After so many years of working with pre-schoolers as a teacher, then with young adults as a consultant and life coach, I suddenly found myself the other day scheduling an event for residents at my neighborhood Assisted Living Center. My first thought was, “Wow, how did I end up HERE?”
But I do know how I got here. Yes kids, Mama Mason is OLD! Being in my late 60’s myself (can it really be?), I’ve realized that these are now my people! And it would behoove me to get to know this new territory into which I’ve entered. I decided to observe more closely the needs and concerns of the aging, i.e. me, in this country. And it ain’t pretty. There can be health concerns, financial concerns, loss of homes that have been lived in for years, feelings of isolation, grief, regret and what appears more often than not, the belief that “life as we knew it is over”. The elderly are often seen as second class citizens and no longer “with it” because they don’t walk around glued to their electronic devices.
But rest assured: we Baby Boomers do not take things lying down – even aging! If there’s a creative way to blast through old (pardon the pun) beliefs and structures, we will surely find it. I’m not talking about striving to ignore aging and retain youth at all cost. No, no, no……it’s about EMBRACING this new stage of life. However that looks. My hope is that we all begin to look at aging with new eyes: for the sake of our own personal journeys and the sake of our society as a whole.
I look forward to my upcoming event.
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