Ain't No Place for Sissies

 Was it Bette Davis who said that "Old age ain't no place for sissies."?  I mean, if you are "lucky', you get to that stage where you sometimes forget how old you are, start reminding yourself to stand up straight when slouching is easier  ... and ... to pick up your feet if there are throw rugs in the room.  Considering this and other things you are thinking of-- perhaps it is time to take a personal inventory.

Challenges are not just for younger people and neither are goals. With that in mind - as well as from talking with others -- I think that many people function better with a To Do list -- hardest things at the top of the list so that if you do only that one thing in a day, you know you did something that matters. You did the hard thing.  That's important -- to know that you can.   Ever feel that way? (It's also fun to check things off the list... morale boosting.)

It may be easier to sit, but actually it is way more rewarding to get up and move a bit if possible,  and to accomplish things or to make the effort ... to realize once again that you are in charge of your own life and can decide what it will be and become. Or -- you do the best you can do.  Every age has it's own unique challenges. Aging is no exception to this. ( Notice the difference between the words "growing up" and "aging"? Huge...)

Actually  -- if you think about it, "the later years" are not or may not be, the hardest time of one's life. (Even thinking back to the adolescent years makes me shudder a bit...)  Think back and realize what you have accomplished in your lifetime in spite of what your trials and tribulations were/are,  and then set some goals, figure out a way to overcome some of the current challenges. That is what you have always done in your lifetime.  Don't stop now. Modify if necessary, but continue on. Perhaps these challenges are just another path to personal growth of a positive nature. We can do this.  Trying counts.

It's also okay to talk to yourself.  Actually I think that is what I am doing with this week's blog. 

By the way ... BlogSpot tells me that From Pencil Box to Keyboard, had almost 2000 views this past week and over 7000 views in the month of September, 2026 - the highest ever.  I have no idea why.....  Seriously ... Thank you, once again, for reading my ramblings.

Upcoming 55th High School Reunion

 

(This topic may or may not have something to do with my upcoming 55^th high school reunion.)

I have been thinking lately about how one knows when they are getting old? I mean people tend to feel much younger than they really are sometimes. Are there any signs by which to measure? Now that my “age group” is nearing the top of the Class of Boomers, I have compiled, from the comments of others and from my own personal observations, a list of Senior Boomer traits to consider when pondering the aging question.

  It is:

•     becoming more and difficult to avoid making old people noises          like moaning, groaning and "slurpy" hissing sounds when moving      after a time of ... not moving.
•     longing for the comfort/security of old, seemingly simpler times.
•     struggling with the latest technology.
•     thinking that a lot of people tend to mumble.
•     talking, perhaps excessively, about health issues.
•     putting on underwear while standing has become a memory for        the most part.
•     "rolling up one's sleeves" and getting to work is sometimes              easier said than done.
•     having multiple pairs of reading glasses stashed throughout              one’s home – on a door knob or on a beaded chain hanging              around one’s neck is common and doesn't seem weird at all.
•     being concerned about increasing episodes of benign                        forgetfulness.
•     thinking that your grandma/grandpa is living in your mirror.
•     noticing that freckles have become way bigger.
•     realizing suddenly that Robert Redford is wrinkly, Tom Selleck is        promoting reverse mortgages, and Joe Namath touts Medicare          supplements.
•     using directions like “hang a right at the intersection where the        drive-in used to be.
•      missing family and friends... that being the most poignant of all.

All that being said ... and I bet you are thinking of more right this minute … (please feel free to share) ... we are all getting older and one of the best things for me about class reunions is that I tend to see people as I remember them (all the best traits) and find it absolutely lovely to reminisce and laugh together once again. And … it never fails that I have a chance to talk with a classmate and come away wishing that I had known him or her better back then in the good olde days. It is restorative.  Shared memories of times past – all the while including all those we are missing for whatever reason.  I guess, getting older is sometimes a part of the journey... nice that we can spend some time with fellow travelers. 

A huge thank you to all those classmates who are making this all possible.