Recently I was in a Facebook discussion with some young women about aging.? It made me think of an answer for all of them.

“Oh …You girls…..You are ALL so young.” and I continued with much of what I have written here, though I have embellished it for you.

I am 69….still have most of my natural hair color, though in the last couple of years it seems to be shot with silver all through my hair, rather than just at the temples. I am vain enough to be pleased that it still looks brown most places though. But that is neither here nor there.

It is how one feels, of course that really matters. And I STILL feel somewhere between 17 (I was pretty mature at 17 and got married at 19) and sometimes I feel about mid 20s. But I almost never feel old.

The other day I watched a woman in her early 40 go down a stairway with a big storage box in her hands ….not holding on to anything and moving surely and quickly. And I realized that I cannot do that anymore with absolute certainty that I will make it to the bottom. I always hold rails now, especially if I am carrying something.

But that is about the only way I notice, and I think staying active and interested in things helps.? In fact, learning new things, volunteering, as well as staying connected to family…..oh…and having a dog or dogs who love you keeps you young.? All those things keep us youthful for as long as we do them.

Staying away from medication is another way to avoid feeling old.? If you are tied to taking some medication every day for the rest of your life, it is aging.? And besides that ALL medications have side effects, some worse than others. I take No medications at all.? None.

That is not because I have never had a condition where a doctor could prescribe a drug.? It is because I have refused to take the drug.? High cholesterol being the biggest culprit. My mother has it, and I have it. We do not take the horrible dangerous cholesterol lowering drugs, ever. (And we have had no negative health incidents). Educate yourselves.? Don’t take drugs that may hurt you more than they help you.? Research it, go “off the reservation” and speak with other types of healers. Take charge of your life and your health.

As for age itself, my 93 year old mother says, ” Oh to be 80 again!!!”

So you see it is all “relative”.