Success in Aging

Most seniors today consider themselves aging well. Keys words found in most conversations with members of a senior center are; successful aging, adaptation, resilience, qualitative methods, and wisdom. Seniors were more interested in psychosocial factors than on genetics, longevity, health, and diseases. With this in mind here are a few interesting subjects and quotes.

Self-acceptance and self-contentment are accepting yourself and being content with who you are.

Love this quote: “You only have three choices in life: Give up, give in or give it all you’ve got”. And another one:” Get up, get dressed and show up” is the answer.

The realistic self-appraisal is making the best of what you have. You have come to a point where you know what you can and cannot do. Suit your desires to what is realistic. Quote: “That’s how it is... if I can change it, fine; if I can’t fine too..”  “Make do with what you have.”

Review of One's Life is unpredictable up to a point. The part that is predictable is: "aging is automatic."

Engagement of Life and self-growth- Remaining engaged in life is so important. Don’t fill like you have done it all your life and that is all you can do. Try something. Older folks who are active are still growing whether they realize it or not.  Quote:” If you don’t use it you lose it”. Old folks still like the movies, eating good food, and you know they are not sitting in their rooms… waiting for something to happen. Seeking intellectual stimulus is also important. Challenging oneself, (i.e., crossword puzzles, trivia) is a good thing. It is “Keeping the mind sharp.”

Giving to Others- volunteering and helping others is not only for the sake of generosity, but also the positive impact on you, including enjoyment and fulfillment. It is the ability to remain engaged and useful. Quote: “A Kind act is like a boomerang it always comes back”.

Social Interactions It is important to be surrounded by people by having a “sense of connection” and “feeling that someone cares”. It is critical to maintain social relationships and seek community and social support. Quote: ”Keep your old friends, make some new ones, don’t isolate yourself.”

Help Make Their Dreams Come True-Part II

Help Make Their Dreams Come True II

The 2019 National Pro Pastpitch (NPF) will soon be over.. Thirty of those college standouts in the WCWS  put on a Jersey for an NPF team and started to play. These girls will get to continue their softball careers because the NPF provides the opportunity. Let’s all promote the NPF for all women who have a dream- equality on the playing field as men who play baseball. Here's how:
1.Keep up with schedules, events, players, news and scores.
2. Wear NPF apparel or from your favorite NPF Team.
3. Follow your favorite Team Website
4.Plan trips to games-purchase tickets on line for games and   special events.
5. Ask someone to sponsor for NPF. Ask the company you work for. Be a Sponsor.
6. Watch all the games on NPFTV . Sign up today.

Here is the most important thing of all !
 Browse the National Pro Fastpitch League for all the information listed and share NPF's  posts and that of its Sponsors . It takes us all to promote.
www.profastpitch.com




NPF Website Info:
Team Rosters Team Websites
All Games Schedules
TV Schedules
Featured Players
Videos
Elite Sponsors
League Suppliers
Pro Shop
Sponsorship Info
Team Owner Info
History.

Role Model At Any Age

Role Model-Does Age Matter

Kathryn McCrary has been my role model ever since I walked into the Mt. Juliet Senior Activity. As I was trying to select an exercise I could best do with handicaps Kathryn came bounding through the front door with a smile and a big” good morning “on her way to an exercise class. Someone said she was 90. I perked right up!

This little picture of role models reminded me a lot of my life the past couple of years. My vintage age has brought me full cycle in recognizing the fast-paced world we live in. My daughter has spent many years learning from older women. Now I have switched roles with her. There are so many new techies to learn to even keep up with personal chores like banking, electronically paying bills, coupons for grocery shopping and I could go on. These are things I can learn from her. So does age really matter? Then I thought age doesn’t matter! It is about sharing with one another. The young can tutor the older ones and the older ones can mentor the younger ones.  

In April we celebrate Volunteer Day. And I honor Kathryn for being a role model for volunteers. She has been a leader in about every event in the Senior Center for years. She has supported all events and a founder of many.

Kathryn McCrary gets up, gets dressed, and shows up. She volunteers her talents with a simple attitude of a willingness to share.  She works in silence and lets her actions make her noise. So it goes in a business or team-sharing and bringing your best skills and ideas to the table. Be willing to accept other ideas if they are better than yours. It means not accepting people for their titles but what they bring to the table. It’s about respect, responsibility, accountability, and integrity. There is mentoring going on every day. The greatest successes we know is helping others learn and grow.

Pick someone you admire, write down the qualities you most admire and want to be like. Work on those characteristics daily. It is a way of learning and growing at any age.

What's Color Got To Do With It ?

What’s Color Got to Do with It!  By Gloria Wilson-From My Brush

I see the beauty of the world and all my surroundings in nature, mind, heart, and soul because I see in color. During tough times- losing my husband, spending four and one-half months in rehab after an accident, and one year of learning to walk again I began to Color My World.

Trying to find something that would fill my empty hours and workable for my handicap I remember home and my mother, my first teacher. She would seat her eight children at the large dining room table, give those blank sheets of newspaper print, crayons, and place an object in the middle of the table and say: “Draw what you see.” She also taught us to make do with what we had.

Gathering up my courage and limited knowledge of art, I walked into a neighborhood Store, School Of Folk Art, and made a firm statement” I want to learn to paint”. Through the eyes of my instructor, I began to see things a little differently. I began to see the petals of flowers, appreciate a sunrise, and the big beautiful blue sky”.

