Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe the holidays are upon us.  Where has the year gone? Personally, it's been a great year. My new addiction - pickle ball, began in the Spring and along with it I have made friends with a fun, kind, wonderful group of women. We meet several times a week and laugh and compete and I leave feeling that I am very blessed to have these women in my life.

In addition, I have a husband who makes me laugh and silly as he may be at times - laughter is always welcome. Plus, he takes very good care of me - another blessing in my life.

I'm so thankful for the two sons God gave me. They forever changed my world.

My dear sisters and brother - a bond that will never be broken.

I'm so grateful for my dear friend, Shannon who patiently listens to my complaints about the big and little problems that pop up on a regular basis.

Thank you to my friends in California who have stood by me through thick and thin for many, many years.

Yes, Thanksgiving is a time to remember what we have and everything we are grateful for. I try and remember to express gratitude every day, not always successfully I'm sure.

A quote I love by my favorite President - John F. Kennedy sums it up perfectly: "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

I wish you and your beloveds a happy, loving and grateful Thanksgiving.

xo

Curiosity

Previously, I wrote about brain health and physical fitness and a few suggestions that will help us age more gracefully and keep us younger - if not chronologically, at least mentally and emotionally.

Lately, I've been curious about curiosity!  Seriously.  How does it affect us and help us as we age?

It's no secret that being curious in general keeps us interested in life and depending on the specific object of our curiosity - can be the gateway to a plethora of new information and interests.

The Gallup Organization reported the results of a survey of more than 130,000 people from 130 nations. The poll identified two factors that had the strongest influence on how much enjoyment a person experienced in a given day: "being able to count on someone for help" and "learning something that day".  Clearly, one must be curious in order to learn something.

There are other important relationships between curiosity and happiness. In his book, Stumbling on Happiness, Harvard University psychology professor Daniel Gilbert, PhD, shows that while we think we know what will make up happy in the future, we are actually less likely to find joy as a result of a planned pursuit than by simply stumbling upon it. It follows that by cultivating curiosity and remaining open to new experiences, we increase our likelihood of encountering those surprising and satisfying activities.

Right now my curiosity has led me to take lectures through Osher Life Long Learning (OLLIE) in and around the Scottsdale area. This organization is nationwide, as well.

Each year OLLIE has two semesters where we can learn about Native Americans, politics, history, writing, music - the subjects are endless. My current interest (among other things) lies in fine art - the artists, the mediums and all the stories surrounding these interesting, talented people. I have been taking these classes for several years and they never disappoint.

My curiosity directly adds to my happiness and satisfaction with my life - and thus, I believe will add years to my life as well. There is a caveat to curiosity, however, and that is when interest in a subject is piqued - it may open a door to that leads to another interest, and then another.....then the issue is - how do we find the time to explore it all?  But, that is another subject. For now, let's be open and curious to all that life has to offer.

This blog is directed to like-minded women and I'm sure you have had some of the same results from your curiosity, too.

xo

Keeping Fit Safely

A previous post spoke to the issue of keeping fit as we age. In that article I wrote about physical fitness as well as mental, emotional and spiritual. This post will focus solely on the physical.

A year ago I was in Italy strolling in Rome munching a cookie and not exactly paying attention when suddenly my foot slipped on a rock and I hit the ground.  I thought perhaps I had broken my hip but fortunately, the only thing injured was my pride.  However, that fall brought fear into my being and I was overly cautious for the rest of that trip. To this day, I am more careful (most of the time) and try to pay attention to where I'm walking.

I play pickle ball with a wonderful group of women and the injuries sustained over the past year while playing this fun sport is startling. Most of us are over 65 or thereabouts and the injuries are: pulled tendons in the knees (at least two), nerve pain in the upper arm, calf pulls, plantar fasciitis, and several other painful injuries. One of the most serious was a fall that resulted in a fractured wrist and a concussion.

What we have learned from the pros is that it is essential to spend sufficient time before playing to warm up.  Everyone should do this, regardless of age, but the older generation should take even more care to do this, for the obvious reasons (older muscles and bones, arthritis, stiffness and other ailments that occur as we age).

In addition, by taking lessons from qualified instructors, we are learning what not to do in order to stay safe.  There are ways to play that keeps us more stable, steadier and less likely to sustain an injury.

Another factor that we should consider is strengthening our muscles and bones with weight lifting. Personally, I'd rather have a root canal than lift weights yet I know how necessary it is to our overall physical condition and well-being.

The only way I can endure lifting weights is doing it in a class at my local gym. I have tried, more than once, using machines and free weights on my own, only to quit before I achieved any results.  It simply bored me.  Classes are the way to go for me. I have been procrastinating on this, but since the latest mishap a friend sustained, I'm committing to strength training classes.

Whatever method you choose in order to get stronger, it is vital to do some strength training to stay able-bodied and robust as we age so that we can engage in the activities we enjoy.

xo

A Review

My first blog post was December 30, 2018.  It's hard to believe that almost one year has passed.

I have enjoyed writing immensely, though at times, it has been a challenge. I was afraid I'd run out of ideas, but that hasn't been the issue. More often than not, I have plenty of ideas yet I wonder if I'm drifting away from the original purpose of this blog - which is to communicate with women of a certain age - primarily over age 55 right on through the 80's about my life's journey; the ups and downs and sometimes roller coaster ride that is part of that adventure. The challenge can be to stay on track and not veer off the original intention of this blog.

I want to share my story and hear about yours. Thus far I've written about the death of my adult son, Anthony, remarriage at a mature age, fitness as we age, hobbies, volunteering, cultural activities  and other subjects.

I'd also like to re-visit certain subjects that are highly relevant but sometimes difficult to discuss, such as the role alcohol plays in our lives, when our partner's lifestyle choices don't agree with ours, injuries and health concerns, friendships and death of friends and many other areas that affect us at this stage of life.

Some of these issues are sensitive and not easy to write about - however, that makes it even more important to address.

I'd love hearing from you, now or later regarding a subject matter that interests you, or a topic you may disagree with or to simply drop me a line.

Until then.....have a blessed and joyful week.

xo