My mother will be ninety this year and though she has not been great in the past year or so, she's had an amazingly healthy, independent life until a fractured pelvis interrupted her plan to "remain on my own until I die in my sleep." I have a photo of her kneeling on the floor when she was 87, playing with her great-grandson!
It got me to thinking about all those ninety-somethings I met over the years in my travels as a visiting nurse. I noticed definite similarities among them and, although unscientific, here's my assessment of what these long-lived people had in common. They had:
1) chosen least one parent with good genes,
2) were overwhelmingly female,
3) thin, even underweight,
4) picky eaters,
5) with normal or near normal blood pressure (with or without medication.)
6) They ALL displayed a wonderful sense of humor and
7) a resilient bounce-back-no-matter-what-happened attitude about life.
8) Not one smoked although many drank alcohol, but not too much.
All had had many losses and heartbreak during their long lives but had not gotten 'stuck' in despair, anger, or resentment. Everything rolled off them like water off the back of a duck.
OK ,so we can't choose our parents or their genes but everything else up for grabs. Well almost. I can't for the life of me figure out how to become a picky eater!
Like my mother, (and everyone else, no doubt) I want to live independently 'til I drop on a hiking trail somewhere out in the woods or die 'a king's death' (peacefully while I'm sleeping.) Too bad we don't get to choose.
Today's Take-Away - It would be great to live to ninety, but only if I get there on my own steam.
It got me to thinking about all those ninety-somethings I met over the years in my travels as a visiting nurse. I noticed definite similarities among them and, although unscientific, here's my assessment of what these long-lived people had in common. They had:
1) chosen least one parent with good genes,
2) were overwhelmingly female,
3) thin, even underweight,
4) picky eaters,
5) with normal or near normal blood pressure (with or without medication.)
6) They ALL displayed a wonderful sense of humor and
7) a resilient bounce-back-no-matter-what-happened attitude about life.
8) Not one smoked although many drank alcohol, but not too much.
All had had many losses and heartbreak during their long lives but had not gotten 'stuck' in despair, anger, or resentment. Everything rolled off them like water off the back of a duck.
OK ,so we can't choose our parents or their genes but everything else up for grabs. Well almost. I can't for the life of me figure out how to become a picky eater!
Like my mother, (and everyone else, no doubt) I want to live independently 'til I drop on a hiking trail somewhere out in the woods or die 'a king's death' (peacefully while I'm sleeping.) Too bad we don't get to choose.
Today's Take-Away - It would be great to live to ninety, but only if I get there on my own steam.
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