Staying Alive: 7 Discoveries for Aging More Happily

The minute I accepted a senior discount at the grocery store, I knew I’d crossed the line: admitted my age as a change factor in my life.

So it was reassuring to discover that in medical research terms, I’m still pretty young. In both America and Britain, studies often call ages 65–74 the “young-old,” 75–84 the “middle-old,” and 85+ the “oldest old.”

That said, getting into this group of ages can offer time to take stock and notice the threads of life. There’s still time to accentuate the ones I like most, and to take some of the weight of the ugly strands off my kids’ and grandkids’ shoulders.

Here are some Big Discoveries that make the “senior years” more interesting — and often more enjoyable.

Vintage postcard from the Kanell Collection.

1. All the things that I disliked about my parents had reasons for existing. Some of this is recent awareness for me: labeling as a “fat spoiled little girl” that kept my mother from learning how to keep long-term friends and deep friendships; arriving in America as a “refugee” for my father, so he kept trying to prove himself, but without people to lean on. We ALL need people to like and to lean on. Catching on to the…