Pat Taub
GUEST POST by LISA SAVAGE
I hit 65 this year which is a milestone that brought many gifts: Medicare, a family party outdoors with my same-month birthday sisters, and permission to be officially old.
I already had arthritic hands, an inflamed sacroiliac joint, and cataracts so bad I gave up night driving years ago. When I wake up in the morning, the pain I feel is no longer a signal that something’s wrong but instead a sign that I’m still alive. As my father used to say of the challenges of aging, Consider the alternative.
Lisa, on the right with her sisters, Hope and Ellen, celebrating their October birthdays
Both of my grandmothers died with dementia, one of Alzheimer’s, in their 80’s. One of their mothers had dementia in her 90’s and said after seeing my young uncle in his sailor uniform, I didn’t realize we still had a standing army in the South.
I hope that doing wordle every morning will keep my brain supple. Also, that learning new technologies and finding new authors (even if only new to me) helps my neurons keep making new connections.
I’m one of the lucky ones: I no longer need to work for a living. Although I enjoyed work for most of my life and gave it 110%, it’s a relief to no longer have to sleep or poop on a schedule. Lots of projects keep me engaged and contributing to the common good: hosting a talk show with Portland’s newest progressive city councilors, fundraising for Maine Healthcare Action to put universal health care on the ballot, and writing the first draft of a novel during national novel writing month.
Lisa, hosting the new Portland, Maine community TV program, “Pathways to Progress”
My grandchildren are an endless source of pleasure, and I’m free to put as much time and energy into their lives as I wish. Watching them come online as readers is a special treat that includes sending the books their parents loved at that age, plus new titles.
Discovering what their special talents are is also a rare treat that I have time for. At age four one is speaking truth to power, and another can pound six nails in straight without a single miss. At age seven one can invent and illustrate stories of marvelous complexity, and at 17 one already knows how to build a house. And the babies are marvels who I delight in watching as they discover the properties of snow, sand, and gravity.
Some members of Lisa’s immediate family, summer of 2021
My children are adults who have achieved independence long since and now struggle with the special demands of parenting in a pandemic. I’m proud of them every day and I worry about them every day. I love it when I get to spend time with them. My biggest goal in life at this point: to not be a burden on them.
My husband is older than me and I cherish his illumination of the path ahead. What abilities must be given up, gracefully or grudgingly? Where can we still find quality of life when ailments and injuries pile up – alarmingly at times? It’s in love, always love.
Without the hormonal swings of my younger self, I find I’m calmer and better able to weather the emotional slings and arrows of human life. I’m comfortable with knowing what I’m good at and what I’ll most likely never be any good at. I’ve learned that working together with other people toward meaningful goals is a strength even if it’s madly frustrating at times.
When I was 19, I learned not to rely on good looks after I was smacked in the face by a ski lift; that was a hard lesson but I’m grateful. Knowing early on to invest energy in growing my compassion and deepening my understanding has supported my happiness in old age.
I always knew my body would let me down eventually. But my spirit can still soar.
Lisa Savage is a retired teacher, who continues post-retirement, to engage in organizing around climate and militarism. She blogs at https://wordpress.com/view/went2thebridge.wordpress.com.
