Older Americans Month, May 2009

I finished the pilot study for my thesis on Gratitude and Resourcefulness Among Successfully Aging Older Adults last Monday and began a summer internship at Family Caregiver Alliance the next day. I can tell I'm catching my breath when I find myself looking forward to writing a post and thinking that there are so many things to write about.

This feeling arrived not a moment too soon as I would have been mad at myself for not posting anything in May which President Obama has Proclaimed to be Older American's Month. He begins by saying that "older Americans have carried our Nation through great challenges and triumphs" and acknowledges that this population  has much to offer in terms of wisdom and skills. 

Hopefully, proclamations such as this will help us all reframe our ideas about who older adults are. Previously, I made many "career" decisions based on what was practical for the time and fortunately did many things that I was passionate about. But I never quite ended up on a career where my outside matched what I felt inside. Like many baby boomer adults, I was still looking for a career that represented my authentic self and decided to reinvent myself at the age of 50. 

In the past, aging was only associated with decline. I now feel blessed to have the possibility to live longer and give it another shot, potentially "getting it right this time" and helping others along the way. Happy Older American's Month.