How To Be Old

It’s not a great revelation to say it’s not easy being old. The hardships, mostly physical, mount by the day. But you can do one of two things as age creeps up on you: deal with it or let it deal with you. To put it another way, old age is going to come no matter what you do, but there are ways you can soften the blows.

As for that popular phrase “The Golden Years,” the more appropriate metallic metaphor would be lead. So you have to do what you’ve done all your life: the best you can. And that starts with attitude.

I’m not suggesting that you deny what the years are doing to you; they have always had the last word. But if you simply bemoan your plight, and let the inevitable shadow of age envelop you without bringing some sunshine into it, you’ll not only grow old you’ll grow miserably old. When Mother Nature gave us a heart, lungs and a brain, she said, “Okay, here are your tools. Now go ahead and use them to build something, not for just a few robust years, but as long as they’re in your body.”

So as your body loses its vitality, and your brain goes a bit haywire, you have to compensate for decline in the following simple but effective ways.

1.  Read a book – Most older people’s intake of the outside world is TV. That’s okay, but a lot of it is better at putting your backside to sleep than stimulating your brain. Game shows and commercials predominate. A good sitcom, such as “Everybody Loves Raymond,” is fine, but that’s the exception. A book reveals the intricacies of its characters, their relationships and foibles. It can get you to think thoughts you never thought of — even though that thing between your ears is not what it used to be. So don’t give up TV, but take a book off the shelf once in a while.

2.  Get a Hobby – Needlepoint, jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, whatever. They’re very popular with people of all ages. If you don’t try any you’re missing out on a brain stimulation method every gerontologist advocates.

3.  Exercise – No, I don’t mean entering the Marathon. And you don’t have to go to a gym or hire a trainer. Simple stuff: stretching your arms out, holding on to the back of a chair and lifting your legs one a time, maybe ten times for each if you can, bending over and back several times. If it’s not disabling for you, walk around the block once a day.

4.  Interact – Television can’t hold a candle to the boost you get when you gather with friends and relatives. Regular card games, maybe. Dish the dirt with Harriet, or Tom, or Gertrude, whoever. Your relatives are far away? I hope they telephone you regularly. But if they don’t, call them and give them what for — lovingly, of course.

As for your inner body — diet and ailments — I can’t advise you about those. You and your doctor are already dealing with the intricacies of that factory inside you. But the things I have suggested can make your older years more tolerable — and, most important, more enjoyable.