🔁 BEST OF - Age Is Just A Number

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I picked S2E2 - Age Is Just A Number to be my next 🔁 BEST OF. As I get closer to my next birthday, I realize now, more than ever, to redefine what aging means -  it's not about a number, but about the life we choose to live, regardless of that number.
When I celebrated 🎉 my 57th birthday last year, it has sparked  ⚡️a reinvigoration in my zest for life, something I'm keen to share with you. I hope my personal stories, including a delightful chat with my granddaughter on dancing  💃🏻 and being ageless, and a moving reflection on my mother's battle with Alzheimer's 💜, will inspire YOU to embrace your own age and life experiences!
Let's debunk the myths that surround aging and learning, and realize the potential knowledge and perspective that comes with our years!

In our second part, we delve deeper into the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of aging. Drawing from my own journey, we address the inevitable challenges and the surprising joys that come with growing older. 🥰 Also, you’ll hear about a community of vibrant seniors at a 55+ resort in Arizona  🏜 who have proven that age is truly just a number.
I invite you to share your own insights and experiences on this topic. [e-mail]  Listen in and take a bold step towards taking responsibility for your own life journey. After all, each wrinkle is a testament of a life well-lived, and every year is an opportunity for growth, wisdom and joy! ❤️
LINKS!

• [e-mail] ( send me a question, comment, or share YOUR OWN feelings on growing older! Include your mailing address 📬 and I'll send you a Nearest And Dearest Podcast vinyl sticker! 💌 )
• https://seasonsretirement.com/age-is-just-a-number/ ( article Age is Just a Number: The Power of Having a Positive Mindset )
• https://www.lifehayat.com/age-is-only-a-number-quotes/ ( 25 positive quotes about age is only a number )
• https://www.outdoorproject.com/united-states/arizona/peralta-canyon-trail ( ✅ out more info on this cool hike I took in Arizona! 🏜🥾)
• www.nearestanddearestpodcast.com ( ✅ out my website for more episodes & show notes/links! )
• https://www.speakpipe.com/NearestAndDearestPodcast ( please leave me a recorded message! 🗣 I'll send you one back! 🎤 )

Episode Transcript

Julie Rogers (00:05):
No one ever said life is easy, but I believe by
giving yourself permission, youwill find you have more control
over your life than you realize.
I'm Julie.
I hope you will join me bytaking responsibility for
yourself, by only controllingthe things you can and letting
go of the things that you can't.
By doing this, you will havediscovered the secret to having

(00:30):
happy, healthy and morefulfilling relationships.
This is Nearest and DearestPodcast.
I'm Julie Rogers and you arelistening to Season 2, episode 2
-Age Is J ust A Number.
I've been thinking about theprocess of aging.

(00:50):
I just turned 57 in February.
In three more years I will be60.
It will be a new decade ofnumbers I hope to embrace.
I have lost some very closepeople in my life this past year
.
Because of that, I feel I ameven more determined to embrace

(01:13):
life with more zest andchallenging myself.
I want to keep discovering,learning and enjoying my family
and friends.
I want to be proud to share myage.
I have worked hard becoming whoI am and will continue to work
even harder to be an even betterversion of myself.

(01:33):
I never want to settle withthinking I am the best that I
can be.
I want to keep being fearlessin whatever I pursue.
I recently had a conversationwith my granddaughter, Eloise.
She's nine.
She and I FaceTime periodicallyand we have the best

(01:55):
conversations.
Somehow we got on the subjectabout my dancing skills.
She saw a little clip of avideo that my friend Kim took at
Christmas time this past year.
I was on a sailboat along withWoody, Kim and her husband Dick.
We were sailing in theCaribbean, St Thomas.

(02:16):
We decorated the sailboat andourselves to be in a Christmas
parade.
It was a blast.
I have been in parades before,but never a parade that was
performed on a sailboat at nightsailing through the sea.
There was around 15 or sosailboats in that parade.

(02:39):
People were either lined upalong the shoreline of St Thomas
or watching from their ownvessels.
We had fun music blasting fromspeakers and started dancing
around on the bow.
Kim decided to take a quicklittle video of Woody and I

(02:59):
dancing and singing.
When Eloise saw that video shewas a little shocked to see me
shaking my booty.
She told me that I was twerking.
I let her know that it wastotally fine for me to be
dancing and having a great time,that there is no age limit for

(03:22):
anyone to dance, even twerking.
I want her to not be afraid todo her own thing and not be
embarrassed by worrying whatother people might think, no
matter what her age is.
I want to debunk the myth aboutolder adults can't learn new

(03:42):
things.
First of all, as an older adult, you have more knowledge and
insight from a lifetime ofexperiences, which can only help
you gain perspective inwhatever you want to pursue.
I had more self-doubt and fearwhen I was younger than I have

(04:04):
now at 57.
If only I could go back in timeand tell my younger self Julie,
you got this.
Stop not believing you can doit and just Do it.
I think part of my ownself-sabotaging fear was my own

(04:25):
lack of self-confidence.
It took me living my life,making my own decisions, good
and bad, and finally realizinghey, if I want to push myself
out of my comfort zone, I haveto admit to myself that those
barriers will come at me, andit's okay.

(04:46):
I can work through them one ata time.
That's what I did.
My self-esteem has only grownthe older I get.
My glory days are still aheadof me.
Not like Bruce Springsteen, whosang about glory days only
happening when you are younger.

(05:07):
You can have both.
Don't use your age younger orolder as an excuse for not
fulfilling your own goals ordreams.
You are your worst enemy If youaren't trying to reach them.
Surround yourself withlike-minded people who build you

(05:31):
up, not guilt or shame you.
Once you start doing the workto obtain your personal
accomplishments, you willsuddenly realize that you are
the answer to your own success.
It's a privilege getting older.

