With the arrival of Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, comes the anticipation of autumn & all the trappings of fall & everything pumpkin. The older I get time seems to fly by quicker & I find myself thinking of all the things I wanted to do that I just didn’t get to. Was it lack of time, planning, motivation or all three? As someone who has always been goal oriented, I have recently found I’m not accomplishing many of the things I set out to. I’ve been reminded that at my age I can do what I want whenever I want & without any plan or urgency. I’ve been told this is a benefit of getting older. While others might find this a welcome situation, I do not. I thrive doing projects, keeping busy & staying active which in my opinion is important to aging gracefully. I’ve been told my drive & focus is in my DNA. My dad took care of my mother & still exercised daily well into his 90’s. I listen to many peers & admit, I am not very good at sleeping late, streaming series on TV or planning my life around doctor’s appointments & meals, nor do I think these things are incredibly rewarding. I remember visiting my parents as they got older & seeing all the post-it notes next to the calendar for their numerous doctors appointments however, they maintained an active social life & tended to their home. My father planted, repaired, decorated & enjoyed all the trappings of living actively & purposefully. Even after my parents relocated to an assisted living facility due to my mother’s health issues, my father tended to her, still driving, shopping, playing his keyboard, overseeing his investments while enjoying time with family & friends. His purposeful life was evident in his daily routines which always included walking & riding on the exercise bike. My father’s life was an example of aging gracefully & purposefully.
I am an eternal optimist & look at the change of seasons not just as the passage of time & temperatures, but as another chance to reset myself. Refresh, restart & renew, I welcome a new starting point (whether real or perceived). I thrive on having goals & projects to do & am a rudderless ship without them. I do not plan my life around doctor’s visits & all the ailments many of my peers have. (I walked around on a broken foot for a full month before I checked it out!). Do we really have all these ailments or if you keep going they will eventually ‘find’ some? Not sure how long I will remain driven & wonder will it wane over time? Maybe. Will I one day, no longer find joy in the things I do now? Possibly. Will my health fail me changing my focus to deal with what’s wrong versus enjoying what’s right? Time will tell. What I do know is that I will embrace the change of seasons for the Blessings they are & live each day as purposefully & joyfully as I possibly can.
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