What's all this about aging? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Kathy Manos Penn is a native of the “Big Apple,” who settled in the “Peach City” – Atlanta. A former English teacher now happily retired from a corporate career in communications, she writes a weekly column for the Dunwoody Crier and the Highlands Newspaper. Read her blogs and columns and purchase her books, “The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday” and “Lord Banjo the Royal Pooch,” on her website theinkpenn.com or Amazon.

    Are there more and more and articles about aging lately, or do I notice them more because I am, gulp, aging? Perhaps the number of articles is increasing because the baby boomers are in their 60s and 70s, and there are so many of us.

    Whatever the reason, I seem to see one a day. One I found intriguing was a Wall Street Journal article, "What is the Perfect Age?". Folks were asked the age they'd like to return to, or in some cases, remain. The answers varied depending on what was most important to the individuals. Some wanted to be at their peak fitness level. Others wanted to be at the prime age for career growth. Some preferred age 50 for the freedom afforded by having an empty nest and still being relatively physically fit. Fifty, in fact, was the age most often selected.

    I laughed when I realized that older folks didn't want to return to their 20's or even their 30's. Does that mean that none of those surveyed wanted to return to the age when they may have thought they knew it all but didn't? The age of partying, searching for the right career, or just a job fresh out of college? On the other hand, the younger crowd wanted to remain in their 20's, maybe because 20 somethings see 30 as old.

    One thing most agreed on is that no one wants to look or feel old. I liked the response from one person who said he'd like to keep the wisdom he has at 60 but have the body he had when he was in his 30's. That makes sense to me. I don't want to give up what I've learned, but I wish I could work out, bicycle, and more without tiring out so quickly and without some of my increased aches and pains. And I'd love to have the skin I had in my 30s, but not if I have to trade what I've gained as I've gotten older.

    I also want to keep the schedule I have now. Gone are the days of working 50-60 hours a week in corporate America. Admittedly, at times that schedule was rewarding, even fun. Other times, it was highly stressful, particularly the few years I worked for a boss I just couldn't please.

    These days, I work out in the mornings several days a week, just as I did before I retired. What I don't do is head downstairs to get my cup of coffee and immediately head to my desk to start working. Now, I grab the newspaper and take that cup of coffee to my easy chair where I peruse the local news before shifting to my tablet to read the WSJ and maybe play a few rounds of Words with Friends. When I'm not off to the gym, I go to my desk to write and catch up on email. Yes, life is good.

    The last paragraph of the article had me smiling and nodding my head in agreement even though I'm not yet part of the age group cited. "People at 65 to 74, the so-called time affluent, reported having more fun than any other age group, according to a 2016 study of 3,712 adults 25 and older released by Age Wave and Merrill Lynch. The ones having the least fun were those ages 35 to 54."

    What age would you choose as the perfect age?

    Kathy Manos Penn is a Sandy Springs resident. Find her latest book, "Lord Banjo the Royal Pooch," and her collection of columns, "The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday," on Amazon. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com, and follow her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/KathyManosPennAuthor/.