Age is MORE Than Just a Number

You've heard the old saying, "Age ain't nothing but a number." Some people love to use the phrase to remind older folks that as long as we remain young in spirit our birth years are irrelevant.  I beg to differ because I've got the aches and pains that come with growing older but that's beside the point.

This blog post is about the importance and beauty of aging and the impact we can have on a life with all of our knowledge and wisdom.  

I spent six weeks of my summer tutoring a group of young people who are transitioning from public to private middle school this Fall.  I was one of six tutors---the majority of us over the age of 60.

Picture represents 200+ years of education, knowledge, experience, and wisdom.  

Recently, we got together to re-cap our tutoring sessions with the students.  As I sat and listened to the others, I realized just how different we were in our approaches.  Our takeaways from the sessions explained quite a bit about our backgrounds and experiences in dealing with minority students.  As the only black tutor in the group, I had a much easier time dealing with each child.  Perhaps because they saw me as a "grandmother figure" and everyone respects their grandma!  I do believe all of the tutors meant well, despite their limited exposure, because they saw it as an opportunity to "give back."  

A study conducted several years ago at the University of Pittsburgh found that older people who donate their free time benefit greatly by doing so.  The research, involving 200 volunteers age 50 and over, indicated that the volunteers reported significant improvements in their mental health, along with other socio-emotional benefits ranging from a greater feeling of productivity to increased social activity to an overall sense that their life had improved.

According to research by Corporation for National and Community Service, older adults who volunteer can benefit with lower rates of depression,increased energy and stamina, improved cognitive function, and increased self-esteem.

What I've personally discovered is growing older has given me a broader perspective of how I can use my knowledge, expertise and wisdom to make a difference in the lives of our future generations.  Tutoring has given me opportunities to share (and listen to) different points of view, come of with creative and challenging ways of learning, and to look for the values and gifts in each child.  More importantly, it has given me joy!  

If someone had asked me 30 years ago what I thought I would be doing at the age of 62, I'm not really sure what my answer would've been.  But I can tell you now that I see the importance, beauty, and wisdom of aging every time I look in my mirror.  

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me." ~ Erma Bombeck

 Comment from one of the students:  
"One of the outstanding tutors was Ms. Beverly because she has a great knowledge about what she is doing.  And if we didn’t understand the work, she encouraged the children and showed that she believed in them."

Why Baby Boomers are FAT in North Carolina.

When I first moved to Durham, NC more than 10 years ago, I noticed there were quite a few folks in my age group I considered to be overweight.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks---The reason why baby boomers in my neck of the woods are overweight is because there are NO SIDEWALKS! Trying to exercise by walking in many Durham neighborhoods becomes a hazardous mission when you are competing with vehicles for road space. It’s especially challenging when the vehicles refuse to obey the speed limit signs or refuse to give us the right of way.

I never paid much attention to the city not having neighborhood sidewalks until this morning when my husband and I took a five-mile walk in Largo, MD. There were sidewalks for miles and miles and miles. And check this out: there were sidewalks on both sides of the street! It didn’t matter that it was hot and humid at 8am. Just the thought of strolling along on a beautiful sidewalk made exercising worthwhile and so enjoyable!

Many baby boomers in Durham are forced to take their lives into their own hands when they try to exercise. I wonder what developers were thinking about when they decided not to include sidewalks in their overall plans. Maybe they just figured we didn’t need them because we’d much rather spend our time smoking cigarettes in the city known for being the American Historic Tobacco District.

WHATEVER!

The Baby Boomer Diva Web of SHAME

This post is necessary because of an experience I had earlier this week with the general public in Durham, NC. I have to say this was the one time when I was never more angry to be a part of this community. The term "Southern Hospitality" has become a joke because I certain haven't been able to find any here lately. OK, let me cut to the chase.

On Monday I was on my way to pick up my daughter when, for some unknown reason, my husband's 2004 navy blue Sebring with Maryland tags just shut off while I was stopped at the traffic light at the interesection of Lynn Road and US 70. I was attempting to turn right at the time. My car woes created somewhat of a traffic tie up but guess what? The police drove by---a sheriff's deputy drove by and several other cars and NO ONE stopped. Instead, they chose to drive around my car, with my flashers on and infant grandchild in the car, and continue on to their destinations. It didn't matter that I was stopped in the dead of the hot sun with no shade in sight. A couple of people had the nerve to wave as they were trying to maneuve around me. Some even had disgusted looks on their faces as if I intentionally created the traffic jam.

