No one ever said life is easy, but I believe by giving yourself permission, you will find you have more control over your life than you realize. I'm Julie. I hope you will join me by taking responsibility for yourself by only controlling the things you can and letting go of the things that you can't. By doing this, you will have discovered this secret to having happy, healthy, and more fulfilling relationships. This is Nearest And Dearest Podcast. I'm Julie Rogers and you are listening to season two, Episode two, Age Is Just A Number. I've been thinking about the process of aging. I just turned 57 in February. Three more years I will be 60. It will be a new decade of numbers I hope to embrace. I have lost some very close people in my life this past year. Because of that, I feel I am even more determined to embrace life with more zest and challenging myself. I want to keep discovering, learning and enjoying my family and friends. I want to be proud to share my age. I have worked hard becoming who I am and will continue to work even harder to be an even better version of myself. I never want to settle with thinking I am the best that I can be. I want to keep being fearless in whatever I pursue. I recently had a conversation with my granddaughter, Eloise. She's nine. She and I FaceTime periodically and we have the best conversations. Somehow we got on the subject about my dancing skills. She saw little clip of a video that my friend Kim took at Christmas time, this past year. I was on a sailboat along with Woody, Kim, and her husband Dick. We were sailing in the Caribbean, St. Thomas. We decorated the sailboat and ourselves to be in a Christmas parade. It was a blast. I had been in parades before, but never a parade that was performed on a sailboat at night, sailing through the sea. There was around 15 or so sailboats in that parade. People were either lined up along the shoreline of St. Thomas or watching from their own vessels. We had fun music blasting from speakers and started dancing around on the bow. Kim decided to take a quick little video of Woody and I dancing and singing. When Eloise saw that video, she was a little shocked to see me shaking my booty. She told me that I was twerking. I let her know that it was totally fine for me to be dancing and having a great time, that there is no age limit for anyone to dance, even twerking. I want her to not be afraid to do her own thing and not be embarrassed by worrying what other people might think no matter what her age is. I want to debunk the myth about older adults can't learn new things. First of all, as an older adult, you have more knowledge and insight from a lifetime of experiences, which can only help you gain perspective in whatever you want to pursue. I had more self-doubt and fear when I was younger than I have now at 57. If only I could go back in time and tell my younger self, Julie, you got this. Stop not believing you can do it and just do it. I think part of my own self-sabotaging fear was my own lack of self-confidence. It took me living my life, making my own decisions good and bad, and finally realizing, hey, if I wanna push myself out of my comfort zone, I have to admit to myself that those barriers will come at me and it's okay. I can work through them one at a time. That's what I did. My self-esteem has only grown the older I get. My glory days are still ahead of me. Not like Bruce Springsteen who sang about glory days only happening when you are younger, you can have both. Don't use your age younger or older as an excuse for not fulfilling your own goals or dreams. You are your worst enemy if you aren't trying to reach them. Surround yourself with like-minded people who build you up, not guilt or shame you. Once you start doing the work to obtain your personal accomplishments, you will suddenly realize that you are the answer to your own success. It's a privilege getting older. When my mom battled Alzheimer's at 80 years old, it was devastating to my family. She was fiercely strong and independent. The disease took her life in 2019, she was 84. Now that time has gone by, I can reflect back on her whole life, not the worst, when she was battling Alzheimer's. She lived a wonderful life until she got sick. I choose to cherish the time and memories my family had with her, even the tough ones. I would focus on the little moments with her that mattered. I am grateful that she lived 80 years raising her kids, enjoying her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, cherishing her friendships, traveling when she had the opportunities to before her life was forever changed. My mom's legacy to me was to make sure I am enjoying life to the fullest. She always told me to follow my heart. I carry her with me every day, what I wouldn't give to see her again and give her the biggest hug and kiss. When Woody and I traveled to Mesa, Arizona for two winters in our RV in 2018 to 2020, we stayed in a 55 and over community resort. We were work campers. We worked part-time hours for this resort, and we used the salary to pay for our campsite there. We loved it. It was an opportunity to meet new people and explore the southwest area. The takeaway about doing this adventure was seeing how much seniors were totally enjoying their retirements. I have never seen before so many people dancing, socializing, hiking, biking, playing pickleball, and being active. I was inspired. I was 52 that first winter. I was younger than most of the people there. Woody was 60. That's how we got to stay there. It was a look into the future. No one we met there was complaining about getting older. It was just the opposite. It was like-minded people who refused to let the number of their age define them. Of course, some were dealing with health issues, but it wasn't stopping them from living their best life. Being able to experience the absolutely beautiful landscapes of Arizona was definitely amazing. Woody and I signed up for a hike to trek a part of superstition mountains. Neither of us are experienced hikers, and I knew it would be a challenge for me. We had to tell a little white lie that we were somewhat experienced hikers so we could go with a group from the resort. We had proper shoes and even bought hiking poles. We were hiking the Peralta Canyon Trail. Probably said that wrong, so my apologies. We hiked 2.25 miles to the top with a 1400 foot elevation change. We viewed Weaver's Needle, a 1000 foot rock formation that connects strongly with local folklore, linking it to the lost Dutchman's gold mine. The needle is rumored to contain rich deposits of gold and is possibly the hiding place for gold artifacts from this Spanish occupation of the area in the 17 hundreds. If you ever find yourself in that area, I recommend the hike. There were a couple of moments when I felt out a breath and needed to stop to rest. I looked around me and saw the majority of this group around 15 or 20, and realized that if this older group of people, some were in their 70's, could make this hike up this mountain, so could I. This is the second time the majestic mountains of Arizona challenged me. It was another realization that your attitude, perseverance, and even stubbornness will get you through any goal that you are looking to achieve. I am grateful to those two winters in Arizona for so many reasons. Not only enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Southwest, but meeting wonderful, interesting friends along the way. I recently asked friends about getting older. I've heard from a couple of them, my friend Rodger, who lives in New York, he says, I'm against it. I totally understand that statement. My takeaway from that is to keep going no matter what. Another friend Cookie who I met in Arizona, she says, quote, "honestly, I turned 70 and am happier than ever. Age really is a number. Carol King said, you've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face and show the world all the love in your heart. I start and end my day listing at least five things for which I am grateful. Dance every day, laugh as often as you can and show kindness." End quote. Her words definitely ring true to me. Age doesn't define you. Your own attitude, sense of self, how you want to live your life. Make sure you keep learning and growing. Don't just focus on the obstacles that will eventually get in your way. Learn how to navigate through them the best that you can. You can't predict how you will look as you get older. I mean, you can see how your own parents aged and be aware of health issues that might be genetic, which can factor into your own wellness. I have seen for myself and others who are getting up there with their age number that you do have the power to keep going forward with whatever you desire and want in your life as long as you can! Until you can't. It's your mindset that will enable all things possible. One thing is for sure if you start any thought, plan or action with I'm too old, you have already put the brakes on living your best life ever. I would love to hear about your insights to aging. You can leave me a comment below my links on my show notes from wherever you listen or send me an email at julierogers@nearestanddearestpodcast.com I would love to share them in a future episode. I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to my show. I have some Nearest And Dearest Podcast vinyl stickers that I want to give you. You can show you are a fan. Send me your mailing address and I will pop one in the mail. The views and opinions expressed by Nearest And authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Nearest And Dearest Podcast. Any content provided by Julie Rogers or any other authors are of their opinion. They're not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. Thank you.