(05:54):
When my mom battled Alzheimer'sat 80 years old, it was
devastating to my family.
She was fiercely strong andindependent.
The disease took her life in2019.
She was 84.
Now that time has gone by, Ican reflect back on her whole

(06:14):
life, not the worst when she wasbattling Alzheimer's.
She lived a wonderful lifeuntil she got sick.
I choose to cherish the timeand memories my family had with
her, even the tough ones.
I would focus on the littlemoments with her that mattered.

(06:35):
I am grateful that she lived 80years raising her kids,
enjoying her grandchildren andgreat-grandchildren, cherishing
her friendships, traveling whenshe had the opportunities to,
before her life was foreverchanged.
My mom's legacy to me was tomake sure I am enjoying life to

(07:01):
the fullest.
She always told me to follow myheart.
I carry her with me every daywhat I wouldn't give to see her
again and give her the biggesthug and kiss.
When Woody and I traveled toMesa, Arizona, for two winters

(07:24):
in our RV in 2018 to 2020, westayed in a 55 and over
community resort.
We were work campers.
We worked part-time hours forthis resort and we used the
salary to pay for our campsitethere.
We loved it.

(07:45):
It was an opportunity to meetnew people and explore the
Southwest area.
The takeaway about doing thisadventure was seeing how much
seniors were totally enjoyingtheir retirements.
I have never seen before somany people dancing, socializing

(08:08):
, hiking, biking, playingpickleball and being active.
I was inspired.
I was 52 that first winter.
I was younger than most of thepeople there.
Woody was 60.
That's how we got to stay there.
It was a look into the future.

(08:29):
No one we met there wascomplaining about getting older.
It was just the opposite.
It was like-minded people whorefused to let the number of
their age define them.
Of course, some were dealingwith health issues, but it

(08:50):
wasn't stopping them from livingtheir best life.
Being able to experience theabsolutely beautiful landscapes
of Arizona was definitelyamazing.
Woody and I signed up for a hiketo trek up part of Superstition
Mountains.
Neither of us are experiencedhikers and I knew it would be a

(09:14):
challenge for me.
We had to tell a little whitelie that we were somewhat
experienced hikers so we couldgo with a group from the resort.
We had proper shoes and evenbought hiking poles.
We were hiking the PeraltaCanyon Trail.

(09:35):
Probably said that wrong, so myapologies.
We hiked 2.25 miles to the topwith a 1400 foot elevation
change.
We viewed Weaver's Needle, a1000 foot rock formation that
connects strongly with localfolklore, linking it to the lost

(10:00):
Dutchman's gold mine.
The needle is rumored tocontain rich deposits of gold
and is possibly the hiding placefor gold artifacts from the
Spanish occupation of the areain the 1700s.
If you ever find yourself inthat area, I recommend the hike.

(10:24):
There were a couple of momentswhen I felt out of breath and
needed to stop to rest.
I looked around me and saw themajority of this group, around
15 or 20, and realized that ifthis older group of people some
were in their 70s could makethis hike up this mountain, so

(10:48):
could I.
This is the second time themajestic mountains of Arizona
challenged me.
It was another realization thatyour attitude, perseverance and
even stubbornness will get youthrough any goal that you are

(11:09):
looking to achieve.
I am grateful to those twowinters in Arizona for so many
reasons, not only enjoying thebeautiful scenery of the
Southwest, but meeting wonderful, interesting friends along the
way.
I recently asked friends aboutgetting older.

(11:31):
I've heard from a couple ofthem my friend Roger, who lives
in New York.
He says I'm against it.
I totally understand thatstatement.
My takeaway from that is tokeep going, no matter what.
Another friend, Cookie, who Ihad met in Arizona, she says

(11:55):
quote honestly I turned 70 andam happier than ever.
Age really is a number.
Carol King said you've got toget up every morning with a
smile on your face and show theworld all the love in your heart
.
I start and end my day listingat least five things for which I

(12:21):
am grateful.
Dance every day, laugh as oftenas you can and show kindness.
End quote.
Her words definitely ring trueto me.
Age doesn't define you, your ownattitude, sense of self, how

(12:45):
you want to live your life.
Make sure you keep learning andgrowing.
Don't just focus on theobstacles that will eventually
get in your way.
Learn how to navigate throughthem the best that you can.
You can't predict how you willlook as you get older.

(13:06):
I mean you can see how your ownparents aged and be aware of
health issues that might begenetic, which can factor into
your own wellness.
I have seen for myself andothers who are getting up there
with their age number that youdo have the power to keep going

(13:30):
forward with whatever you desireand want in your life as long
as you can.
Until you can't, it's yourmindset that will enable all
things possible.
One thing is for sure, if youstart any thought, plan or

(13:55):
action with I'm too old, youhave already put the brakes on
living your best life ever.
I would love to hear about yourinsights to aging.
You can leave me a commentbelow my links on my show notes

(14:18):
from wherever you listen, orsend me an email at julierogers@
nearestanddearestpodcastcom.
I would love to share them in afuture episode.
I want to thank you for takingthe time to listen to my show.
I have some nearestanddearestpodcast vinyl stickers that I

(14:43):
want to give you.
You can show you're a fan.
Send me your mailing addressand I will pop one in the mail.
The views and opinionsexpressed by
nearestanddearestpodcast arethose of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the officialpolicy or position of

(15:05):
nearestanddearestpodcast, anycontent provided by Julie Rogers
or any other authors are oftheir opinion.
They are not intended to malignany religion, ethnic group,
club, organization, company,individual or anyone or anything
.
Thank you.