feliceEvery birthday after 50 most of us think we’re heading toward that “older” age but it’s not true. There are some incredible statistics on our side proving that not only are we going to live longer but every day 10,000 people turn 65 which means there are plenty of “us”.
And when we hit 65 we are still not the oldest generation as “The fastest growing age group in the U.S. is people over age 85, and the second fastest is people 100 and over. Experts predict a twelvefold increase in centenarians by the year 2060, and that a 10-year-old child alive today has a 50% chance of living to be over 100.May 26, 2022.”
Obviously there’s a myriad of topics that an exploding aging population triggers in terms of the economics of supporting this demo and how our kids will bear the brunt of that burden.
But, on another note — since longevity is in our favor, it begs the question and demands immediate answers as to what are we doing today to ensure we are not wasting our time bemoaning how old we are — examining our saggy skin, and delaying getting that hip replaced.
On instagram, the feeds are exploding of women over 50 and 60 and beyond celebrating their bodies and breaking thought stereotypical barriers.
On New Year’s Day, 57 year old Paulina Porizkov posted an amazing photo of herself posing naked. Of course her body is crazy young looking but still — this is a breakthrough post for our generation.
I love this post! And, I for one am kinda pissed that I spent too much time thinking I was old when I turned 60 because the truth is once I found the right place to live and celebrate each day, age has become less of a topic. I needed to explore living my “dream”… to live in the mountains out west in the winter. This is the 3rd winter my husband and I are living in Park City, Utah and it’s hard to feel old here since the place is all about being outdoors and being active. Actually, I feel exhilarated, like a kid on the ski slopes but of course I don’t need to be out all day and I am way more cautious but excited to go out and be with the snow.
When I was in my 40’s I never thought people in their 60’s could do the same things. The realization that my 50 and 60 an 70 year old peer group is blessed with being active has been a gift that I didn’t see coming and it makes me proud.
This New Years we decided to celebrate outdoors. So at dusk on New Year’s eve my husband and I put on head lamps and snow shoes and hiked with 3 dogs with a few friends 2 miles … up – up – up, as the snow fell. When we reached our destination, we passed a flask of Tequila and toasted the end of the year. Truth be told, not one person was in perfect physical shape but everyone was all in and did their best and frankly we were super energized and proud of being so adventurous.. Not one of us complained despite aches and pains; one had a broken arm which was in a sling so could only use one pole (she’s 64), one had a bad back but we didn’t hear a peep out of him, one had an achey knee but alas, another an arthritic toe and everyone got wet. We all loved the adventure and laughed the whole way down and vowed to make it a tradition.
So, as the statisticians predict a huge surge in our aging population – I am hoping that when physically able, this group will not worry about their age, just what new equipment they may need to help them brave new adventures and break through the stereo-types of our parent’s generation. And who knows, a few more of you may put up a post like Paulina’s.