OlderWiserWomen

Jackie is a 78 year old woman, who is racing today in Florida in the Ford Ironman Championship.

“You just decide you’re going to do this… and you tell yourself you will do it.” Jackie Yost, Ironman Athlete

Read more about the race and Jackie here.

Baby boomers, your adventures are only just beginning.

The Peace Corps believes that no single group has more to offer in terms of experience, maturity, and demonstrated ability. Because there’s no upper age limit to serve, it’s never too late. In fact, Volunteers who are well into their 80’s have served and continue to serve. Join us for an evening of pictures and stories about Peace Corps service for the plus-50 Volunteer. Neal and Judy Hansen will be our keynote speakers. They served as Peace Corps Volunteers in their 50’s. Judy was responsible for establishing a new creativity program. Neal worked with small business and helped establish export opportunities.

Thursday, Sept. 21
7 to 8 p.m.
University of Washington
Waterfront Activities Center (Behind Husky Stadium) Montlake Boulevard and Pacific Avenue NE
Seattle, WA

Prospective applicants and other interested members of the general public are invited to this upcoming event. Please feel free to bring additional guests.

Everyone is welcome. RSVP’s encouraged though not strictly required. RSVP with the total number of people in your party to seattle@peacecorps.gov, specifying “RSVP Retirement Redefined - Sept. 21 Event” in your subject line.
Or simply call 800.424.8580 and ask to speak to someone.

Website: www.peacecorps.gov

With Age Comes Wisdom… and Happiness

FRIDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) — If you’re happy and you know it, chances are you’re no whippersnapper. That’s the upshot of a new Internet survey that found senior citizens report being happier than younger people.

The findings contradict the common assumption that happiness declines with age, said study lead author Heather Pond Lacey, a postdoctoral fellow at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System in Michigan. “In our culture, we think of old age as a time of helplessness, disability, loneliness and isolation,” she said, “none of which are necessarily true.”

Using an online survey, Lacey and her colleagues asked 542 people about their level of contentedness. Of those, 273 were aged 21 to 40 and 269 were between 60 and 86. Ten percent were black, another 10 percent were Hispanic, and about half were women.

On a 1-to-10 scale, with 10 representing the highest level of happiness, the younger group reported an average happiness level of 6.65, while the older group stood at 7.32.

The results appear in the June 2006 issue of the Journal of Happiness Studies, which focuses on the field of “positive psychology.”

Curiously, neither age group had a good grasp of the other group’s happiness level. The younger group underestimated the happiness of 70-year-olds, saying they’d only register 6.19 on the scale. And the older group thought 30-year-olds would be happier, at 7.65.

Also, both groups assumed happiness levels would decline over time. “People were imagining that that happiness has a decreasing trajectory, when actually we see the opposite pattern,” Lacey said.

The study didn’t examine why happiness levels rise over a lifetime, but Lacey speculated it may have something to do with greater appreciation of life in general. “We also seem to get better at managing our moods — the ‘don’t-sweat-the-small-stuff’ kind of idea,” she said.

Lacey acknowledged, however, that the survey only included Internet users, potentially leaving out older people who may be too sick or anti-social to take part.

“That’s a very real problem, something we worried about,” Lacey said. However, she noted that other studies have also shown that many people tend to be happier as they grow older.

Dr. James S. Goodwin, director of the Sealy Center on Aging at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, complimented the study, and said most younger people do indeed have “very strange views” about aging.

“But I’m not sure we should be that concerned about that,” he said. “It’s a fairly harmless bias, as biases go. They will figure it out eventually.”

As we get older, we begin to think of our living situation…for ourselves and for our parents. No one WANTS to eventually end up living with others, yet living or being around family memebers and/or close friends far outweights the possibility of moving into an asissted living type of home or a nursing home.

More and more, people are making choices to remodel their homes so that Mom and Dad can live at home longer. See what others are doing? Does it spark any ideas for you? If not about your parents, what about for yourself?

Feeling Much Safer At Home

Sally Field. I don’t know about you, but I remember Gidget and the Flying Nun. I loved her in Steel Magnolias. And now…I love her as an advocate to bring to light the issue of osteoporosis in women.

Thanks Sally!

We all are aware of the fact that “seniors” get discounts. Your local restaurant gives discounts at a certain age, some stores will offer you discounts on certain days, and occasionally you’ll get a coupon in the mail that entitles you to some product or event for a deep discount, and event for free.

I ran across this book that has gathered lots of information that shows you how to get things for free. Some examples include how to get free dental care, free foods, free legal help, free eye care, how to earn money when traveling and more.

Definitely check it out - Free For Seniors.