3 Ways to Stay Young

Every time when I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by, like dusk to dawn

I rarely drink from a straw, in fear of creating lines around my pursed lips. Lines that lipstick can bleed through, even though I’m not much of a lipstick wearer. Lines that will betray my age. But if I’m afraid of straws, will that mean I have to stop whistling as well? I bought wrinkle cream for the lines radiating from my eyes. They say that age is just a number, and my number is approaching 50. Grey hairs are slowly appearing, drawing fine lines in my mousey blond hair. Should I hide them with color or wear them proudly?

I started writing this post back in February, when I was thinking about my birthday. When I turned 47, I was celebrating a special anniversary–20 years since I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Ed and I trained and raised money to be able to walk 39 miles in the Avon Walk to End Breast Cancer. I was so excited about participating in that walk with Ed that 47 didn’t feel that old to me. This year, I turned 48; only two years until I turn 50. Ugh! Usually numbers don’t bother me, but I’ll be honest; this year’s number bothered me! It doesn’t help that many of my friends, parents of my children’s friends, are lamenting their upcoming 40th birthday! When I turned 40, I had a 4 year old, and an 17 month old baby with an ear infection. I was way too tired to even care about turning 40! (How do I remember? I wrote it down on my blog!)

My kids are older now, and so am I! I’m actually much less tired than I was back then. Raising my kids has been so fun, and they keep me young, along with these three things.

3 Ways to Stay Young
1. Learn Something New

As a 40-something, I took downhill ski lessons, which I do not recommend. If you are going to learn how to ski, do it when you are young and stupid, therefore not afraid of heights or going fast or falling and breaking your leg. There is nothing better to keep you young than to scare yourself to death. On second thought, maybe ski lessons aged me instead of keeping me young! So I went in the opposite direction and learned how to knit in my 40’s, which is a very low key and non-risky activity. Now I am part of a knitting group with some nice retired women. That will be much better for my heart!

How does this keep me young? Seriously, though, I love learning new things, including downhill skiing. It really gave me a sense of accomplishment. Learning new things stimulates your brain and helps memory functions. I don’t know about you, but I need help with memory! Where did I put my car keys again?

2. Volunteer

Okay, so I probably volunteer too much. On Wednesday, I baked 22 potatoes for a Lenten dinner. They barely fit in my oven all at one time! Most of my volunteering is at my church and at both my daughters’ schools. Volunteering is a great way to get perspective on age! When I was teaching Sunday school, somehow the subject of Jesus’ second coming came up. I talked about how Jesus was going to come down to Earth and take us up to heaven to live with Him, and how happy we would be. Well, one fifth grade boy did not look so happy. “You mean we’re going to DIE?!?” he exclaimed. “I’m just a kid! I have things I want to do!” So I tried my best to console him and said I didn’t think the second coming was imminent, which was a little tricky as a Sunday school teacher.

Recently I also volunteered at a high school for a show choir competition. Lily was competing in her middle school choir (they sang the song at the beginning of this post), and I’ve never volunteered at the high school level before. It was fun to talk with parents who have older kids than I do; I was able to help out while they went and saw their older kids perform since Lily had already performed the night before.

How does this help keep me young? Volunteering gives you a different perspective, whether it’s caring for old or young people, feeding the hungry, or just volunteering with people different from you. Plus, you feel good after helping others! When my kids are older and I’m not needed at their schools, I hope to volunteer at a hospital or library.

3. Traveling to a new places

Oh, you know this is Ed’s favorite thing to do! Well, somehow he hooked me on traveling too. We had so much fun driving to Yellowstone National Park last summer and visiting a lot of different towns and states. I just booked a trip to Maine, a new state for me! I’m so excited about our summer plans!

How does this help keep me young? The anticipation and excitement of traveling to a new place keeps me feeling young!

What helps keep you young? Let me know in the comments!

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12 Replies to “3 Ways to Stay Young”

  1. Well, you do know that knitting needles come with sharp pointy edges that do hurt when you use them wrong? I speak from experience here!! But all in all, knitting is quite a risk-free activity. Besides, you can chat the whole time and eat chocolate.

    As for traveling: love it love it love it! Would love to do more of it as well.

    I use face cream now, but have resisted for years. As for wrinkles and grey hairs: let them come. Mind you, I am only 45 (and a bit), so that thought could change by the time I turn 47!
    Mara recently posted…Some more Club MedMy Profile

    1. I think I will have to bring chocolate to my next knitting group! Being able to chat is fun! You even learned a whole new language and moved to a new country when you were 40-ish, didn’t you? That’s impressive!

  2. Love that song! There really is something so exciting in the pursuit of learning something new. It does keep you youthful and I love doing it. Sometimes it is the process of trying to master something that makes you more humble, which is a learning curve all it’s own!
    Jen recently posted…The Things She Gave Up For MotherhoodMy Profile

  3. Now, I am humming Aerosmith here as I just love them still though. Oh and btw I am turning 40 in June and admit this number bothers me a bit, as well. See at 30, I was just newly married and didn’t even have kids yet. But something about 40 with having been married over 10+ years, my girls growing up and me just getting older has me felling my age a bit more now more than ever. But I do love your plan to combat this and may need to steal a few of these myself now! 😉
    Janine Huldie recently posted…5 Ways for All Parents to Get Fit for SpringMy Profile

  4. Ginny, I used to cringe every time I’m a year older. I’ve just turned 38 this month. I accept my age now. Maybe because I started believing in reincarnation. So my logic is why worry about old age, when I’m going be young again anyway.

    I feel we should always keep learning otherwise we would have nothing to show for our years gone. Also, I really connect with point 3, traveling to new places. It takes us out of our daily routines and gets us living in the present. We are planning to move to Thailand in the next few years to live, to get a different experience in life. Our kids would benefit from it too.

  5. I just think about my brother, I remmeber when he was a boy, I often picked him up from kindergarten. Now he’s studying at university and will graduate soon. Time flies so fast… He is growing up and I’m getting older.
    However, I don’t think too much about aging, I try to keep my mind in peace. I also go on some diet, low-carb is a good suggestion, I think. And why don’t we start exercising? Every ones know Yoga is somehow anti-againg.

  6. Hi Ginny,
    Thanks for sharing!
    I want to add a way that I think it’s really good. That’s Yoga :). What do you think about this Ginny? Yoga is one of the best ways of staying fit the natural way.

  7. Exercise helps me feel younger. It is a great stress reliever and the fitter I am, the more I can do. Walking is great, but also weight training, pushups, etc for extra strength!

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