How Old Do You Feel?

What is the answer to this question: How old do you feel?

Well, that depends for many people. I find it amazing when I talk to someone in their 80s and they say they feel like they did when they were in their 20s, less some additional aches and pains. And as I age, I realize that what they are saying is true! My mind sometimes tells me that I am in my 20s again.

We are only as old as we want to be and only as old as we feel. Those individuals who are older yet feel younger usually are active in some capacity. Many use their retirement years to give back to the community via volunteer opportunities, and others simply make plans to keep themselves active and busy with friends and family.

This harkens back to when my grandmother was still with us. She was a fun, energetic lady who stayed busy with her church. She always had projects to complete, lessons to review for Sunday School, and to prepare for an event/dinner at the church. She used to complain that it wasn’t fair that in her mind she felt young yet her body was ‘dragging along’. To this day, I believe she lived her life ensuring others were served. This gave her a purpose, something to do and accomplish.

So, do you want to feel younger? Then we invite you to volunteer to stay young in mind, active, and healthy.

-- by Patrick O’Kane, Director of Operations

Atlanta a Great Place to Retire

The Atlanta Regional Commission has a Division on Aging that serves as Atlanta’s Area Agency on Aging (AAA). No matter where you live in the 50 states, you should be covered by a AAA that is responsible for implementing the services mandated by the Older Americans Act. We are fortunate that Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has a fantastic staff that is constantly reaching out to work with local nonprofit organizations like SCS to serve the needs of seniors better.

ARC completed a fascinating study of older adults in 2006 to supplement basic US Census information that is only collected every ten years. A few of the key findings include:

• A majority of older adults think the Atlanta region is a good place to retire (67%).
• Most older adults have been aging in place —living in the region an average of 37 years — and most hope to continue aging in place; 64% state that they would remain in their current home as long as they can.
• Even if they do move from their existing home, 52% plan to move to another home in the Atlanta region.
(Source: http://www.atlantaregional.com/documents/ag_aging_survey_5_1_08.pdf)

These key findings spotlight the challenging future of aging service organizations like Senior Citizen Services: more seniors are enjoying Atlanta for retirement; more seniors plan to age in place; more seniors plan to remain homeowners.

-- by Jeffrey Smythe, Executive Director