WHATEVER!

I thought that was as good a time as any to have a little talk with God. I wanted to know why no one was stopping to help me because I always seem to go out of my way to help others when I see them broken down on the side of the road. My daughter cringes every time I do it but I try to explain the good feeling I get when I help someone else.

More than 50 cars and trucks passed by and in my frustration I decided to write down the license plates. Chances are the owners of these vehicles won't read this blog because they're too busy trying to get to one destination or another or they probably don't even know what their license plate number is. Do you?

So if you read and recognize the license plate number, let them know they've been formally inducted into this Baby Boomer Diva's Web of SHAME:

SRD 8957; WTJ 8555; RVD 8673; WSJ2871; HRX 7089; RPJ 5963; LRE 8059; MNR 5609; HSS 6797; DEAD-I-2; RTT 5164; SWT 9042; TZC 6286; VXX 5562; VSS 9177; WSJ 2672; HTC 7839; VWV 8834; VSY 9234; RWF 3326; RVD 8673; VTD 5017; LSL 7886; 3XSA209 (CA plates); RTT 5164; TZN 9903; TZC 3906; MWE 6523; CVD 1669; TPA 2531; HEDWELLS; PBE & COE; WNA 8032; PNR 4765; VRJ 7709; SWT 9141; KXX 6925; WPR 6015; LPK 9798; LRE 9995; VPH 5512; VZZ 35; SWT 9141; JTA 5786; VWJ 2169; WSY 7307; LSL 7886; VZZ 3557; VX7757; WPR 1410; WSJ 3725; WSJ 4620; WPV 5677; SURVIVOR 5; VRT 6725; VZY 8570; SZH 6882; WPB 8466; VSS 5415; SWT 8206; JWF 4290; VRW 3745; VPC 5159; VSS 6954; WXB 1842; VRX 1470; VSS 7669

Now, I must also tell you that God did answer me. He sent an unidentified woman in a red camaro who volunteered to go pick up my daughter; He sent a passenger who was riding in a White Ford Taurus---license plate # TXN 8963---to singlehandedly push my car to the side of the road---and finally, He sent a tow truck.

One of the things my daughter said is, "It's hard to be nice to others when you see how they treat you in times of your own distress." And sometimes we wonder why young people behave the way they do.

Baby Boomers Rock the Vote!

When I woke up yesterday morning I had every intention of going to the polls to vote. I have always been faithful about voting because as a baby boomer I recall the images of those days when some people were trying to keep my parents from voting---and every relative made it a point to remind us younguns' of the sacrifices that were made on our behalf.

But when I woke up, it was raining. And I don't mean a light drizzle. It was raining cats and dogs. It looked like I had awakened to day #39 of raining 40 days and 40 nights.

I kept saying to myself, "I'll go as soon as the rain lets up." But every time I said it, it seemed to rain harder and harder.

Finally, it was 6pm. I looked outside. It was STILL raining pretty hard. The polls close at 7:30pm so it had to be now or never. But then I thought, "There's probably nobody at the polls anyway. Who in their right mind would come out in this rain? But then there was that little voice inside my head. It sounded alot like my mother's and I ALWAYS OBEY THAT VOICE so I got dressed and drove to my polling place.

Whoa! Much to my surprise, there were cars everywhere! At first I thought it must've been some kind of PTA Night since I was voting at a school. But once I walked inside--I saw the crowd of people---all waiting to vote!

Wow! An off-year election and the baby boomers were out in droves. It didn't seem to matter that it was raining--that's why they make umbrellas. And there were parents out with their kids, who were taking part in a special kids voting.

I wondered what drove them to come out and let their voices be heard. Was it the fact that voters were passionate about the District Attorney's race---which became heated after the Duke LaCrosse scandal? Or were people sick and tired of "business as usual" and wanted to make a clear and concise statement? Was it because we, as baby boomers, are mindful of the future of this country and as the dominate population we have to have a say so in what goes on. After all, it really affects us.

Well, whatever! it was, I was actually happy to stand in a line to wait my turn to vote. I was voter #1011. Now for those of you who live in major metropolitan areas that may not seem like a huge number, but considering the fact I was # 186 in the previous election, that was an awesome showing! My ancestors would be proud.

Reminder: WHO NEEDS OPRAH...when I have YOU to help me take my book, "Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age" to the #1 best Selling Book List!!!