Out and About June 2022 -issue198

50 | OUT AND ABOUT COSTA BLANCA
ANNE RODGER
OLD AGE
By
ANNE RODGER
Getting old is as surprising as it is
inevitable. I have seen the deaths of
the closest members of my family,
and my best friends in the past
few years. So there is an
underlying sadness as
I make adjustments
to my life without
them - but, at
the same time,
an immense
gratitude
that I am still
surviving
and doing
my best to
enjoy the
bonus of these
later years.
The greatest
benefit that we
oldsters have is time.
We don’t have to go
out to work any more, so
there is no imposed timetable.
Our allotment of time is of our own
choosing.
Sometimes - particularly when I am not
well, or the weather is really bad, I decide to
make a big cup of milky coffee (laced with a
little something !), grab a packet of chocolate
biscuits and go to bed with a good book -
maybe for a few hours or maybe for the day.
Interrupted only to get food and go to the
loo.
On other days, it’s go-go-go and I arrive
home exhausted. But exhilarated. What bliss
that there is such a choice of things to do.
In many ways, I have been very lucky. A
number of my friends have very dependent
loved ones who require a 24 hour
commitment. Others have
regular hospital visits they
must go to or other
medical treatments.
Even those
negatives can be
turned around,
in that they
give structure
to each day,
and provide
a hook round
which the rest
of the day can
be organized.
With
a positive
attitude, as with
all other phases of
life, old age can be a
significant time. Some
of us find charity work
very rewarding, as with joining
a group of like-minded people. It may be
fun to sit and knit, and chat together, to play
Boules or Petanc, or maybe contribute to a
heated debate. You may prefer to sing in a
choir, act or dance on the stage, or put the
World to rights over a restaurant meal in a
dining-out group.
Religion and family often contribute in
a big way to those of us fortunate enough
to have the extra time in our lives to which
others have been denied.
Don’t be lonely. Don’t be sad.
Old age can be such a bonus.