues relentlessly. The only difference is that some stay at it longer than others. So, be glad you are getting old; it is a privilege denied to many."

Another man said it forthrightly: "The only reason I want to get older is because the only way to escape it is to die young." Another agreed: "Being old isn't so important—at least not compared to being alive."

Having an optimistic outlook is all important. As one positive person once said, "Any day above ground is a good day."