Achy Breaky Boomer     

A humorous blog on the

not-so-humorous aspects of aging

by Judi King Claybaugh!

How did we get here so fast? From rocking out in the '70s, to a rocking chair in our '70s - the time went by so fast!

 

Weren't we just kids, roller-skating in the streets? Teenagers out on our first date? Young adults off to explore our new world? Brides and grooms? Weren't we just juggling families and careers?

 

We were traveling  soooooo fast, we didn't notice the time.

 

Now, here we are in Sinatra's world when he sang of the seasons of his life. I'm not sure if I'm in late fall, or early winter yet, but I sure as hell know it's not spring anymore. Not only has the bloom left the rose, the petals are drooping and the stem is starting to bend. There is work to do.  

 

We Boomers - not the baby ones but the full-blown oldies in our 70s and 80s - are venturing into unchartered territory. We are entering the achy, breaky years now. Our bodies are starting to sabotage us; things hurt, body parts break, stuff wears out. 

"Oh crap!    Knee replacement!   AFib!   Stroke!   Back surgery!   Chemo!   Diabetes!  Broken bones!  Damn sciatica again ... where's my cane?" 

 

We all have something ... how could we not after using and sometimes abusing our bodies for 7 or 8 decades?  But, we are the Boomers. and we don't take this aging thing lying down ... well, except when we're taking our afternoon nap. 

 

We are now researchers - advocates for our health! We are proactive and vocal. We are seeking answers and new protocols. We are not going down without a fight!  We are hiking and swimming and walking and gardening  and traveling and going to the gym and out together for dinner ... just a little earlier so we don't have to drive home after dark.

 

Boomers are reinventing what aging can be.  As we enter each new decade, we do not model ourselves after our parents - they were much older at this age! We look at the Boomer "cool-kids" like 78-year-old Cher and 80-year-old Mick Jagger, and marvel at their brash refusal to "put on their orthopedic shoes for God's sake ... and grow up!"  They are still rocking out! And though we aren't as nimble and energetic, we are still grooving to the beat ... even if we have to turn up our hearing aids to hear it!