I am a member of the Olympia Host Lions Club. One of our weekly rituals is to donate a dollar or more for birthdays – our own or that of a family member. This week I donated for my oldest daughter, who had just celebrated her 60th birthday. The next thing I heard from a fellow member was, “Was she adopted?!”
No, she was not. But although I do not have gray, silver or white hair, she does. She takes after her father. And while I have longed dreamed of a stylish silver streak across my forehead, apparently it is not to be.
I have not had knee or hip replacements. While my balance could use some improvement, I walk without aid. Part of this I contribute to genetics, part to paying attention to where I am walking and part to dumb luck.
The simple truth of the matter is we are living longer. And I recently discovered a new (to me) movement among my peers known as Growing Bolder.
…is free to join and offers online magazines, television programs and newsletters with articles on a wide variety of subjects.
According to the Growing Bolder web site, the 50+ demographic is the “Most Valuable in the World.” They say:
“50+ represents nearly half of all adults in the U.S. and to quote Dylan Thomas, they will not go quietly into the good night.
“They’re working longer, earning more, and spending more. They have more time and more disposable income than any 50+ cohort in history and they’re seizing the opportunity of extra years.
“They’re reinventing themselves, going back to school, starting new businesses, traveling, volunteering, starting new relationships and repairing old ones.
“They’re not growing older, they’re Growing Bolder.”
Nor is this exactly new news.
By the 1990s, Del Webb, known for his retirement communities, had figured this out. He reconfigured his homes, deleting a spare bedroom and adding an “office/den.” His garages had parking for two cars and a single for golf carts.
The retired adults had already begun to develop home-based businesses, hobbies that turned into cash cows and recognized the importance of internet marketing.
I have been continually impressed by peers I have met in our neck of the woods ever since I arrived in Thurston County almost five years ago.
The activities we enjoy here are not limited – indeed they are numerous and very diverse.
Hiking, biking and walking trails are plentiful and the weather usually doesn’t seem to deter many. Volunteers restock our oyster beds, participate in recycling projects, and community gardens.
We have wonderful local theatre groups that perform dramas and musicals, and many of my peers perform in them.
Are there problems? Sure. That’s part of life. But for the most part we approach them differently than we did in our 20s, 30s and 40s. We have seen more. We have endured more. We have survived more.
Therapy is no longer a word whispered in the confines of our homes. Getting help to navigate a constantly changing world is encouraged not frowned upon.
Keeping up with technology may still be a bit of a struggle, but with the help of family, friends, (and sometimes our editors) we preserver.
The goal is to thrive, not survive. And we are showing the kids how it is done.
Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia. Contact her at kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.
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