by Barbara A. Black

Created on: October 12, 2010

During my lifetime, I have seen many of my family grow old. Most of them did it gracefully; a couple of them did it with aplomb. There are still others who are now growing old; I happen to be one of them. I plan to grow old gracefully, but with zest! And I intend to enjoy all those "twilight years" that are still ahead of me.

I know that there is a good possibility that I may live into my nineties, which still gives me another twenty or more years. Many of my family, in the last generation before mine, lived into the late eighties and nineties. And I am , at this point, much healthier than they were at my age. Therefore, there is definitely the possiblity that I may even pass a hundred. That, of course, remains to be seen, and a lot will depend on my habits and attitudes.

My habits, at this point, will help me grow older and older. The only really bad habit I have is that I drink diet coke most of the time, although I do also drink water. I quit drinking coffee in 1970, and have never really missed it. And I have never smoked or been a drinker of hard liquor, although I do enjoy a few sips of wine occasionally. I also try to watch my sugar intake, and never put additional salt on a dish unless it has been cooked without salt. And I walk a lot, help in the yard (mowing, pulling weeds, etc.) and in the garden, do the housework, and generally take care of myself. And I usually get at least seven or eight hours of sleep each night.

So growing old is something that I look forward to. I plan to continue being active as long as possible, even to the point of driving myself to the store, doctor, etc. as long as I can safely do so. And that will depend on my vision, hearing, and overall health, not on someone else's decision that I am "getting too old to drive"! I know that when I can no longer do things for myself, I will probably not live much longer; therefore, I am planning to fight to keep my independence!

After all, what is age but a number? The mind is what is important to keeping a person from growing OLD! The mind, which controls the attitude, are the culprits, to my way of thinking, that make most people feel that they are "old"! I have known people, in my lifetime, who act and look really old, but when asked their ages, I have learned that they are usually about what my own age was at the time. Yet they looked much older than their chronological age!

Living to a "ripe old age" is still something that can be a part of anyone's aspirations. There is no reason, other than really bad health or accidents, to keep many more of us from dying before we have reached our Biblical "four-score and ten" years of age. And that number actually was to be the norm, not the top of the ladder!

So I say, "Go for it! Live well, live happily, live actively! And when you reach ninety, and you are still healthy, shoot for a hundred or more! As for me, I plan to live to be at least over 130, because I want to SEE Halley's Comet!"

Learn more about this author, Barbara A. Black.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.