Happy Thursday….cataract surgery day for me!  So, it seems fitting to write about Optimistic Aging: Facing Changes.

The posts I have been writing on optimistic aging are merely to keep us focused on the positive as we march into our second half of life…which means we are all facing changes.

Last week, a woman in a salon commented that cataract surgery made her feel old.

The fact that I am going through this today does not “make me feel old” at all.

Individuals of all ages go through challenges to their eyesight, and I am so looking forward to getting the blurry vision out of my life.

Hope in this change is what I have…never have I thought of it as a part of old age.

In fact, I rarely think of myself as old.

We are the ones that give an experience or a change the power to “make” us feel a certain way.  We control those feelings.

I spent too much time lamenting over the loss of two toes. And I do not wish to waste time like that ever again.

I choose to look for the silver lining as I age and hope you will join along.

So, let’s look at another challenge I am currently facing.

OPTIMISTIC AGING: FACING CHANGES – TIME FOR A NEW PATH

Regular readers here know that I have really enjoyed OSTEOSTRONG and believe it has helped me so much with bone strength, posture, and healthy strength training.

So, you can imagine my disappointment when notified that the local franchise had decided to close.

In fact, today is the last day it is open…last week was my last time.

It was a jolt because I saw myself going to this place the rest of my life….to maintain bone strength and avoid osteoporosis.

But, Optimistic Aging tells me to get back on the strength training horse and not spend time lamenting.

I must wait until I am past recovery on my cataract surgery…but then I have a plan.

Meet Penny!

Penny was one of my trainers at OsteoStrong and she worked me hard….she is also an aspiring author with a fiction book soon to release.

She has signed up to be a trainer through the YMCA where I do cardio, so I plan to hire her to train me in strength training when I am ready.  She is on board!

What I want to do for her right now, is encourage you to vote for her on January 26 to win a contest at Ms. Health and Fitness Magazine.

It was exciting when they selected her as one of the finalists.

Please go to THIS LINK and you can also read more about Penny’s commitment to fitness on this page.

Penny is also going to be joining me here and on Instagram with fitness tips for us.  I am very excited to share her expertise with everyone.

I still highly recommend OsteoStrong if there is one in your area….and what I recommend the most, because it has helped me so much, is Strength Training…however you choose to do it.

And, it is never too late to begin.  I began at age 60 when I was about to enter into osteopenia territory.

But, I do encourage you to have assistance with a trainer or class leader…you can easily be injured if you do not have guidance.

Strength training has saved many a hip from breaking and that is what motivates me the most.  Both of our mothers (Mr. B and me) had broken hips.

OPTIMISTIC AGING: FACING CHANGES: HOPE

I will most likely be home after the first eye surgery by the time you read this.

And I would like to encourage you to join me to FIND HOPE IN EVERY CHANGE.

Do not give disappointment or discouragement a foothold to zap your life away from you.

Do not give anything the power to MAKE you feel old.  We have so much living to do.

Find the hope…the silver lining…they are there…and live with purpose and joy…yes, one day at a time.

Thank you for joining me today for Optimistic Aging: Facing Changes….I will be here tomorrow with a post I wrote prior to surgery.

Hope you will join me and VOTE PENNY…until then….

EMBRACE TODAY & KEEP SMILING!!

BY PAMELA LUTRELL

For all your shopping, please use the links on my SHOPPING PAGE…thank you, thank you to all who shop this way and show support for this blog.  It means the world.

“You don’t just have a story – you’re a story in the making, and you never know what the next chapter’s going to be. That’s what makes it exciting.”  Dan Millman

New Chapters…sometimes for women over fifty, especially as we advance further in age, we begin to believe the new chapters are over.  We may also begin to hate change and all that can come with it.  But, as the quote above says, it can be exciting… and, behind that thought, keep us alive and joyful if we have the courage to open a new chapter of our lives.

I realize this audience is very diverse.  Some are retired…some are still working and close to retirement…some are volunteers…some work at home…some are running non-profits…and some are like me, and must work as long as possible.  I have one friend who is a teacher and she says they will carry her body out on a stretcher of the school building  when she is finished.  Many of us just need that additional income in order to not burden family as we age.  But, I also believe it is important for me to continue to work because it brings me joy and keeps my mind active and alive.

In 2016, I stopped teaching high school journalism after sixteen years.  I had taught in order to help provide private education for my children when they were at home.  I was ready to return to my journalism/marketing roots and see what doors were open.  We all have dream jobs…some obtain them and some don’t.  I think since I first held Seventeen Magazine in my hands, I wanted to be a magazine editor.  For years, magazine publishing came with a reputation of fun and glamour.  So, when the opportunity came my way, (in my sixties!), to be a magazine editor, I grabbed it.  I am glad I did…I met so many incredible people, and learned a lot about our city.  I also know now that I can do that job…it is not out of my wheelhouse.  But, many print publications today, (not all), are  struggling to survive and some have become predominantly  advertising periodicals in order to be profitable, .where content is less important. I also love to write, and editing demanded less of it.  It did not take very long to know, the dream job was not me.  But, I had to do it in order to make that discovery.  It was a stressful job with lots of pressure and next to no time off.  If I was younger, I might have desired a longer stay for the sake of resume strength.  However, when you are older and know it is time to move on, then why wait too long? Life is short. The parting of our ways was mutual and happened in such a way, that it was perfect for me for so many reasons.  But there was fear….would any other company recognize experience and desire to take on someone my age.  Well, thankfully, a perfect company did.  I was pleasantly surprised that my age did not matter at all.

I cannot write too detailed in this space about where I am due to restrictions.  But, I can say I am in higher education, in a communications department which runs more like an advertising agency, and I am thrilled to be with a company which has more structure, more opportunity, and a greater purpose for the work.

There was a time in my life right after I left teaching when I feared and dreaded change.  Now, I kind of feed on it, because it does make life exciting.  Whether you are facing a move or a job change or a new phase of life such as empty nesting, I encourage you to set your anxieties aside and go forward with confidence. Expect good things to happen.

Does anyone else have a “New Chapter” story they would like to share?  We would all love the encouragement!   And I hope all of you will join with me…as we

KEEP SMILING!!

I have a big new office to decoate.  Here are some of the things I have been looking at……

Listen Today…SIGN UP FOR THE PODCAST HERE