AGING IN PLACE MEANS LIVING IN PEACE

Time dragging by in Seville, Spain’s downpour. Image via DG Studios.

Baby Boomers yearn for an Aging in Place state of mind.

If all we are asking is give peace a chance, why not ask for more, like a peaceful place to live?

This aging behemoth of a generation, these Baby Boomers, are asking for more.

They say they want to age in place, like aging in place is the solution to their problems.

One argument promotes aging in place, another says, “Move along, Boomer.”

The advantages of aging in place first:

Familiarity breeds what, comfort? We are most comfortable in familiar surroundings? Is that it?

No change, no new faces and places, no daring diet attempts, just the same old same old.

Aging in place means never worrying about a language barrier, getting lost, or fashion.

Thrown on any old thing and drive to the store, the bank, the dry cleaners, back to the store, then home.

For the rest of your life. How’s it sound so far?

If you want to age in place in the house you raised a family in, or got married in, or some other attachment, ask yourself why?

Is it fear? Boredom? Fear and boredom?

You’re looking for comfort, not contempt, but contempt is the last word in “Familiarity breeds ….”

It’s contempt, and no one wants to live with contempt, in contempt, or near contempt.

Contempt: the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn.

Aging in place is a state of mind.

It’s also a state of finances, but that’s another story.

Why not take aging as it comes and move on down the road, boomer? Avoid the familiar, the contemptuous, the ‘normal,’ and roll out on the wild side.

Of course, this is a sixty year old boomer writing this, not a health challenged sixty five or seventy year old.

And this is where I make the break with the political correctness of aging in place.

From a family caregiver who participated in a father in law’s aging in place, believe me when I say this:

“It’s not use it or lose it with aging. Use it or not, you’ll lose it.”

The question is how much you lose and how fast. Like physical health and money, you’re in the race of a lifetime. You versus your mental health.

My take is that aging in place freezes your brain. You grow too used to every little thing until either nothing surprises you, or you live a life of total surprise. Which means you’ve got a short circuit.

Instead, why not accept the unusual, the weird, the shocking, and learn to deal with it? If you’ve spent time around the aged you know what I’m saying.

Adapting to new things keeps you sharp. No new things dulls your edge.

You will age in some place. You’re doing it now.

Make it a place to embrace; one that hugs back.

Break it down:

The Center for Disease Control defines aging in place as “the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level.”

The CDC for aging in place? Like aging is a disease?