JIM “PAPPY” MOORE: Be Active, Not Overactive

Getting old is a process. It starts about age 50. Your first impulse is “I can beat this thing! I can get in better shape. I can stay in shape. I can still do everything I have always done.” Your body is secretly chuckling “no, you can’t.”

Then there’s the trip to the doctor where you’re complaining about barely being able to walk after those pick-up basketball games you like to have at the park with fellas half your age. He takes x-rays. Then he shows you arthritis damage already done, and the degenerative discs in your back, and tells you “all that high impact running and jumping have taken a toll on your backbone.”

Slowly, your body starts limiting what you can do, mostly things you have always done. Like playing basketball. Like water skiing. Like pushing the limit on things physical, whether it’s recreation or just digging a trench with a shovel in the backyard. Your body talks to you with pain. It says “please stop doing that!” Sometimes it shouts it.

Thus begins that long downward march toward being really old.

You get to age 60. “I’m still doing pretty good.” Then you get to Medicare Age, and it’s as if your body secretly knows and starts cashing in on that new form of primary health insurance. The body says to you “hey, your warranties are up, man.” And they are. Stuff keeps breaking, stops working, slows down, can’t do.

Then comes age 70. Now you know it’s really happening, and there’s no going back. This decline is here to stay. You have to DEAL WITH IT. That is what some have called your “come to Jesus” meeting with yourself. You have to come to grips with the notion that only you can make you stop hurting you. You have to slow down, stop overdoing things, get proper rest, sleep when you need it, but remain engaged and energetic. It’s a tall task for an ageing person, but if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.

Running is out the door. Walk. If you take a hard fall in your 70s you may never recover fully from it. Heavy lifting is in the rear-view mirror. That 40 bottles of 16 ounce water you used to carry with ease now isn’t so easy. You have to cut back to 24 bottles a package. Are your shoes comfy? Are they giving you adequate support? These are things you have to consider.

You have to keep your body and your mind engaged. If you plant yourself in a chair and stay there all day, you will lose your energy and agility. You have to get up, get out the door, engage the world, think, talk, and do things. But not overdo things.

It’s a challenging existence, and you have to do it every day. Stay active. But not too much. Get exercise. But not too much. Your kids and grand-kids can easily do several big events in a single day. You can probably do ONE event, and then it’s nap time.

Life is a journey, and everyone has to take it. When you are in your 50s, 60s, and 70s, you are in that journey, and your body is degrading, mentally and physically. You go from knowing all the answers to Jeopardy just like that, to knowing you know the answer but can’t quite retrieve that “file” before the buzzer sounds. This is your life and you have to live it as it presents itself. Everyone does, so slow down, work harder, but be wise. Pace yourself. You can only do what you can do. Don’t overdo.