Growing Old with Grace

 

I had a nice chat with a couple the other day.  I’m not going to mention names because one of them might be a patient and, well, I wouldn’t want to run the risk of breaking any federal laws. 

But this is the absolute cutest couple ever!  They’ve been dating for about nine years (he said 8, she said 9—I’m going with what she said) and really don’t seem to have any intention of marrying.

They’re just spending their lives together. They do everything together.

I’m not going to pull a Paul Harvey and wait to the end to tell you “the rest of the story.” The story is this—he’s 92 and she will be 93 next month.

They’re healthy, happy, and have no problem sharing their lives together, and their story with me.

So I asked them, what their secret was. Like any long-term couple, their answers completed each other. One would offer something and the other would nod in agreement. One would think of something and the other would heartily agree.

They quickly agreed that you’ve got to keep moving.  Newton declared that “a body in motion tends to stay in motion—a body at rest tends to stay at rest.”

Sir Isaac was talking about physics but I believe that it pertains to the human experience as well. If we stay active, we will be active.  

They said that doing things together was a big part of it. I’ve been married 48 years and my wife will tell you that I don’t do “alone” well at all. She and I enjoy lots of things together. Hiking. Travel. Good restaurants. And of course, those blessed creatures that we share called grandchildren.

This couple also noted that simply being around people is important in staying young. I’ve spent a good part of my career around teenagers, particularly teenage athletes. I think I understand that creature pretty well.

I don’t always embrace their music but I can tolerate most of it (most of the time). I don’t always get their fashion trends but then I’m reminded that it was my generation that wore dickies and bangs. Our parents didn’t like our music either.

Going to church together is important to this couple. A church community can be a wonderful thing and I can tell you that some of the best friends we have today were from a Sunday School class we joined when we first moved to Maryville in 1977.

Although not gainfully employed, this couple in their 10^th decade of life still works. Housework.  Yard work. Helping others. Making a garden. Fixing whatever needs to be fixed.

You might not expect them to be spontaneous sorts of people, but they find that taking opportunities to just pick up and go is part of what keeps them young. 

So here’s the formula:  Keep moving, be around people, build a community, never stop, be spontaneous. Sounds like a good plan to me.