Handbook on Aging: What I Wish Knew

There are hundreds of theories on why and how we age. Unfortunately, as a nation, we focus a lot on our appearance. We spend hundreds of dollars trying to make ourselves look beautiful and will invest in any product that promises to help us keep a youthful appearance. We also engage in many activities to look and feel younger. Some of these may include surgeries and shots, while others may include diet and exercise or new cosmetics. Whatever it may be, we just yearn to continue looking and feeling good. Intellectually, we know that aging must happen, but we begin to have second thoughts about seeing a new birthday after we turn thirty. We want to celebrate a new year, but we dread turning another year older. We think many encouraging thoughts to fight the dreaded ones, such as, "At least we are among the living!" There are some things that we can expect to experience and do as we continue to age. But do we have a realistic picture of aging? What should we expect while aging? How do we prepare ourselves for the changes that will occur mentally, physically, and emotionally? Are we prepared for lifestyle changes? Is it possible to prepare for late adulthood and have a wonderful aging experience? Come along with us as we explore the changes we may experience and what we can do to help ourselves transition into late adulthood, which can--and should--be the greatest adventure of our lives.