LIVING ON WHAT I LEARNED AFTER 65
Mary Lou Fuller

LIFE IS A SERIES OF BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS. In the blink of an eye we go from the terrible two’s to Medicare. A friend in her 80’s spoke about looking back on her life. She summed it up with this advice: "One must wait until evening to appreciate the splendor of one’s day". As I reflected on how my 75-year old "day" had been and re-visited some of my beginnings and endings, I began to listen to that crone within: the keeper of my wisdom. I felt a need to share some thoughts and feelings that have become part of living on what I’ve learned after 65.

I was born in the 1920’s. My childhood commenced with the stock market crash and ended with the close of World War II. My two marriages began and ended, one way or another. Children were raised and suddenly the nest was empty. Careers came and went. At each starting and stopping place I added to my frame of reference. I was launched into menopause at the age of 44. The unhappy process hung around for ten years. Estrogen was a help with hot flashes, those sickening rushes of heat that feel like a pilot light ignited deep in the core of your body. With my metabolism in chaos, just looking at food packed on weight. The doctor intoned, "You can only eat 25% of what you ate before." It was a death sentence.

As if that wasn’t cruel enough, along came osteoporosis and spinal compacting. My height dropped from 5’11" to 5’8". Recommended weight kept pace accordingly. The race between shrinking height and weight charts began and has yet to end.

 I fell for the first time in my 60’s. My ankle fractured when I failed to hold onto a stair railing. Recent wooziness made another grab for me as I stepped over the side of the tub to shower. I teetered on the grounded leg and had to grab for the shower curtain to right myself. I haven’t used the tub shower since and relegated my body washing to the stall shower in the guest bathroom.

Today the term "swing time" is used to define the period one’s foot spends off the ground when walking. Studies show old people develop short swing times if they don’t walk regularly. Even some 60-year olds shuffle just to keep their balance. Swing time meant something entirely different in my day.

I am conscious now of doing things more deliberately and I have learned to take my time. I gave myself a gym membership for a recent birthday. Strength-building is important the older we get and swing time is just part of it. I use the treadmill three days a week and cover two miles each time. I have sea legs when I get off but the cardio  benefit is good and I definitely feel a greater sureness in my step. I use the hip abductor and adductor weight machines to strengthen muscles in my thighs and hips. The leg press gives my knees a boost and I’m convinced keeping the serious onslaught of osteoporosis at bay is part of the benefit. I get to the gym at 5 a.m. The go-to-work people start trickling in a bit later but it’s fun to be in their midst. After my exercising I have more energy, a better general outlook and I feel good about doing something for myself. I can almost feel the fat turning into muscle.

A recent book by Dr. Lisa Callahan, "The Fitness Factor", (Lyons Press, $24.95) is about muscular tune-up for women. Dr. Callahan says, "Strength training is beneficial for every woman – no matter what age or fitness level…and is almost magical in helping to achieve health goals."

A year ago I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. The nutritionist put me on a diet regimen of many small well-balanced meals with a 1300-calorie maximum for the day. I’m back to a healthy weight for my age. I’ve concluded I must not simply cope with getting old, I need to change direction and meet it head on.