Getting Older Doesn’t Mean Getting Old: Two Different Things
āNot at my age.ā
āToo old for that.ā
āIāll save that for the younger people.ā
What do these three things have in common? Things I really try never, ever or ever to say, because getting older doesn’t mean getting old.
As my birthday quickly approaches, age is on my mind, which is unusual as itās not something I think about much. I still have a young child at home and I am pretty active. I run, I stay up late and I still party with the best. While of course we have to do our best to stay healthy and that means we remember our bodies may change as we get older, Iām not letting my age change anything else. Age really is just a number for me and donāt tell anyone, but I almost never tell anyone my real age ā and almost no one ever guesses it right either. Age signifies so much to people, why let someone define us by it?
Other than health issues, weāre only limited by what we let limit us. I did a quick Google search on age and I found quite a few inspirational quotes I hope to remember.
“You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” (Unknown)
That one fits my feelings exactly. We donāt have control over how old we get, or what age may do to parts of our body, but we have control over much of what it can do to our minds. We donāt have to give in to being āoldā or unable to do something. Whatās not a true physical limitation doesnāt need to be a mental one either.
āAge is an issue of mind over matter. If you donāt mind, it doesnāt matter.ā
That oneās from Mark Twain. I donāt mind how old I am so Iām not going to let it matter. My age is not an excuse. Life is too short, I donāt want to have regrets, and if Iām okay missing out, not having regrets may be even worse. Shouldnāt we go down kicking and screaming, wanting to enjoy just one more event with our loved ones? One more sunset? One more glass of good wine, an entertaining book or a sinfully delicious cupcake? One last sky dive, ski run or race?
āI love the person Iāve become because I fought to become her,ā from Kaci Diane.
This one gives another perspective. When weāve tried so hard to get where we are in life, why let something as basic as a number jeopardize it?
I figure age is a lot like voting. If I donāt vote, I canāt complain about the outcome. At least I tried. If I donāt try to stay active or just give up, I canāt complain about feeling old. Age is so often a feeling. Itās a fact about the age of our body but we donāt need to let it change who we are. Age isn’t who we are, just one small adjective about us.
Someone in their 80s can be a lot more active than someone in their 30s. A 25-year-old can be wiser than someone twice their age. Go stand at Venice Beach for 10 minutes and youāll see older bodybuilders that will put us younger people to shame. Whatās their magic secret? They tried.
Iāve told my husband oh so many times, if I start acting old, tell me. If Iām content sitting on a chair while others are participating and I say Iām bored, itās my own fault. If Iām missing out on anything while blaming my age, smack me upside the head. Figuratively, of course. I donāt want to be complacent in aging, I donāt want to do it quietly. I want to still have the energy to run with my great-grandkids, climb the stairs at a Nascar race, dance at a celebration and paint my kitchen walls. That doesnāt mean I wonāt wince later at muscle pain or sleep extra from being tired; it just means I wonāt miss out on the fun and experiences because of how many birthdays Iāve celebrated.
There are days Iām more tired than others, sure. There are days Iād give anything to have another baby, too. Crazy and totally at odds with each other. (And that baby thing, itās not happeningā¦) I may creak a little when I get out of the bed in the morning, I donāt always bounce back as quickly as I did after a late night out and my metabolism is slower, but I can still get out of bed in the morning. I can still stay up late and I can get that metabolism moving if I try. All is good. Those things only get in the way if I say āThese things happen at my age, Iāll just need to deal with it.ā
I donāt want to just deal with it. I donāt want to resign myself to looking back at memories, but I want to keep making them. Trying new things. Being silly with the kids. The list is endless. I donāt want to get set in my ways, just because this is how Iāve always done it. I want to continue to be willing to have an open mind, to do things I may not have ever wanted to do before. I donāt want to be the lady in the commercial that screams at riding in a motorcycle side car, wants to call the police on her neighbors for having a contained fire pit or hassles her husband for āeating his ice cream all over himself.ā Whereās the fun in that?
Do you think age defines you? What’s the one thing you want to be able to say you did, despite age or lack of it? Share! Or what’s one thing that you refuse to stop doing just because your numbers are getting higher? For me, it’s skiing! And going to Disneyland. I’ll do those things forever!