Introducing Elderhood

When you think of childhood, what image pops into your head? For me, it’s a kid climbing a tree or a teen hanging out with friends. How about adulthood? Maybe a young professional or parent with a young family. Middle age would be someone in the sandwich generation. And then there’s the older person who, when drawn, would have a cane with a kerchief covering her hair. My father used to say, “Getting old beats the alternative.” Well sure. But we can do better than that!

Dr. Louise Aronson ( author of Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine and Reimagining Life) believes that just by allocating a new category for people over 70, our society would view that stage of life in a more positive light.

Introducing Elderhood!

We've all heard that getting old stinks and that it's not for the feint of heart. But believe it or not, people in their seventies, eighties and nineties tend to be happier than than those in middle age. Maybe it's a combination of fewer obligations and a sense of urgency. Here's how one Familial client put it:

"I have an 84 year old body with a 25 year old spirit of mind. Working on my passions keeps me vital and alive. I'm creating new things. When you're 40 or 50, you have so much time. When you're 84 you have to hurry up."

A new perspective about aging is in order. Instead of associating old age with frailty, liability and invisibility, Aronson urges us to own being old and not just as some bookend to adulthood. Makes sense to me. This new name for Act III could be a simple and important first step. So what do you say..can you get behind 'elderhood'?