I am very happy to "slow down" from a life lived pulled in many directions between our two demanding jobs and commuting in a high paced city, bringing up two children in today's fast paced and unkind world, and caretaking elders at various points. Every year we get older is different, but retiring from our jobs, having independant children, leaving our city life most of the year has given us freedom to explore and invest our time in new and different outlets, but without constraints and at our own "slower" pace. We are busy and occupied, but happy to be present when children and grandchildren need us, so I'm happy we have "slowed down" from our previous lifestyle.
Thank you, Lisa. This is such a good example of slowing down not meaning withdrawing from life, but creating more freedom to choose where your time and energy go. Busy and engaged, but at a pace that feels more your own.
So much of this resonates deeply, Denise. I am a firm believer that the “4th quarter” is of course different for everyone but statistically it begins in one’s early 60s. We’re living stronger as well as longer lives so there’s a lot of juice left, but labels die hard. I’m soon to be 78; I don’t feel (or act) the traditional “old old” but don’t for a minute discount that I have been blessed by good fortune.
Thank you, Jane. I really like that distinction between not feeling “old old” and still acknowledging the good fortune that allows us to remain active and engaged. That matters, because ageing is never experienced in exactly the same way by everyone.
The question that stays with me is what we are teaching those who are 59, 49 or 39 if we refuse to claim the word old at 69, because the language we use shapes what others believe is possible for themselves. The professionals I work with who carry the most authority in the second half of their careers are almost always those who stopped apologising for how long they have been at it and started owning the depth that only time can build. What shifted for you personally in becoming comfortable with that word?
That’s a thoughtful question, Charles. I think the shift came as I began reading and writing more deeply about ageing. I realised I wasn’t afraid of growing older itself so much as the assumptions attached to the word old.
I still don’t particularly “feel old” in the way the phrase is often used. I remain curious, active and engaged. But I’ve become more comfortable acknowledging that, at nearly 69, I am entering old age — and that this need not mean decline, irrelevance or limitation.
For me, claiming the word is less about accepting a stereotype and more about challenging it.
I am very happy to "slow down" from a life lived pulled in many directions between our two demanding jobs and commuting in a high paced city, bringing up two children in today's fast paced and unkind world, and caretaking elders at various points. Every year we get older is different, but retiring from our jobs, having independant children, leaving our city life most of the year has given us freedom to explore and invest our time in new and different outlets, but without constraints and at our own "slower" pace. We are busy and occupied, but happy to be present when children and grandchildren need us, so I'm happy we have "slowed down" from our previous lifestyle.
Thank you, Lisa. This is such a good example of slowing down not meaning withdrawing from life, but creating more freedom to choose where your time and energy go. Busy and engaged, but at a pace that feels more your own.
You expressed my feelings and new chapter exactly! Thank you!
So much of this resonates deeply, Denise. I am a firm believer that the “4th quarter” is of course different for everyone but statistically it begins in one’s early 60s. We’re living stronger as well as longer lives so there’s a lot of juice left, but labels die hard. I’m soon to be 78; I don’t feel (or act) the traditional “old old” but don’t for a minute discount that I have been blessed by good fortune.
Thank you, Jane. I really like that distinction between not feeling “old old” and still acknowledging the good fortune that allows us to remain active and engaged. That matters, because ageing is never experienced in exactly the same way by everyone.
The question that stays with me is what we are teaching those who are 59, 49 or 39 if we refuse to claim the word old at 69, because the language we use shapes what others believe is possible for themselves. The professionals I work with who carry the most authority in the second half of their careers are almost always those who stopped apologising for how long they have been at it and started owning the depth that only time can build. What shifted for you personally in becoming comfortable with that word?
That’s a thoughtful question, Charles. I think the shift came as I began reading and writing more deeply about ageing. I realised I wasn’t afraid of growing older itself so much as the assumptions attached to the word old.
I still don’t particularly “feel old” in the way the phrase is often used. I remain curious, active and engaged. But I’ve become more comfortable acknowledging that, at nearly 69, I am entering old age — and that this need not mean decline, irrelevance or limitation.
For me, claiming the word is less about accepting a stereotype and more about challenging it.