Aging is FUNdamental
Baseball has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
My dad used to watch two games on TV at the same time—while also listening to a game on the radio.
When we’d visit my grandparents in Houston each summer, my grandfather would take us to an Astros game—and would teach me to keep “official” score on a scorecard.
In elementary school, we learned more of the fundamentals of the game: throwing, hitting, fielding, how various players back up other positions so that the ball stays in the field of play, etc.
But it was in 1979 when I first met my husband, an avid Orioles fan, that I truly began to love and appreciate the nuances of the game: the strategy, the history, the stories, the lore.
And as I watch the game now, I recall all the lessons I’ve learned about the game, beginning from when I was a child.
I marvel at how grown men continue to play the game using the same skills they were taught as kids—backing each other up on the field, celebrating when they hit a home run, taking part in an endless array of rituals from their walk-up music, to assuming their stance in the batter’s box, to high-fiving after making a great play.
Lessons learned as children. Brought fully to life as adults. A beautiful thing.
Such is the case with aging and ageism. Only not necessarily so beautiful.
Research shows the lessons we’re taught about aging when we’re children stick with us through adulthood—and color our view of growing older throughout our lives.
If we’re taught as kids that older age is just another stage of life—a time to be enjoyed and cherished, rather than be frightened by and dreaded—we are more likely to age better and live longer.
Conversely, if we’re taught there’s nothing to look forward to in our older age—that it’s simply a time of sickness, frailty, and waiting to die—then our attitude about and approach to aging will reflect that negativity.
The fact is ageist beliefs, like pretty much all forms of prejudice and discrimination, are not ideas we’re born with. They are taught—and learned—through our words, our actions, and our attitudes. And, like pretty much all forms of prejudice and discrimination, they are extremely difficult to unlearn, as well.
My question is: what are the lessons you’re teaching your children and grandchildren (and great-grandchildren?) about aging? How are you modeling growing older for those younger than you?
We often say, “Our children are our future.” Well if that’s the case, let’s make sure their attitude about that future—especially as it pertains to growing older—is a positive one.