What age would you rather be?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always looked forward to the next stage of life.
It all began when I was three years old. We lived next door to our country schoolhouse, so I
played with the other “kids” during their breaks. But when the bell rang, everybody went into the
schoolhouse except me. And, sadly, I had to trudge home by myself.
As a result, I couldn’t wait for first grade. That was just the beginning of my looking ahead to what came next.
During grade school, I looked forward to leaving our small school, with five in our grade, and going to the three-story high school with
more than 100 in each grade. I dreamed of riding the bus and meeting new people. Since my parents thought I was too young to date in high school (and I was), I couldn’t wait to go to college. But in college, I had to wait until someone asked me for a
date.
Fortunately, I loved college. Like many students, that was the one time I didn’t want to see end. I also loved teaching. But after four years, I was ready for graduate school, where I met my future
husband. And I’ve had a wonderful life ever since.
Not that everything has been easy. I lost my kind, understanding father when I was only 31, there
were sad farewells to good friends when we moved, family members have had difficult times, and I’ve
experienced health problems.
But no matter what life throws in our paths, we must move forward. And every age has its good points. So what age would I rather be?
I have to answer, “The age I am right now.”
Every morning, my husband drives me to the pool for my water aerobics in his little red truck,
and between us are “Amber” and “Nina.” I’m allowed to pet Nina while Amber snuggles up to her favourite—Howard.
While driving, I often say this is the best time of our lives, and Howard agrees. We both have
meaningful work. We have lots of friends, a supportive family, a new bamboo floor in our living room, and a lot full of trees.
But, I would have said the same thing when my children were growing up and when they went
to college. And I always thought it was the best time of my life when I was a mental health writer for
25 years, although I could hardly wait for retirement so I could write about my passion—empowerment in aging.
So what age would you rather be? I hope your answer is that this is the best time of your life. If not, what could you do to make it so?
As I was writing this column last Saturday, I tore off the page on my motivational calendar and discovered Sunday’s surprising quote. “No matter what my age, now is the time to live it up.” So that’s my last word. No matter what your age, be sure to live it up this week! Do all that you can to
make this the best age you’ve ever been.
Marie Snider is an award-winning health care writer and syndicated columnist. Write her at thisside60@
aol.com or visit www.visit-snider.

Posted in Uncategorized