One of my son’s friends is wise beyond his years.  I realised when I had a chat with him some time ago that he and I share the same views about growing older. I remember he told me that age is just a number, people are people however old they are, and that he always treats people the same as they treat him.

Yes, age is but a number.  We can tell ourselves we are old,  or stay young at heart, it’s up to us.  I’m 58, but in my head do not feel any different than when I was 28. One person I know has chronic backache, but is only 50 years old.  She has given up and doesn’t try exercising and stretching to help herself fight it at all. She uses two sticks, a stair lift, and sits in an armchair all day.  She looks and dresses like an old woman. On the other hand my 91 year old mother fights her many co-morbidities, goes out with her walking frame, and forces herself to get on the bus every Friday and go shopping.  She refuses to sit in a wheelchair or let me help her with her housework, and cooks and cleans for herself.  I can only admire her grit and determination not to let life get her down.  I know that if she could, she would be joining the young-at-heart cyclists in the photo below…

Bikes

I have had my share of bad health.  I’m currently waiting to find out at the end of January whether I need any more treatment for thyroid cancer.  However, it doesn’t stop me from looking ahead and booking holidays or tickets for the Isle of Wight music festival that we always go to in June.  It’s nice to go to the festival, walk about with people half my age, and forget that I’m a cancer sufferer.   My husband tells me that we mustn’t say ‘What if?’ or sit at home waiting to die, because then we’d never do anything or go anywhere at all!

Do you feel younger than your years?  Quite a lot of people I know do.  As far as I can tell it seems that we age faster on the outside than on the inside.  What do you think?