After two bouts of cancer, I began to spend more of my hours practicing my painting skills. It was in a color theory class that I found that color does affect how we feel, how we think, how it affects our emotions, and how others see us. For example, red can represent anger, danger, and stop, but red also represents the red rose, flower of love, and the heart. A hue of color softens the primary colors and provides individuality, emotions, plants, and dress. The only color I have trouble with is grey, but grey does provide depth when used as shading. When I see grey skies, I smile and am reminded of the quote; “A sunny deposition is far better than a cloudy sky”.

Painting helps me record nature in all its colors and helps me share the color and “share my joy of painting with you. My store name, From My Brush, reflects how I see things in color.

Five Questions to ask your Self

1.      Does color affect your emotions?

2.      Does color affect how others see you?

3.      Does color affect your taste?

4.      Does Business and Social Media logos use color effectively?

5.      Is there a “U” in your word Colour?

Benefits to Setting Daily Goals

Benefits of Daily Goals.

All my life I had dreams to dream and goals to reach. Some were unrealistic and only a miracle would get me there. Some were reachable in a short period of time. This gave me a quick satisfaction and enough fuel to keep me moving.

As I grew older, I dropped those New Year’s resolutions because I didn’t see any reason to reset goals each year. Why reset goals again and again? Realizing this approach was unrealistic for me I started setting daily goals. And as I set daily goals, I tweaked then as I went.

When I reached my 80^th birthday I started setting a goal for each birthday. For my 80^Th birthday, I walked a 5K on what I called my “training wheels”- my walker.   With the help of my daughter, I started training for the 5k. This gave me a reason to get up, get dressed, and show up each day. On race day, I reached that goal as I crossed the finish line,

The 81st birthday I set a goal to organize a book club at my local Mt. Juliet Senior Activity Club. My daily goals were filled with research on “How to start a book club” I completed my research paper and presented my suggestion to the Senior Center Director. Imagination Traveler’s Book Club is 3 years old.

What next was the question I asked myself for my 82 birthday goal?  To answer the question I had a profound realization that volunteering was the answer. I volunteered to lead the book club.  My goal was set for 100 hours. On National Volunteer Day I received a Volunteer certificate at a recognition breakfast for 132 volunteer hours

My 83^rd birthday goal was made by setting a higher goal of 500 volunteer hours at the Senior Center. My need to promote seniors and keep them in the loop and not isolating them became a goal within the volunteer hour’s goal. The Executive Director, of the Senior Center, assigned me to the Marketing Committee. So, I began an increase in volunteer hours. Met the goal with 565 hours and was in the top 8 volunteer group.

84^th birthday goal was a natural goal for me, for now, I was on a roll and enjoying my volunteer hours, Then too, I felt comfortable and needed. 1000 hours goal was set!  Adding to the list of things for me to do me I added knitting and crocheting for charity and becoming a volunteer social media poster on Facebook, Twitter and three networks in my area. On Volunteer Day, which coincided with my birthday, I sat and waited for my name to be called. The Top Ten were announced and I began to think did my volunteer sheet get overlooked? Then it happened! My name was called for Top Volunteer Award for 2015. I was so happy because I worked daily and reached my goal of 1047 hours.

What is my goal for my 85^th birthday? Continue my volunteer hours for the senior center and add a new goal to it. God willing I will be walking the 5k race in the National Senior Olympics in Birmingham, Ala. in the year 2017. This year I qualified by walking the 5K for The Tennessee State Olympics and win a goal medal in my age bracket. It is a personal goal in promoting “Keep Seniors Moving” for a healthier and happier life any way I can. "Lead by Example".

Keep Seniors Moving

There is a significant  population of retirees that have little opportunity to socialize keep active and thereby live an active, fuller and longer life. The Senior Center Helps these people. Many would not have this opportunity unless donations are received to support them. Help the seniors of the community any way you can. If you are not a senior now you will be in a few years. Build a future you can grow into. Any amount would be gratefully appreciated. If everyone contributed something toward the building our dream would come true quickly. My dream is to help the Senior Center in Mt. Juliet, Tn. 

Make Check payable to MJSAC Building Fund 2034 N. Mt.Juliet Rd, Mt. Juliet, TN.

GrandmaOnDeck is an 86 year old volunteer at the center who believes in keeping Seniors moving, active, happy and healthier.

                                                                       

Gingerbread Men Casualties

Many stories come from Grandma’s kitchen and told down through the ages.  Mine is a little different.  You see, I am in my 80’s,  and making gingerbread men came down through my years,  but after many years of not making them, grandma caused a few casualties. Children fondly called them boo boo cookies.

The Gingerbread Men were to be a surprise for a Bunco party I was hosting.. I carefully kneaded the dough then I proceeded to roll the dough to about ¼ inch thick. Now, the trouble began! I pressed the cookie cutter into the dough and tried to put it on a cookie sheet. Well, it stuck.  I lightly floured the cookie cutter and tried again. Better results this time. I managed to get a dozen cut out and onto the cookie sheet and baked them according to my recipe. After the cookies cooled on the sheet, it was time to place them on a cooling rack. Casualties began to happen! A leg fell off one, an arm fell off another until I only had six whole ones left. This would never do! I needed six more.

The process for making the cookies started over again. I was working along and realized I made the recipe for gingerbread cake instead of cookies. Well I finished the cake and frosted it with the cookie icing. The cake looked pretty good but was a little plain so I put a whole gingerbread man right in the center of the cake. He looked handsome there.

When we were ready to serve the cake the lone little gingerbread man became the casualty as the cake was sliced