Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable S is for Successful Aging Live Long, Die Short, A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging by Roger Landry, MD, MPH The information in this book is based on the findings of a ten-year study from the MacArthur Foundation’s Research Network on Successful Aging. The study found “how we age is determined more by our everyday lifestyle choices than our genes.” Here are the ten tips to achieve authentic health and successful aging: Tip 1:  Use It or Lose It We must consistently use the physical, emotional, and social skills we wish to keep as ..read more

Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable R is for Regret Regret, one of the ghosts of aging, comes upon us one day dressed up like wisdom, looking profound and serious, sensible and responsible. It prods us to begin to look back. It presses us to question everything we’ve ever done: I should have listened to my mother…; I should have stayed in school…; I should have waited to get married..; I should have majored in something else…; I should have changed jobs…; I should have spent more time with the children, with the family, at home…; I should have gone away from this place, this town ..read more

Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable Q is for Quality of Life Quality of life (QOL) is the degree to which a person is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in or enjoy special occasions and life activities. It is critical for health care professionals to take quality of life into account when establishing each patient’s goals of care and to use it as a guide for all care decisions. Merck Manual Quality of life means something different to each person. To Marv Roelofs, it meant not getting treatment for an aggressive lung cancer that would kill him in a matter of weeks. He d ..read more

Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable P is for Purple Poem I have long loved this poem that I think of as the Purple Poem. It was written in 1961 by Jenny Joseph, who was just 28 at the time.   The poem snubs its nose on expected behavior as one ages. I suppose it’s the maverick in me that endorses the message. Warning When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired And gobbl ..read more

Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable O is for On Aging On Aging Poem by Maya Angelou When you see me sitting quietly, Like a sack left on the shelf, Don’t think I need your chattering. I’m listening to myself. Hold! Stop! Don’t pity me! Hold! Stop your sympathy! Understanding if you got it, Otherwise I’ll do without it! When my bones are stiff and aching, And my feet won’t climb the stair, I will only ask one favor: Don’t bring me no rocking chair. When you see me walking, stumbling, Don’t study and get it wrong. ‘Cause tired don’t mean lazy And every goodbye ain’t gone. I’m the same ..read more

Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable N is for Nostalgia I have lived almost 82 years. A lot has happened in my life. And a lot of memories come flooding back with a deep longing to experience them again. Nostalgia, as defined by the Oxford dictionary, is a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past. Feelings of nostalgia increase with age. Feelings of nostalgia for me are especially acute when I pass by places that I spent with my three grandsons: the playground in the park near Whole Foods, the mechanical rides on the main floor of our only inside mall, the turn-off that ta ..read more

Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable M is for Music is Magical I was standing in the middle of an aisle at the Dollar Store. It was the beginning of COVID, and our neighbor told me that the store still had thermometers on the shelves. The song, Silhouettes on the Shade came over the intercom, freezing me in place. My breath quickened. Tears seeped from my eyes. I wasn’t the 78-year-old woman wearing a mask in the midst of a pandemic but a brown-haired teenager in Jersey City swaying to the Doo-Wop tune. I stood transported unaware of other customers until the song ended. It took a whi ..read more

Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable L is for Laughter I stumbled across an article from the Mayo Clinic while googling the health benefits of laughter. In the article, Dr. Edward T. Creagan, an oncologist, comments on the health benefits of laugher, which is my “L” word today. Imagine my surprise as a long-time nurse to find a physician promoting laughter, rather than some form of traditional medical or surgical intervention. And the setting is the prestigious Mayo Clinic. Over the years that I have practiced nursing, I confess that I have been critical of the medical profession for ..read more

Aging: the Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable K is for Keep It Moving Twyla Tharp’s book is different from the usual books and articles I’ve read on “successful” aging that focus on scientific studies. Twyla mixes common sense, creative motivation, and lots of interesting anecdotal stories about famous folks, mostly in the arts, such as writers, dancers, painters, music composers, singers, musicians; some still alive, some long dead but all demonstrating a lesson that show us how to be better as we age. What Twyla does best is to show how to circumvent the limitations of aging by abandoning ol ..read more

Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable J is for Jump The older woman stood in front of me, hands on her hips, “You know old people can’t jump.”  Frankly, I didn’t. She had taken part in an exercise program I choreographed to the oldie’s songs that included a couple of jumps. I was a graduate nursing student doing a practicum at a church on the south side of Chicago. My target population was the elderly who lived in the neighborhood and came during the weekdays for a hot lunch and social interaction with their peers. Afterwards, this same woman entertained a group of other older wom ..read more