Learning To Cope With Aging

I’ve had a problem with aging. Well, maybe it would be more accurate to say I’ve had a problem coping with aging; time continues to pass and I continue to get older with little or no effort at all, so the actual aging part just seems to take care of itself.

Empty-nest syndrome has played a big role in my problem, I believe. It’s been three years since both of our boys left home and after the first year I thought I had more-or-less conquered that adjustment. I learned to cook smaller quantities (eating leftovers isn’t my favorite thing to do) and the lower utility bills quickly became a very welcome change (heating water for two showers a day uses a lot less gas than four or five or even six a day). However, even though the boys stay in touch regularly, I still miss them and sometimes I miss them terribly. So I give myself only a C+ in coping with my empty nest.

The physical aspect of aging has been a really tough thing to adjust to. My body just isn’t as young as it used to be. The little aches and pains added in with the gray hair and the thickening of my measurements around the middle all seem to have come upon me at once. I try not to complain, but my dear husband would tell you that I do. I’ll tell you that I don’t complain to him nearly as much as I could. Some of it I have brought on myself because I know I’d feel better physically if I would work out regularly, but I don’t do it. So, I give myself a C in coping with physical aging. (I could bring that grade up to B+ if I’d just get off my rear and get it in gear.)

They say you’re only as old as you feel. Some days I feel in my head that I’m 30 again (30 was much better than 20; I wouldn’t want to repeat my 20s) and then other days I look in the mirror and suddenly feel in my head that I must be at least 80. I know I don’t look 80, but the changes make me feel like I’d might as well be 80. So I guess the mental grade is the grade I need to work on; sometimes I would definitely give myself a big fat F, then other times I actually almost feel like an A+.

Overall I guess I average out to about a C+, so I suppose high average isn’t so bad. And knowing that I could bring that grade up with a few little lifestyle changes, changes in both the mental and the physical areas, actually perks me up a bit and motivates me some. They say that confession is good for the soul, so maybe confessing my shortcomings in the coping arena here will be a good thing in the long run for my body, my mind, and my soul. I hope so, because one thing I do know is that I intend to keep on aging, which certainly does beat the alternative.

(Originally published at From Boomer To Senior)

Susan52 is a baby boomer and a giant squid on Squidoo who enjoys blogging and building a business in her pj’s.  Her aging score has improved to a B+ since she wrote this article a while back.