{ }
AGING
with an
Attitude
Don’t Let Aging
“AutoCorrect”
Your Life
By Dorie U. Sugay
Dorie Sugay is the Executive Director
of Visiting Angels, a company that
provides living-assistance services to
seniors and adults-in-need who wish
to stay in their own home or receive
one-on-one care within a facility.
This article is for informational and
educational purposes only. It was
written independent of Visiting
Angels.
“A
utoCorrect” is a feature
on many electronic
communication gadgets.
When you text and you misspell a word,
for example, AutoCorrect steps right in and
corrects it. The problem is, sometimes it
has a mind of its own! The other day, I
texted, “you need to bond” and my friend
got, “you need to blonde.” Her response
was, “really? You think I should dye my
hair blonde? You think he will like me
more?” That was a “huh?” moment. I was
not suggesting she dye her hair (I am not
yet convinced blondes have more fun)! I
was talking about the need for her and her
man to create an emotional connection!
AutoCorrect can be an asset, we just need
to make sure we supervise it. AutoCorrect
can be an asset or become your worst
enema. You could end up posting some
thong you didn’t Nintendo. Ha Ha – you get
my point.
But what do I mean when I say, “Don’t
let age AutoCorrect your life.” If you are
having a “duh” moment, don’t. Let me
explain. Age can correct some things
much like AutoCorrect can replace a mis-
spelled word. Our priorities and our level
of maturity could improve with age. (I
know, it doesn’t happen to everyone).
Inasmuch as women hate it, many men
look better with age. Age AutoCorrects
their physique—the dork becomes a
hunk, the zits are replaced with a manly
beard and the streaks of grey are better
than store-bought highlights. But what we
do many times is allow age to AutoCorrect
our life and we shouldn’t.
Some people, for example, think that
when you reach a certain age, you need
to change the way you look. OK, so some
people need to abandon the big bright
colored ribbons in their hair, or the dog
collar look after 40 — but abandon the
long-hair look—that’s AutoCorrecting in
my books, especially if you have healthy
hair and have the youthful face to go with
it. Being petite, and liking the elongated
look high heels give my feet, I still wear
and enjoy them. I’ve been told to stop
wearing high heels. Is that any of their
beeswax?? (this AutoCorrect, I tell you).
OK—maybe high heels should not be
worn constantly because of bunions but
who in the heel (arrgh, this AutoCorrect)
G M H T O D A Y M A G A Z I N E
MARCH / APRIL 2015
are they to tell me not to wear stilettos!
No one should let age dictate how they
will present themselves to the world
really. (Besides, heels are for safety—in a
world with crime, I don’t need a license
to wear these lethal weapons, so there).
I know a woman in her 70s whose
bucket list includes going on a hot air
balloon ride and experiencing the thrill of
a zip line. My staff and I were tickled to
hear that she was going for it. But why?
Because she is in her 70s? A good friend
of mine in his early 60s was diagnosed
with cancer and the doctor recommends
he be careful of his shoulder bones. He
announced at lunch that he is going to
jump our of an airplane. Already worried
about his cancer, the thought of him
jumping off a plane and possibly getting
hurled like a ragdoll, made me tear up
and beg him to please do something else.
But that is AutoCorrecting thinking, folks!
They have the umph to be adventurous
– because they are not letting age
AutoCorrect their lives. Our age should
not necessarily limit the activities we
engage in or the challenges we take on!
Even at that moment when we are
ready to bid this world adieu – we have
control. It may be limited but we do.
I overheard a woman in her 50s at the
grocery store tell her friend that she can-
not lose weight any more, she is too old.
She is using age to AutoCorrect her life.
It is harder to lose weight as we age, but
not impossible. Someone once said, “if
you want it bad enough, you will do what
it takes to achieve it.” Using age as an
excuse is really an insult to life. Just go to
NetFitness in Gilroy on a day when Jack
Peters is there. In his glory days, Jack was
known as the man of steel. In his 80s,
he still bench presses to keep himself fit.
Now, there’s a man who respects life too
much to allow age to AutoCorrect it!
We can laugh about the AutoCorrecting
feature of our electronic gadgets. But the
next time AutoCorrect twists your words,
ask yourself how many times you made
limiting decisions that were influenced by
age. And decide to make a change. Be in
control of all the features of your life…
don’t let age AutoCorrect your life.
It’s all about…”Aging with an
Attitude!”
gmhtoday.com
25