Persephone Arbour

This blog comment was sent to me from the US. It was written in a response to a letter from a 44 year old woman, full of angst about her own ageing process. I thought it worth publishing for its intelligent and lively encouragement.

I’m laughing. I’m nearly 79. Wait till your granddaughter is about to graduate from college, and your younger grandson at not-quite-13 is 6 feet tall.

The generation I live and move in (although with arthritis and cane and handicapped parking) is very much aware of facing and coping with old age – or late middle age, as we prefer to call it. We on Social Security and Medicare drug plans know the statistics for us and life expectancy, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to figure I’ll probably be dead in 10 years or so. Or not much longer after that.

Consequently, a number of my friends are choosing to affirmatively reach out to life. Yes, go fly for Christmas to see grandkids (and their parents, my children – how did I get to have three sons over 50 and getting AARP literature?-and the youngest, close behind.) Yes, go see the movie/read the book/get to an occasional theater for a stage production. Yes, take piano lessons and practice Bach, even though I stopped lessons before WWII.

And, for me, yes, continue to teach (and be thankful I get offered contracts) at both a university and a community college, with 61 current students writing research papers that need to be graded this weekend.

Judith, enjoy your daughter and, if you have them, Max (Judith’s husband) and other children. But don’t think it’s all ending. You’ve got another 30 or 40 years to explore life! And it’s damn fun looking ahead, rather than omigod, it’s ending!

Jan Bone, Palatine IL, who received her 2nd master’s degree (in training & development, concentration in e-learning) 3 days after her 76th birthday