Aging: We all get to do it!
What is it about the 10’s place in the aging process? It’s way bigger than I remember it being just a couple of months ago! There is a 7 for me in that place and the one’s place keeps growing as well. Another fact staring me in the face is that two of my three children now have 4’s in their 10’s. Hey! I’m supposed to be in my 40’s, not my kids. I need to hear about the best perks of aging.
So, you see, this article is mostly for me as a ‘next chapter woman’. ? Hopefully, the tips included here will encourage you as well. (Of course, the best perk of all for me is having grandkids!)
A quick heads up…check near the bottom for the link to a helpful free gift from Quiet Hollow!
Aging Perk #1: The Stress of Accomplishing Things Diminishes
Most of us are retired at this point and we now have the option to live a more ‘chill’ life. All those deadlines and work pressures are a thing of the past. It’s now our own choice to push to get things done. Otherwise, they’ll get done when they get done.
With all the choices of how you want to spend your time and knowing the stress is off or a lot lower than before, it might be time to try something new. A new hobby, an outside adventure, or a travel destination you’ve always wanted to fly to and explore.
And then there are the grandkids! If they are a part of your reality, you’ll know how much they add to your life. Oh, those sweet little people that we get to enjoy and love but always know we are no longer in the parent role. We add our love and attention, wisdom, and time to these precious ones, but their parents carry the responsibility of raising the kids. Have you read Nanaville? Great book about one of the best perks of aging ever! The joys of grand-parenting today.
Aging Perk #2: Naps or Sleeping In are Now Options
Uninterrupted sleep is a huge challenge for most of us of a certain age. Taking a no-guilt nap to catch up is one of my favorite perks. Sometimes that catch-up comes in the form of sleeping in. However, sleeping in is rather rare. As a long-time ‘morning person’, I still find myself anxious to get started on my tasks for the day and am regularly awake and raring to go around 7 a.m. If there’s a nap to be had, it’s on the couch while watching NCIS or Law and Order re-runs in the middle of the day. If I know I’ll be able to catch up, somehow that takes away the stress of ‘trying’ to get back to sleep. It’s become a non-issue.
“I’m going down” are the words Rick hears when it’s clear to me that a few zzzz’s will boost my energy level for the day. As part of my current purpose of life (writing the posts on Quiet Hollow), I have the freedom to grab a quick snooze when my brain cells need to be refreshed.
I remember doing the same thing when the kids were little and playing on the floor nearby. I also remember sleeping upright on the ferry out of Bainbridge Island (gorgeous ride by the way) as part of the commute to classes at the University of Washington. Power naps are wonderful no matter your stage of life and they are definitely of the best perks of aging.
Aging Perk #3: All those Freebies and Discounts
The list is long and varied for all the discounts and freebies available for older adults. The qualifying age varies, but everything from discounted meals, transportation tickets, hotel stays, to groceries, and tons more are available.
Here’s a great resource for those discounts: Biggest List of Senior Discounts 2021 You won’t believe the huge collection of discounts! You’ll find a number of listings for percentages off purchases you regularly make. Restaurants, grocery stores, retail stores, prescriptions, travel purchases, and some miscellaneous offerings are listed. I found that Kohl’s has 15% off on Wednesdays and that Burger King has 10% off and additional drink discounts. Plus there are lots of hotel possibilities. It was fun making my list of where I’m going to go save money first! You’ll want to bookmark this website for sure.
There are also quite of few products and services for free for seniors. This website provides a quite comprehensive list for you to peruse. Some of the things on the list might not be applicable yet, but I recommend bookmarking it too.
Are these Best Perks of Aging Enough?
The realities of aging can be challenging even for a healthy person! Getting up from the floor and watching ‘the sag’ happening all over your body are not fun realities. These phenomena can lead you down a path of dread of the future and to the world of velcro and elastic waist pants. Or they can shock your eyes open to the possibility of better things to come with some slight modifications. You might start to see those best perks of aging for yourself!
Whatever stage of life you’re in, happiness is a choice. We all know people who seemingly have everything, even youth, but they’re the crankiest, most easily offended, glass-half-empty people around. And, we also know those without much going for them who you love being around because the joy oozes out on everyone around them.
Follow the Link to the 5 Hot Tips Packet for Powerful Ideas to Start Your Next Chapter Strong ⤵
Here are a few things you can do to flip that attitude from crappy to happy!
- Look as Good as You Can: get a new hair-do, find a new style (comfort is nice, but make sure you’re cute when you’re comfortable!) Check out Is This the Best Hairstyle for Me? and 5 Steps to Finding Your New Style for more ideas.
- Help Someone/Volunteer: find a cause you believe in, help your elderly neighbor or that single mom and sit back and watch how much better you feel!
- Get Busy/Make a New Friend: start a new hobby, join a book group, work in the hard, organize your hall closet 🙂 Hop over here at 3 Strategies for Making Keeper Friends and Stress-Relieving Hobbies to Calm Your Heart for a ton more suggestions!
- Positive Attitude Hacks: Choose gratefulness (See How to Grow Your Gratitude ?), choose humor, and choose forgiveness. Find your purpose in life.
Therefore, I believe the stage of life you’re in is the best stage. My mom used to say something like that with the stages of motherhood. However, I think many of us aren’t crazy about the ‘senior’ stage because of the bad rap it’s been given or we’ve given it ourselves. Our culture values youth over maturity at almost every turn.
My friend Denise Pass from denisepass.com says this, however
“Shame from our age happens when we don’t see our value or when we value what the world does. God’s word values and honors the older generation. But even if the world would shame us for something we cannot control, we can choose to be grateful for the gift of life and see the value within our souls. God has a purpose for each one on this earth, regardless of age.”
Let’s Wrap This Up
As we’ve considered several benefits of growing older and looking at several of the best perks of aging over the last few minutes, hopefully, you’ve found some reasons to smile. And, maybe you’ve found some hope and possibilities for your future. Especially if you weren’t all that excited about the reality of your age in regards to larger 10s place numbers!
Don’t forget to check out the free gift for starting your next chapter with a bang! ? Here’s the link to those 5 Hot Tips if you’d like to check it out.
We would love to hear your take on the ‘best perks of aging’! Why are you happy to be a part of this stage of life? Please share here as a comment or shoot me a message on the Let’s Get in Touch page. Have fun!
Finding a new purpose in living and joy in the day-to-day was the goal when author Kathy Rowland and her entire family (adult kids and grandkids) moved from the PNW to Texas several years ago. The focus of Quiet Hollow is to encourage ‘next chapter women’ – those who are retired, empty-nesters, or have found themselves without a spouse to jump back into life. And, she shares multiple tips, ideas, and possibilities toward that end. Kathy completed her almost 30 years as an elementary teacher and hopped into over a decade of volunteer work, side hustle-type businesses, and grandchild care before discovering her unique and fulfilling purpose for the next chapter of life. What you read on Quiet Hollow is a large part of that calling. Another part is the happy life she’s leading in Central Texas in the same neighborhood as the 3 big kids and her 5 grandkids. She and her college sweetheart husband made sure to add a pool to their new Texas home, so there are lots of noisy, splashy days in their little oasis of a backyard. Come join her on Quiet Hollow in a conversation about finding and living the life you were created to live in this later stage. The chats will be full of laughter, support, faith, and inspiration to create.
