Old Dogs, New Tricks

I had several people comment about last week’s column.  Few had any idea that I had played the trumpet. I exchanged notes with one reader who had been a professional trumpet player and teacher. She had some really cool insight.

Since retirement, she has pursued a lot of different things, maybe things she always wanted to do. She didn’t say so, but it seems like retiring to a quiet, sedentary life was the last thing on her mind.

My point last week was to encourage your kids to pursue a wide variety of interests. Art, music, theater, and on and on. Being exposed to other worlds through experiences, books, or travel expands the developing brain.

I suggested that it was essential to the growth and development of young minds. That it is as essential as the pursuit of health and fitness. And even as important as good grades in school.

Early this week, I sat with a senior citizen who had a lot of questions about her health and wellbeing. Of primary interest to her was her mental health. She was fearful that she was developing dementia.

Declining mental health is a great fear for all of us as we age. Alzheimer's is a terrible, terrible thing. My mom had no idea where she was the last few years of her life and often didn’t know who I was.

Maybe this lady couldn’t remember someone’s name or has walked into a room and had to think twice about why she was there. Or it could be that she didn’t remember what she had for breakfast this morning. Anyway, medical testing later demonstrated to her that she was fine.

Those concerns are pretty normal for a lot of people at any age. I’m thankful for a calendar on my phone that tells me where I’m supposed to be on any given day. And if I didn’t eat the exact same thing for lunch every single day, I might not remember what I had.

That doesn’t mean that I’m losing my faculties. If you think about it, our brain is a marvelous tool. It is amazing what remains in there. I can still remember the words to songs that were popular 50 years ago. I remember my childhood phone number (458-3177).

But we need mental exercise and challenges to stay sharp. The retired trumpet player? Studying accounting. Playing the violin. Looking for different things to do.

The old saying is “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Well, I happen to disagree. I believe we can learn all kinds of new things. New pursuits. New hobbies. New sports. And those things will help our mental health.

I’ve talked about pickleball in the past. It’s the hottest growing sport in America. Am I interested in playing? No, I would rather play tennis with my grandson. But it is a sport that you can play at any age. And the geriatric set is flocking to the game. That’s a good thing.

Last fall, there was this really cool downtown festival in Maryville. In one of the booths in the event center on the 2^nd floor above Bill Cox Furniture was this artist exhibiting cold wax oil paintings. I loved her work.

So I chatted with the artist, later took a class from her, and have done about 50 paintings of my own using cold wax oil.  Old dog-new trick.

What better time than when you’re retired to learn something new?  Take up a new instrument. I always wanted to play a banjo. Maybe some day. Learn a new language. A lot of the rest of the world is bilingual.

Enjoy cooking? Take a class to expand your menu. Gardening your thing? You can learn a lot from a Master Gardner. You think it’s too late to join a gym and improve your fitness level?  Nope—it’s never too late. Sign up for yoga classes (I did). You will be amazed at how much it helps everything you do.

Those are the things that will keep us alive and lively.  Things that help make the golden years Golden.