My ability to remember song lyrics from the ’80s far exceeds my ability to remember why I walked into the kitchen. Aging is strange. Did you know outside of Orcas, humans are the only other mammal that have the longest post procreation, and for women, postmenopausal stage in life? It’s kind of cruel in a way. Our brain wants to live in its prime when we were at the top of our social game, where we could go out three times a week while holding a full-time job and be at the top of our physical health, where we could carry things without pain and bike all day and not need a week to recover. And for some of us where our marriages were at their peak before the work set in.

Our brains are meant to emphasize those times in our life because at a base level those are the things we needed to survive, not unlike our ancestors remembering things like “Oh yeah, bears like to eat us, we shouldn’t be friends with them,” and “There’s a clean source of water where we won’t get dysentery and die.” These were the skills we needed for survival. And we still experience them albeit on a different cognitive level.

American culture in particular, worse with the advent of influencers, seem to be perpetually chasing youth when in reality our brain and our bodies are meant to change. And I use that word specifically instead of decline. Other cultures around the world, we are the revered aunties and uncles that the youth come to when they aren’t able to talk to their parents or the younger employees asking how to manage a situation because we’ve already been through it. We need to start embracing this time as being a fount of wisdom as opposed to a dried up well. This is why I think it’s always a good idea to have friends that are younger and older than yourself. You can stay in touch with the times and understand the present but also have that wisdom of anticipating the future, positive or not, so it won’t be a surprise when you get there.

Do I like aging? Hell no. It annoys the fuck out of me because I can’t remember the lyrics to that Squeeze song. And I can’t go ski the back bowls for hours on end without needing to sleep in and pop ibuprofen like m&ms the next day. But I’m learning to embrace the suck and revel in the wisdom and experience that I’ve lived a pretty freaking full life in these 56 years. I’m reading a book called “Why We Remember” by C.Ranganath, PhD. He discusses one of the major reasons for cognitive decline is not challenging the plasticity of our brain to learn new things. Getting set in patterns and predictability and routine is actually detrimental to our memory as we age. We need to challenge ourselves. It’s when we struggle that our brains learn the most. Which is why this year I’ve challenged myself become more fluent in Spanish again and attempting to learn Korean because my guilty pleasure is watching a K-drama during my off weeks.

My lesson is this, fight for your health, forget about chasing youth. We’re not built that way. Protect your body AND your brain. I am totally convinced my grandfather lived into his mid-90s because he did a crossword puzzle everyday, puttered in his shop and ate the freaking pie. I don’t feel my age but it’s okay on days that I do. I am the healthiest I’ve been in a decade and blessed to have people that have traveled with me along the way, whether for a moment or a while. Drink your water, find happiness in the present, and recycle when you can. Thanks for sharing my journey.