When Death Creeps Close

When someone near to you dies you do go through grief and shock but as you move up in years you think about other things. You grasp for a reason why someone your own age just passed away. 

Mortality smacks you in the face. 

This year I lost both a good friend and relative. The friend smoked for years and it was those nasty cigarettes that finally did her in. She was 65. Bright, vibrant and taken too soon. The relative had health problems she didn't share. (Younger by a few years) That was more of a shock due to the fact we thought everything was alright. 

It wasn't. But her passing was still a shock even to those who knew she had health problems.

When you're 20 or 30 and someone your age passes away it's always a shock but not something that makes you question your own health and lifestyle. 

Then you hit 60 and your perspective is skewed in the "could that have been me?" zone. You start to question that twinge in your chest, the cramp in your calf, and that forgetfulness.  

I think we have to double check everything. Make sure your meds (yes there are two to date) are good and go back to exercising regularly. Throughout the years exercise has come and gone and come back again. In my 20's I was hard core, then came kids and it got sporadic, then through the years it came and went. One thing stays constant? It does make you feel better. Jars are easier to open, boxes lift with less strain, your back thanks you, and squatting down doesn't mean you're stuck down there until someone gives you a lift. 

So to those who have passed I send my prayers, to those who are suffering I send hope that their health takes a turn for the better. 

For me? I need to clean out the spare room and get some weights. A few weeks ago I got a dog so the cardio is on the uptick. Dogs need walks and living where winter never drops below 60 degrees makes walking easy and enjoyable. 

Tomorrow I attack the pile of boxes in the spare room to make space for exercise. Yeah! 

If I'm 60, why don't I feel old?

I remember my mom at 60. She was overweight, grey and only went out to go to senior meetings. I'm not sure what they did at these meetings but I think it was maybe card games and snacks. Now, I'm 60 and although I need to lose about 30 lbs, I'm not very grey and do more. Is 60 really the new 40? Am I really in better health than she was at this point?

Mom always had a bad hip problem, but as young as I was, I don't know exactly what caused it. When I started having hip problems I did more stretches and exercises and when it does act up, I can usually "fix" it. Sometimes I wish I could go back and help her with her health problems with the science that exists now. It would have saved her a lot of pain and maybe given her a longer life. She passed at 65 from complications of a heart attack. She had type 2 diabetes which made her recovery more difficult. I think during my mother's time it was believed you didn't move forward after a certain age. You hit your sixties and it was all down hill from there. That believe was instilled by society and opinions of others. It was just the way it was. You'll go grey, get arthritis, just sit down and wait for it.

So, I'm 60 and determined to be in better health from here on in. I've joined Weight Watchers (for the 3rd or 5th time?) and decided it's way past time I took control.
Science tells us that weight training and cardio can keep you in much better health in your sixties and even seventies. Here are a few examples;

Eighty year old body builders;
Ernestine Shepherd

Dr. Jeffrey Life

Check out this guy's website. It's informative and inspiring!




So maybe age is just a number, 60 is the new 40, and we've got more mountains to climb and there are victories to be had. Let's go get 'em!