Where Are We Going?

First of all we had our parents and family, then possibly our teachers and later maybe mentors to guide us. Now, we have retired and all of those influences/influencers are gone; often, we have suddenly lost partners and good friends. Covid emphasized just how isolated we can become. 

Many of us will spend around thirty years in retirement. While we may have squirreled away a little money and dreamt of travel and golf and escape from winter to ready ourselves for this freedom-55 ideal, many of us find the reality quite different.

While we may be traveling a bit and playing golf occasionally, the reality is that we are often  spending more and more time with basic health and happiness concerns. Doctors and lab visits along with physiotherapy/chiropractors, massage therapists and exercise programs fill our calendars. We often do this just to maintain our current health. At the same time, our social networks are diminishing as people move on or pass away. 

It can sometimes be difficult to know the best solutions to our changing lives. Media and governments have their own agendas when they address our issues. Often they are founded in reaction to problems. Only when seniors have been scammed out of their life savings or long term care beds become too scarce, does the media and government take note. We need a plan to understand and deal with these issues before they become emergencies. 

Few of us have studied gerontology. We have some vague ideas that our senses will diminish over time and that we will eventually become frail. We become wrinkled and gray-haired or bald. Our short term memory becomes worse over time. Of course we are constantly hearing on the news and through advertisements of how we can avoid all of this or at least diminish the negative effects of aging.  However, it is difficult to know what is real from what is hype. 

To counteract this, a program is being offered at our Senior Centre called ‘Aging Gracefully”. Once a month, qualified people will speak to this group on the best ways to age happily and healthily. Hopefully, we can gain some insight on how to live our best lives.