Aging is good news and bad news! The bad news is that I am more aware of the
fact that I have an expiration date. I
check the obituaries to see if any names are familiar. I don’t recognize my arm when wearing a short
sleeved shirt and I reach for a coffee cup on a high shelf. That said, as I age and find my life continually
expanding, growing richer and more rewarding.
My normal state is…”HAPPY!”
I just read the book Women
Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age
written by psychologist Mary Pipher and I felt like she was taking notes inside
my head. She clearly states the
challenges and losses that accompany aging but she finds that most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude
for the gifts of life. Their struggles help them grow into the authentic,
empathetic, and wise people they have always wanted to be. YES!!
I just celebrated my 77th birthday…my
son, Marc, said it is my “hockey birthday”…two hockey sticks! I am blessed with good health, a loving
husband, children who “invite me in” and let me share in their lives, little
grandchildren to keep me getting up and down from the floor, good friends who
keep me honest, beautiful surroundings that keep in touch with nature, and
opportunities to continually redefine myself.
One such opportunity was to complete my
training as a Los Serenos Docent at our local Palos Verdes Interpretive
Center. After 6 months of deliciously
informative classes on everything from ocean currents to sea life to geology to
whales to native plants to Tongva Indians, I received my official Docent shirt
and badge. Now I get to shadow other
veteran docents and decide where I would like to donate my time and energies.
My first activity was to help with a class of
5th graders who were on a field trip to visit our tidepools on
Abalone Cove. The day was sunny, the
children were eager, and off I went sweeping up the tail of a group of 7
students. It was a success in that it made
me aware that as much as I enjoyed the beauty, the air, the children…this
activity was NOT FOR ME. I am not as
steady on my feet as I thought I would be. Navigating the steep trail down to
the tidepools and crossing the distance of large smooth rocks was too much of a
challenge. I need to stay up on dry
land.
The second activity was yesterday where I was
going to “shadow” other experienced docents conduct a tour of our Interpretive
Center, taking groups of 2nd graders to various stations and talking
about the whales, the native plants, the three habitats of our area and ocean
pollution. I was going to learn from
watching.
But as fate would have it, one of the
experienced docents didn’t show up and I was thrust into his position! “You
will do fine” the others said to me.
I looked down at the 10 little faces surrounding me, eager smiles, dancing
eyes and all of a sudden I was thrown back about 40 years and I was a teacher
again.
“Follow me in a single file” and we were off! I had a wonderful time showing them all the
things I have come to love.
“What do you think the Tongvas ate? There was no Von’s market! Do you see this prickly pear?”
“Did you know there were fish living millions of years ago? How do
we know? Who knows what a fossil is? Can
anyone find a fossil on these stones?”
“Who knows what the word ‘migration’ means? (They ALL knew that word…that someone lives in one place and wants
to move to another place!) Whales migrate from way up north in cold
Alaska, swimming right by us here, to get down to Baja Mexico. Do you know how
long it takes them to swim that far? How
do you spot a whale in the water? Look
there…is that a spout?”
2 ½ hours later, I was driving home feeling
tired but feeling so ALIVE. Mary Pipher
is correct as far as I am concerned when she writes: “If we can keep our wits
about us, think clearly, and manage our emotions skillfully, we will experience
a joyous time of our lives.”
p.s. Point Vicente Interpretive Center will
hold its annual event, Whale of a Day,
on April 13 from 10 am to 4 pm. It is a
free day of fun for all ages!
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