Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
—from Rabbi Ben Ezra by Robert Browning
The first time I wrote a column about aging, it was entitled, “Lordy, Lordy, What’s the Big Deal About Turning 40?” because it didn’t seem to be a big deal. Indeed, I emerged from that decade relatively unscathed.
Luanne Austin
But turning 70 does seem to be a big deal.
Turning 50 didn’t seem to bother me, but a few years in I began dealing with creaky joints (eliminated by joining yoga lessons), and a bout with breast cancer, which forced me to face my mortality, along with many aspects of my spiritual, physical and emotional health.
Turning 60, I pondered my parents’ deaths: they both died in their mid-60s. Would I outlast them?
Now, on the eve of turning 70, I can say that by the grace of God I’m in much better health than my parents were at 50.
But 70 is still elderly.
Nobody these days says to me, “But you don’t look old enough to have grandchildren!” My hair is naturally white and my eyes have wrinkles around them. (Heck, my legs have wrinkles!)
Other signs of aging:
- I’m usually in bed by 9:30 pm.
- Rather than clingy clothes and high heels, I’m more likely to wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
- I find it difficult to tolerate cell phone obsession.
- The Wednesday newspaper is my favorite because of the grocery store inserts.
I am grateful for what I’ve got going for me: a loving family, no debts, my rural home. When I have a health concern, I address it right away. I’ve dealt with pre-diabetes, cancer, bad cholesterol, diverticulitis, piriformis syndrome, plantar fasciitis, dizziness.
As much as I knew how, I began good health habits when I was young, like eating whole foods cooked from scratch, doing some form of aerobic exercise on most days and strength training.
I cling to the recent words of my yoga instructor: “You move like a much younger woman.”
One thing I overlooked while adopting all these wholesome habits was dental care. You’d think that seeing both my parents get dentures while in their 30s would have taught me that lesson. I won’t bore you with all of my oral health problems through the years, but about 10 years ago I finally began daily care and those twice-per-year check-ups.
Poor oral health can lead to bacteria in the rest of your body, which can lead to infection and inflammation, which can lead to a whole host of serious health issues.
Managing stress is also of the utmost importance. The Mayo Clinic says that too much exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can disrupt almost all the body’s processes. This puts us at higher risk of many health problems, including depression, digestive problems, headaches, muscle pain, heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep problems, weight gain, problems with memory and focu.
The best ways I know to manage stress is to get outdoors every day for the sunshine, fresh air and nature, to practice spiritual disciplines that help me let go of things I can’t control, and to spend time with friends and family.
In spite of the aging process, in many ways — both good and bad — I am still all the ages I have ever been. Some things have not changed at all:
At age 7, my favorite things to do were reading, riding my bicycle and playing with my friends.
And at age 30, “Rabbi Ben Ezra” was my favorite poem.