Old age tips

My father would occasionally bemoan the fact that he had fewer and fewer friends as he grew older. This is certainly one sad aspect of advancing years but such a complaint completely overlooks the fact that he lived on in excellent health, both physically and mentally, to the age of 94. Surely that is reason celebrate?

As for tips on how to reach the grand old age of 94, my father actually offered very few and, as my mother passed away many years before, he was obliged to learn how to look after himself when in his late sixties. His late foray into housekeeping, though clearly successful in so many ways, was very limited in its nature particularly in terms of his diet. He ate heartily but most certainly not in a way that would send a 2020 nutritionist into raptures!

I do not know what it was that kept him firing on all cylinders for so wonderfully long. Was it his firm belief that a good long walk would cure everything from a common cold to a hangover? Yes, he did very occasionally over-indulge and have one of those.

One interesting thing is that he much preferred the company of younger people to that of his peers. “Old people,” he would say as if referring to a very foreign species, “are always complaining about their health, or about some change in modern life that they do not appreciate.”

Maybe he did have a couple of good tips to pass on. Anyway, I’m giving these a try and right now I feel as if 94 is going to be a doddle!