THE UPSIDE OF GROWING OLD

Everyone is aware of the downsides of growing older—the physical deterioration, the loss of short-term memory, medical and other financial issues, and so forth. But researchers are beginning to find that there are advantages to aging, too. Articles on the Web refer to improvements in the “middle-aged brain” over the teen-aged brain, for instance. (They often ignore what happens as the “middle-aged brain” becomes the old brain, though.) Even for the elderly, improvements are demonstrated in calmness, happiness, and finding multidimensional answers to questions.

I hope the research is right. Heaven knows, we aging people need all the encouragement we can get. For myself, I take these results with a grain of salt and a sense of humor. Here is my own list of advantages of growing older:

• I can take an afternoon—or morning or evening—nap without apologizing.
• No one expects me to do anything more athletic than walking.
• When I forget a name, I can simply shrug and say, “Senior moment!”
• I stopped dyeing my hair a few years ago. Whom was I trying to kid?
• I can add a column of figures without using a calculator.
• I will never again cook dinner for more than six people.
• If I take a class, it will be for my enjoyment. There will be no grade or report card.
• Driving my RV does not make me feel ridiculous.
• Having seen some of the alternatives, I no longer fear sudden death.
• Flat, comfy shoes.
• I can parallel park, and can drive a car with a manual gearshift.
• Social Security and Medicare may last through my lifetime.
• I can flirt shamelessly with young men without seeming like a cougar.
• Alumni events no longer seem like competitive sports.
• In restaurants, I can choose simple foods I enjoy rather than overspiced, overpriced “fusion foods” or other trendy items.
• I remember when TV was worth watching, with Ernie Kovacs, Alistair Cooke, and Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. And the old radio programs, such as Fred Allen, Jack Benny, and the Inner Sanctum.
• Senior discounts, especially the National Parks Golden Age pass.
• People hold doors open for me.
• When the newest word-processing program comes out, I do not have to learn how to use it. I learned each one, starting with WordStar in the eighties. Enough, already!
• When I play my old vinyl records, I can feel part of the current retro trend.
• There is no pressure to go upscale; I can happily continue to downsize.
• I enjoy the AARP magazine.

Being young had its moments, but so does being elderly. For everything there is a season.

 

Advantages of aging, aging brain,