Late last night, closer towards midnight, if my memory serves me right; the winds blowing, were very strong. That’s putting it mildly. The winds blowing were alarmingly strong. The Christmas tree in our garden and the trees along the road (street for the Americans), were swaying vigorously and bending over, looking as though they were about to be uprooted. But the trees stood their ground (figuratively speaking). They did not buckle under pressure from the winds.

Just like the old folk or putting it more precisely, (elderly?) old-er; the trees refused to give in. Maybe they were not told or pre-conditioned mentally: “You’re old” or “At your age” of “At our age”. So, they (the trees) didn’t know better.

I was inspired to write this essay by Mag, when she, in a discussion between her husband, Eugene; Hazel; and myself; a couple of nights ago, stated that senior citizens have a lot of time on their hands. I asked what age group did she think senior citizens belong to? “60 – 75 years” was her answer. I said, “I’m 64 and I don’t really have any time to kill or while away. “You’re different”, she said. I was just taking the mickey out of her.😉😁

And yes,. I am different, though I am 64. I don’t plan to be old anytime soon. It is (not “I guess” or “I think”. I am sure) because I have a whole list of things I want to do. I am now tinkering with an idea of setting up an interactive newspaper for the parishioners of the Catholic church. A new social media platform perhaps? There seems to be a communication space – where two way communication can be enhanced. Just thinking 💭aloud….

So, what constitutes being old? According to Britannica.com making For statistical and public administrative purposes, however, old age is frequently defined as 60 or 65 years of age or older. (1)

Typically, the elderly has been defined as the chronological age of 65 or older. People from 65 to 74 years old are usually considered early elderly, while those over 75 years old are referred to as late elderly. (2)

Seniors are increasingly taking part in adventurous activities. Gone are the days of seniors relegated to sitting on porches swinging life away. Instead, they’re out rock climbing, skydiving, and surfing. A growing movement of older adults refuse to let age define them or their lifestyle.

80 is the new 60 doesn’t mean 80-year olds don’t need help getting around or maintaining their homes anymore. Sure…they may forget if they are coming or going once in a while, It just means we all have more active and vibrant seniors living in our communities and that we should be supporting them while they’re out there doing what they love.

Some people are born old. They seem not to be able to do things…anything. You may know some of these “born old” type of people.

Yet some 97-ers (at least one) is still hoping to be Prime Minister… Again? Hasn’t somebody told him to act and be his age – old?

So, if the 80 is the new 60; watch out world. Coming through! Make way! We’ve got a whole lotta things we are planning to do. Hope we don’t move too fast for yer. We are not done living, yet.

Doing the line dance does not mean we are over the hill and done with living young. Just means we are having fun. Taking time to smell the roses.

Do you think we can learn from the resilience of the elder folk? Many of them have embraced modern technology like the smartphones, computers and self-driving cars, yet teach us some of the charm of yesteryear like doing the “charleston” and relying on instinct instead of data forecasts.

And that it is not the cup that holds the coffee that is important; it is the coffee.

NOTES
1. Britannica was well known for its sets of encyclopedias which had volumes of books in each set. It was the google or Wikipedia of the 1960s and 1970s.
2. devotedguardians.com

If the words in this article seem swaying, it is not because my hands are quavering (anyway, you will be able to see quavering, if any, in my handwriting; not in the typing of these words. Quavering in my handwriting is natural – its the way I write. 😂). The reason for the swaying is because I have rock ‘n roll music playing off my Google Home Mini. Nice playlist of the oldies – playing now is “Lawdy, Miss Clawdy:” by Elvis Presley.