Welcome the...Golden Years?

Aging for some is a breeze. They welcome the “Golden Years.” They remain in good health and, while perhaps having to slow down some, continue with their same life style, welcoming retirement as an opportunity to travel, play more golf, and have more leisure time. But for many others, these years are “Fools Gold,” as their health declines, their hearing and/or eyesight weaken, their mobility decreases, heart problems develop, and on and on.

So how does one cope with these situations? Well, you follow the doctor’s orders, you take your medication, you get a hearing aid, thicker lenses in the glasses, whatever. But mostly, you’ve got to remain flexible – to learn to adapt.

You have always been a big reader but the eyesight is going? Have you tried large-type books? They’re available in libraries and bookstores and really help. If that doesn’t work, what about audio books on tapes or CDs, where the author or someone with a good voice reads the story to you? It may take a while for you to adjust to this form of “reading,” but stay with it. It’s really worthwhile.

Perhaps you did needlepoint or embroidery but find it’s getting too “hard on the eyes?” What about trying knitting or crocheting? They are different art forms, but still give you a chance to keep busy and be creative.

You love to travel but aren’t able to get around much anymore? There are hundreds of travel books available, well written with striking photographs. TV or your local library offer a continuing flow of travelogues. You can re-live old trips you’ve made or venture into far away places with strange sounding names.

What about stamp collecting? Kids’ stuff? FDR and Winston Churchill didn’t think so. You don’t have to invest a fortune in buying mint condition (unused stamps) or rarities. Buy mixtures of used stamps and as you sort through them, learn about the history, the flora and fauna, the personalities and the interests of the country you’ve chosen to collect. Or collect topical stamps–ones featuring railroads, mushrooms, aircraft, movie stars, whatever might suit your interests.

What about organizing those boxes of slides and photographs taken on earlier trips? Why not, at long last, organize them into scrapbooks or slide shows to be copied on a CD that you can view on your TV? It will give you a sense of accomplishment and hours of entertainment.

Then there’s the computer your kids bought you that you’ve pretty much ignored. Take time to get to know it. Libraries, community colleges, and senior citizen groups offer courses for beginners. Once you’ve mastered the basics, whole new worlds open to you. Not only can you keep in touch with old friends, you can write your memoirs. Learn a little bit about the Internet and you can find all sorts of new activities. You can do some genealogy on the Web and start a history of your family. It’s sometimes difficult to try to learn about your ancestors when you’re an ancestor yourself, but enlist the aid of one of your children, or better still, a grandchild.

Making such adjustments can be a lot easier if you are with other people facing the same concerns. A senior citizen’s group – or ideally a retirement community – can supply such contacts and provide assistance in developing new pursuits.

The times change, our situations change, we change. For me the answer in dealing with the problems of aging is to adjust, to adapt, to keep trying.

Jim Mooney is a resident of Sherwood Oaks Retirement Community.