When I was in my twenties, I heard you had to “fake it to make it.” Many of us may have taken that advice – although unconsciously. We became what others expected of us: breadwinners, homemakers, caregivers, and ignoring who we really were.

But now that we are older and no longer need any validation, we don’t have to fake it.

We can be like our cartoon hero, Popeye the sailor man who said “I yam what I yam and that’s all what I yam.

We can be our authentic selves. We can be the “I yam.”

But that’s not easy and a little scary – at least for me.

It means asking myself Who am I really? What do I genuinely want to do with the rest of my life? and What will make me happy?

This may not be the first time in your life you have considered these questions.

I knew friends in college who I thought were too self-absorbed; wasting time trying to figure out who they were – or as I would say disparagingly “contemplating their belly button.” I didn’t have time! I was busy navigating the college social landscape, looking for my true love, and oh, yeah, trying to pass my college exams.

But now in later life, there are likely fewer obstacles in the way so you can take the time to look at your life, not the should-ofs or what-ifs from the past, but the possibilities for the future.

I figure I’m at that stage of life where you take me as I am or don’t take me at all – although that approach can be problematic with my wife!

We no longer have to fake it to make it. There are fewer expectations of who we should be. And we are no longer constrained by those expectations so we can grow in our self-awareness, grow in our spirituality, and grow into who we truly are.

Brain Tease. I wasted twenty minutes, no, let me say that again, I invested twenty minutes working my brain while solving this logic puzzle. I usually avoid logic puzzles: they are more complex, and I find them harder to solve – I always need paper and pencil. But for this one time, see if you can solve this logic puzzle.

Alex is a keen dog admirer and over the years has had a number of dogs.

Alex has had an Alsatian, a Dalmatian, a Poodle, and a Great Dane, but not necessarily in that order.

Alex had Jamie first. The Dalmatian was an adored pet before the Great Dane. Sammy, the Alsatian, was the second dog Alex loved. Whitney was housed before the Poodle and Jimmy was not a Great Dane. Can you match the dogs to their names and find the order in which Alex had them?

The commercial name of this gum packaged in a red, white, and blue color scheme, and starting in 1953 included with each piece a small “Bazooka Jo” comic strip was Bazooka bubblegum. I received correct answers from Julie Carter, Ryan Rooper, Lana Tepfer, Rebecca Abrams, Jess Birge, Rhonda Spies, Keith and Marlene Clymer, and Deborah Medina, this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket.

Last week I missed, but I may have missed more, Mike Nagle, Pat Evenson-Brady, Julie Carter, and Elena Smith. In a round world, it is hard to keep things straight.

This British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin became known for their sketch comedy television series from 1969 – 1974. For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the name of this comedy troupe that used animation and an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach in their comedy routines? E-mail your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, call 541-296-4788, or send it with two of their films: Life of Brian (1979), and The Meaning of Life (1983).

Well, it’s been another week, looking through my contact list and remembering all of those I’ve forgotten. Until we meet again, remember the words of Niles Bohr, the famous Danish Physicist: “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.”

“If your knees aren’t green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.” Bill Watterson

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: Alex had Jamie the Dalmatian first, then Sammy the Alsatian, Whitney the Great Dane, and finally Jimmy the Poodle.