I know we are all striving to live our best lives, but I must admit that I am getting inspiration fatigue.
All credit is due to the doers and creators, the folks who pick up Esperanto or start to compete in Ironman competitions at 60, learn to skydive at 70, who start businesses in their retirement and who become spokesmodels with huge Instagram followings.
It seems many general media articles about aging have a well-dressed, well-groomed, in-shape person who recently sold their company and now raises alpaca and sells the wool, or who crafts model ships in their garage workshop from reclaimed wood. All these folks look great at 70…and they probably looked great at 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60.
OTOH, I understand that the general media picks these folks in the same way location scouts for TV shows and movies select fabulous apartments or homes for their stories, regardless of income (unless being poor is a particular plot or character point).
Thing is, these older folks are real. And they drive me crazy sometimes.
HOW?
Don’t you wonder how they find the time…and the energy…and the money! for learning and doing these fantastic hobbies and stunts, the fitness and grooming routines? I do!
I’m an average old person. I’m 20 pounds overweight and the last of my muscle tone hit the road during Covid. Since then I’ve been losing and gaining the same four pounds every year. I fall off the wagon and eat a brownie – sue me. I miss a couple of days at the gym. Sometimes I don’t bother to work up a sweat. At the end of the day, sometimes I’m happy to sit down with the remote or the laptop and consume worthless, non-inspirational, non-informative junk TV, or videos of cats and dogs.
Most of the time I’m okay with that, but sometimes…with the fifth video about the 60 year old woman who started a skincare line or the 84 year old who completed an Ironman, I just want to say….
…let’s hear it for the average old people. We’re the meaty part of the bell curve. We’re the folks who binge watch trash TV, nap, sneak cookies, and hit the snooze button. We don’t read ‘improving’ books. We don’t start the day with a brisk walk.
And I’m perfectly OK with that. How about you?
YOUR TURN
What’s your Average Old Person story or claim to fame? Let us know in the comments!
Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; she writes frequently on Old School New York City and performs at open mic readings throughout New York City. Send Open Thread suggestions to editor@seniorplanet.org.
