grow older better

Tag: human interest

Boomers: No Longer The Healthiest Generation

Baby boomer?

Better watch that lifestyle!

Wow – for years the thinking was that the exercise-conscious generation, who ate organic food and who tended to not smoke, were healthier than past generations.

But no – boomers are unhealthier!!

Never mind the fact that Baby boomers have been dubbed the Healthiest Generation, since they have the longest life expectancy of any previous generation, and that they were able to exploit advances in medical care and reap the benefits of public health campaigns highlighting the dangers of smoking and unhealthy diets. That moniker may simply no longer apply, since it turns out that they have higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol than members of the previous generation

This is a far different version of where we are going as a culture then we previously thought. Will we, the older-than-boomers stay healthy enough to help take care of the generation after us?

Will their kids also be unhealthy?

Our national obesity levels indicate that today’s children may not live as long as did their parents. We are in fact shortening their lifespans!

And now we see it is creating potential disabilities in the boomer generation.

Where does this all lead in terms of aging? public policy? health guidelines?

I don’t know – but it shows boomers and the rest of us all need to make BIG changes to get and keep being as healthy as we can….

I am a believer in the idea that anyone can make changes at any time in their lives.

BUT – the time to start is

RIGHT NOW

Comments? Thank you!

04/03/2013
Learning The Hard Way – Again

Are you a winter hibernator?

I am – and it is not a good thing for our bodies.

[Maybe bears can do it –I can’t.]

In the winter, I tend to just take walks and do some stretching to keep my hamstrings flexible – but otherwise I kind of become someone who sits too much – and as we know, that is not good for a body.

As we get older, it seems we need to keep all parts in flexible working order and to do that, we cannot hibernate!

I re-learned this recently when I started back into doing yoga!

I had lost a real lot of my flexibility – and could not easily [or even] do much of what was so easy before I hibernated!!

The obvious moral of the story is that we all need to do a variety of exercising to stay flexible – and as we age, it seems we cannot take off for a long period of time without it having a major impact.

OUCH!

Comments? Thoughts? Thank you…..

04/02/2013
Do You Do X Or Have Y? Then We Have A Pill For You!
I am getting very tired of the ads on TV that make you think that normal bodily functions are now ailments that need pills…

Personally:
- I urinate a lot.
- I have always urinated a lot.
- I will always urinate a lot
Do I think it’s a problem? Of course not.

It’s my body and it’s the way my body functions.

Would I take a pill because somebody thinks this is a problem? Of course not.

There is an ad about urination with the woman helping her daughter try on a wedding gown and it seems like the daughter is miffed with the mother – and the mother is embarrassed – why?

Because the mother has to go to the bathroom instead of giving her undivided attention to her daughter!

Well Duh! Doesn’t that now grown up child know about her mother’s frequent urination?

My kid did – and it was a family a joke.

In fact, it’s been a joke with my friends and everyone as car back as I can remember.

I was always known as the friend, in New York City, who knew where all the bathrooms were – c’mon I mean that’s an honor.

When camping, I could always find the outhouses in campgrounds – in the dark too.

And I have no problems peeing behind bushes, etc. when hiking, skiing, or whatever I am doing.

If that daughter and that mother were having a problem now, when the daughter is an adult, I do wonder about the parent-child relationship and the fact that this was never discussed.

The next ad that sent me screaming at the television set was one where the question was raised “do you have a lot of tissues in your pocket?”

Again – duh! Of course I do! Noses run! That’s what noses do!

But – guess what? You need a pill.

Why would I want to take a pill to stop my nose from running or to stop urinating and when those are normal activities?

And why on earth would I want to take a pill when they tell me about all the possible side effects the pill will create?

Sadly, all these pills are designed only to make gobs of money for the pharmaceutical companies.

And – if you get sick from the pill that stops up your nose or stops you from peeing?

Well – guess what? We have pills for that too!

Thoughts? Comments? Thank you!
03/08/2013
Letting Your Hair Grow

Growing Hair

Let it fly in the breeze
And get caught in the trees
Give a home to the fleas in my hair
A home for fleas
A hive for bees
A nest for birds
There ain’t no words
For the beauty, the splendor, the wonder
Of my…

Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow it
My hair

[from the musical Hair]

When I was in my early 20s – I let my hair grow and grow and grow.

My mother used to tell me “grown-ups don’t have long hair.”

She also used to tell me I looked like an Indian – which was funny because she’s the one who told me that a secret of my father’s side of the family was that we have American Indian heritage.

Ah – memories. That hair growth was when I was in graduate school, it was the 60s and everyone had long hair – down to their backside, waist or wherever it wound up hanging down to.

So there I was, a grown up [of sorts] with long hair – and I let it stay long well into the 70s because I like my hair… and I had lots of earrings that I liked with long hair.

But – long hair can be a hassle. It gets in your face, nose, food, and eyes…. so one very hot summer day when my scalp felt itchy, I went and got it all cut off…..

And shortish it stayed until I was in law school…

But then I cut it off again…and kept it medium length or very short. For years.

Until I decided I wanted to let it grow.

No real reason except that those earrings I like with long hair kept looking at me – and I had kept them.

Alas – I’d forgotten what growing your hair out looks like….it goes through many ugly stages…so at first I kept trimming it to keep it out of my face and eyes…but then, of course, it grew back into my face and eyes..

Finally I bit the proverbial bullet and decided ugly, straggly or whatever – I was going to let it grow until it was long – and then decide what to do

It’s now long, it’s straggly, and it’s still growing……

How have you decided about your hair?

Can grown-ups really have long hair?

Is there any particular thing in your life that has led to long or short hair?

Thanks for the comments.

11/23/2012
The “New” Empty Nest

Many parents know what an empty nest is……

But did you know it can happen more than once or twice?

The first time you child leaves home, be it for college, the military, or just finding their own place – you can experience empty nest.

Your experience overall depends on how many children you have and whether or not some are still home…but one day all the kids are gone – they flew away – and the nest is empty!

This experience, I have found, also comes about when a pet dies and you are suddenly petless…but that empty nest, can, in time can be refilled with another pet, or two, or three.

You can not refill the nest with more babies, toddlers, teenagers or adults…

unless…..

Your grown child or children come home to live with you and bring their family with them.

Suddenly, your nest is very full!

But then….as their life circumstances change – they leave!

And that is the "new" empty nest….when your now adults child who has lived with you for a long stretch, flies off again!

The economy has made this type of empty nest more prevalent – as more adult children are returning to the nest for varying lengths of time..

Your experience overall depends on how many children you have and whether or not some are still home…but one day all the kids are gone – they flew away – and the nest is empty!

This experience, I have found, also comes about when a pet dies and you are suddenly petless…but that empty nest, can, in time can be refilled with another pet, or two, or three.

You can not refill the nest with more babies, toddlers, teenagers or adults…

unless…..

Your grown child or children come home to live with you and bring their family with them.

Suddenly, your nest is very full!

But then….as their life circumstances change – they leave!

And that is the new empty nest….when your now adults child who has lived with you for a long stretch, flies off again!

The economy has made this syndrome more prevalent as more adults children are returning to the nest for varying lengths of time..

But, like most everything in life, each change has its ups and downs….

There is an ambivalence about having an empty nest….you miss the kids like mad…but you have more space, time and energy…because no matter what age your kids are, when they live with you, they take energy..

In future posts, I'll write about what I am doing with my bursts of energy – but in the meanwhile…

Do you have thoughts? Comments?

Thank you…..

10/01/2012