AGE IS MORE THAN A NUMBER

It’s a given, the the only way to live for a  long time is to get old, and at 87, I definitely qualify.
When George Burns was asked, “What would you most appreciate getting for your eighty-seventh birthday?” He said, “A paternity  suit.”  He also said, “You know you’re getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you’re down there.”

If anyone had even asked me about my advice at 87, I would have told them: 1. Learn one new thing a day. 2. If you do something nice for someone, do it early in the morning, because then you won’t have to be nice the rest of the day, and 3. When someone says, “Why don’t you look 87?” I pick up a strand of my hair and say, “It’s the Genie in the bottle.”

I am very fortunate to be in good health, but firmly believe that exercise has kept me relatively spry.  Every morning, I get my hiking stick and walk outside for about 45 minutes. Also, once a week I twist my body about in a Chair Yoga Class, and am proud that I haven’t fallen out of the chair yet.  I also take classes in Stretch and Strength.  Still not sure which is which, but I keep the body parts moving with as little moaning and groaning as possible.

A few days ago, I was late for a class, so forgetting my age, I thought, “Why not take a little jog down the hall carpet to class? Sounds like fun!”Consequently, it took no time at all for me to go down like a goalie skidding for a hockey puck, and I ended up with a mildly skinned knee that developed into a small scab. Chagrinned, I swore that I’d never try running again.  However, it did bring back sweet memories of childhood, when, as a little girl, I always sported skinned knees after playing outside, as did most little girls who wore dresses on the swings, teeter-totters and slides. My parents weren’t helicopter hovering parents, but they alway had a large supply of bandaids.

Every life cycle begins with infancy until a baby turns 18 months old.  Then you becomes a toddler. An infant’s job is to eat, sleep, poop into a diaper and trust that someone will take care of your needs—especially if you cry at the top of your lungs. When graduating into toddlerhood from 18 months to 3 years, you eventually gain enough confidence to say, “NO!” And since now you are curious about everything, it’s fun to have people chasing you before you get into too much trouble. Next, come the pre-school years from ages 3 to 5, when you begin to do things on your own, and have a purpose in life such as smearing big sister’s lipstick all over your face, or sticking a scissor into a light socket. Between 5 and12 children become more self aware learning to read and write, unless local government has banned all the books in the school library.

Then come the bumpy adolescent years between 12 and 18, and that is a really BIG in-between. Social connections are important and computers and cell phones rule, so you and your mobile hardware try to  begin to learn who you really are.  However,  if that is your only connection with the real world, you may find out, if you’ve never really adventured out of that bubble, that you don’t know who you really are, and you have let other people define you.  Then, you  may be in trouble.

If you make it to young adulthood between 18 and 40, it’s time to learn from failures—because you will have them—maybe social, professional or even financial. Sometimes young adults experience a quarter-life crisis.  However, if you are smart you will find out that you don’t really learn a lot from the good times, but you really do learn and grow from the bad ones.

According to psychologist Erik Erickson, Middle Adulthood starts at 40 and ends at 65. Time to look forward to Social Security.  This is the stage of crying like a baby again if people look back and are resentful about their life rather than becoming caring members of society.
The last stage is Late Adulthood which applies to anyone over 65. That’s when someone like me can feel a sense of peace and be grateful for everyday and be proud that you played the cards the best you could according to the way they were dealt.  Hopefully, you can end up  with a touch of wisdom.  At this stage being called a “Wise Guy” is not necessarily bad unless you spend the final stage of your  life in prison.

So there you have it in a nutshell…THE EXTENDED LIFE CYCLE ACCORDING TO ESTHER.

Esther Blumenfeld (“Today is the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you’ll ever be again” Eleanor Roosevelt)