How many times do we tell ourselves “That’s too much effort”; “I’m too tired tonight”; or “Oh, I’ve never done that before, and I’m not going to start now.” I certainly have.
Joan Chittister in her book, The Gift of Years, points out that one of the challenges we face in old age is that we start acting like what society tells us is old – limiting ourselves by creating justifications for our complacency so we stop living to the fullest and stop having fun. As Lowell Thomas once said, “The secret of my vigor and activity is that I have managed to have a lot of fun.”
But aren’t we told we are supposed to act our age? When we were young, we were expected to study and get an education; and when we finished school, we were expected to start a career and raise a family.
But after sixty-five what is expected now – napping every day? (Okay, I do enjoy a good quick nap!) staying home watching TV? complaining about everything? But how about hiking trails in the Gorge, dyeing your hair crimson red, volunteering for your favorite non-profit, taking your grandkids to the coast, or learning how to make video calls? The possibilities are limitless.
Joan Chittister believes that living fully depends more on your attitude than your physical condition. And even though we may not have as much energy, or have difficulty seeing or hearing, if we have an attitude that keeps us from taking that next step to begin something new, “We fail to go on becoming. We stop in our tracks with years ahead of us. And wait. We take the gift of life and return it unopened.”
As a friend once suggested, the opposite of old is not young, but new. And if we can still discover new adventures, no matter how small, or hone new skills, no matter how ordinary, we can still experience life to the fullest so we don’t allow ourselves “to become less than what we are able to be, more quickly than we ever should”.
I have a little extra space, so I want to finally thank you: thank you for reading this column and the Columbia Gorge News. With so many local newspapers struggling, we are fortunate to have the Columbia Gorge News – a local independent newspaper that serves all the Gorge communities with a caring staff that is invested in the community. And from my little experience writing this weekly column, I know it’s not easy reporting the news accurately and within a deadline.
Brain Tease: I never heard this one before, so as you can imagine I couldn’t solve it. But now it is your turn! “Six drinking glasses stand in a row, with the first three full of juice and the next three empty. By moving only one glass can you arrange them so empty and full glasses alternate?”
The icon of silent film who starred in City Lights: a silent romantic comedy of a tramp falling in love with a blind girl was Charlie Chaplin. I received correct answers from Anna Bolton, Lana Tepfer, Rebecca Abrams, Bruce Johnson, Maria Kollas, Chuck Rice from Goldendale, Rhonda Spies, Dave Lutgens, Donna Mollet, Melissa Hayes, and both Bruce Johnson and Pat Evenson-Brady who sent in pictures of Paulette Goddard. (I think I’m in love!) and are this week’s winners of a quilt raffle ticket. And last week I missed Linda Frizzell.
This one-time teen idol performed in The Dalles six months before his tragic death on December 31, 1985. For this week’s “Remember When” question, who was this recording artist that starred with his family in a long-running television series and in 1957 began his successful recording career including his last hit “Garden Party” in 1972. Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, call 541-296-4788, or send it with a DVD of the 1959 film Rio Bravo.
Well, it’s been another week, always neglecting to ask why. Until we meet again, don’t take for granted what you can because there may be a day you can’t.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” Dr. Seuss
Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through
Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) – Mondays and Wednesdays; Hood River
Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center
(541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333)
For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services – Goldendale office
(509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068); Skamania County Senior
Services (509-427-3990).
Answer: Pour the second glass into the fifth glass.
