EMPTY NESTING

We’ve all heard of this …..

We spend many years bringing up a family, whether it is 1 or 2 or 6 etc children. It is a life changing experience.

No sooner have you settled into the demands of family life & the world of children with its problems & high & lows, when lo & behold they’re all grown up & have flown the nest.

Now you are left to either continue with your career (if you had one) & managed to keep working whilst having childcare – could be grandparents or paid help or quite popular now are ‘house husbands’…… there seem to be many men able to work from home whilst the women go out to work … so whatever helps or works for you……you may not even go to work or need to work, in which case when your children have grown, do you become ‘A lady who lunches’ or will you take up a hobby or even give your time now to charity work? Maybe you’ll want to return to study an online course or university degree? Thankfully there are now many choices.

Usually this is only another brief time in our passage of life as your own children start to produce their offsprings! As long as they do t move too far away, we find ourselves as grandparents helping with childcare! Many of us secretly enjoy this as we don’t need to do the disciplining or homework etc…. we can spoil them if we chose to!

Depending on your child you can get as involved or not involved as you chose!

Exercise – Walking

I like to walk most days. It is by far the best exercise you can do.

It’s the easiest cardio to help burn calories & strengthen muscles.

Also something that’s not that well known is it lessens the risk of diabetes/heart attack & stroke.

The best thing about walking is the ‘feel good factor’ , no matter what the weather.

A brisk walk is better then any antidepressant – as walking releases those feel good endorphins which help defeat stress & anxiety. Vitamin D is absorbed when walking which in turn strengthens your immune system & bone health.

The good thing about walking is it’s free!

Many people don’t notice what’s around them, well you certainly notice everything when you walk – it is the only way to be aware of your surroundings – either walking near your home or, for a change a little drive out – park & walking around somewhere new is always a good experience .

You’ll come back feeling totally energised!

Observation on ‘Respect for Elders’

What do you think about some of those sayings?….

Older & Wiser ?

Well, some people get wiser with age, while others simply don’t seem to have learnt anything!, & I need to say they don’t set the example they’re supposed to for younger people…..

In my experience, you have to earn the respect we soooo seem to crave as we age. I’ve heard older people be so very rude & expect doors to be opened for them & seats given up for them on trains & buses, but you know what? “A thank you” is a small word but speaks volumes!!! It’s not our right to be treated nicely! Respect should return respect!

Now I’m not saying all older people are like this as there are also many young people who are inherently rude to all ages & are not interested in ‘niceties,”. Indeed, I’ve opened doors for struggling young mothers with their double buggies, or stopped to let a “young boy racer” through the road constriction barriers without getting any acknowledgement from them at all!!, as I say a polite nod as a thank you goes a long way.

Answer a teacher or a policeman back? never!!! You knew you’d be in big trouble with your parents….that’s a funny thing, teachers & policeman used to look old to us all!!! Now they all look so young!!! Part of the course for ageing I guess!!!

Sayings

What do we think about sayings such as

1)’older & wiser’

2)’mutton dressed up as lamb’

3)’there’s no fool like an old fool’

4) ‘youth is wasted on the young’

5) ‘grow old gracefully’

6) ‘over the hill’

7) ‘if only we knew then what we know now’

8) ‘youth is a gift of nature but age is a work of art’

9)’you’re only young once’

10) ‘time flies’

AGE

‘You’re as old as you feel’ is what my mother used to say

Do we actually know how we’re supposed to feel at any age?

Lifestyle plays a big part in this… I.e

are you active?

do you eat the right foods?

do you keep your brain active?

So many factors play a part in our ageing

Also most importantly I guess it’s about luck as well as to whether you inherit good genes..

How you see yourself as you get older is up to you…. there’s so much you can do without costing money…. there are now so many groups to join that have many interests to get involved in…….from your local place of prayer whatever your denomination is, or there are many U3A groups springing up in most areas that cater to almost everything you may want to learn to outings to theatres & walks to interesting places to creative writing etc & so much more.

You may want to get involved in charity organisations where help is always needed in various degrees. Nobody needs to be alone or bored…..in fact exercising your brain with learning anything new is a wonderful way to hopefully stave off dementia. Learn a new language, a card game such as bridge or if you want something more active, join a gym or take up pilates or yoga. You could get involved in debates about politics, or learn about psychology or if it suits there’s always sewing or knitting or even art classes.

We luckily live in an age where everything is possible.

Of course if you’re unwell or disabled this is all much harder but look up websites to see what you would be able to do.

Many Church groups or Women’s Institutes will have people to take you out so you can have days out & take part with other people

http://www.nhs.uk

http://www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk