Aug 24 2022 - Developmental Milestones

Parents are checking their babies to make sure they develop normally - according to developmental milestones.  These are all positive - babies start laughing and engaging, gaining strength in their movements.   These are cognitive and physical developments.  When we look at development in late adulthood, the greatest attention by experts seems to be cognitive.   The famous psychologist Erik Erikson says the milestones is to resolve the conflict of integrity vs despair.  That means satisfaction in life rather than bitterness and disillusionment.   Gene Cohen was a student of Erikson's and developed these stages - there are four of them and include  these:  Liberation late 50s to 70s - experimentation and innovation, liberation not compliance, innovation and willingness to take risks. Summing Up late 60s through 80s - Review of one's life and resolution and desire to give back.   Final ages 70s until end of life - reflection and celebration with reexamination, liberation and summing up.  At a general level, that is interesting.  But some days, I am more interested in what I should be attending to in terms of the physical.  On the physical side, the Mayo Clinic goes through a list of what to expect as you get older. The first thing they cover  is the cardiovascular system in which the blood vessels and arteries stiffen causing our hearts to work harder. The risk is high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems.  Then the bones, joints and muscles - everything shrinks and we lose strength, endurance and flexibility.  Digestive system?  Structural changes in the large intestine can result in constipation. And the bladder and urinary tract becomes less elastic, and it becomes difficult to empty the bladder completely. And the one everyone comments on - memory and thinking skills.  Forgetting is the familiar result.  There's more - eyes, ears, teeth, weight and so on.  There are a lot of parts of the human body to start declining.   That seems to be the conclusion today.

When we moved to Grimsby, this was one of the garden focal points along Main Street.  It is gone now.  I guess the house was sold and this wasn't the new owners idea of an attractive feature.  How did it get assembled up there?  How long did it take to put it up?   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

 

Oct 16 2020 - The UN Knows if you are old

 

Many people my age don't want to be old. Boomers don't want to be called or named 'old'. - preferring 'older'.  However the United Nations has agreed that 65 and older is denoted as old age.  That is the age nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings.  So when first world boomers think that 80 year olds should be defined as old, perhaps they are correct.  In Africa, old age is defined as 55 years old.  What Wikipedia does say is that it is not a biological stage and varies culturally and historically. What if being old has a social definition to  I look to our world of jokes to provide us with some signs that others might decide whether a person is old:  Kidnappers are not very interested in you. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first. No one expects you to run...anywhere. People call at 9 pm and ask did I wake you? People no longer view you as a hypochondriac. There is nothing left to learn the hard way. Things you buy now won't wear out. You can eat supper at 4 pm. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge. You sing along with elevator music. Your eyes won't get much worse. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service. Today's pictures illustrate my interpretation of the contrast between cat-come- when-called and dog-come-when-called.  Baxter looks like he's coming over and will decide whether to hit me with that intense look.  Millie wants to know if I'll still love her when she reaches me.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Moonshot Thinking towards the Eternal

How old would you have to get to to feel like you are experiencing eternal life?  The oldest-lived human was Jeanne Calmest who passed away in 1997 at age 122. "Classical mythology brings us the tale of the Sibyl of Cumae, a prophetess who bargains with Apollo for endless life, and centuries later comes to yearn for death. She failed to negotiate for eternal youth, you see, and with the years she grows shrunken and decrepit and miserable. The story echoes a sentiment that endures in contemporary life: However much time that kale, yoga, spa weekends and wonder drugs may buy us, we accept at some point we’ll become so enfeebled that we’ll be ready to pack it in, once and for all."  That humorous summary comes from a review of the novel titled "Eternal" by Dara Horn.   We are experiencing a scientific debate on the length and nature of the human life span.  It was set at 115 years last year by researchers in a Nature article.  There has been a flurry of rebuttals since then.  Companies such as Google are pursuing projects in this area.  It announced it would make a significant investment in Calico, the California Life Company, to advance research into new approaches for extending life. "With some longer term, moonshot thinking around health care and biotechnology, I believe we can improve millions of lives," CEO Larry Page said when the announcement was made. (I am enamoured of the expression "moonshot thinking") I think about the everyday impact of someone who is really old for decades.  I estimate it would be from 90 to 110.  The advice on what things not to say to your aging parents would go on for decades.  Moreover, we would also be the subject of such advice.  Isn't this already familiar? You've already told me that I showed you how to use the DVR yesterday What does that have to do with what we're talking about? You could do that if you really tried Our pictures today are digital painting abstracts - we transition from winter to spring with "Elizabeth's Winter Colours" to "Love Birds in Spring, to "Spring Equinox" and conclude with "Birthday Cake".

Age Old or Old Age

Do you remember the 96 year old man who ran the marathon to become the oldest person to finish a marathon?  That was in 2015. There are others in that age range who have completed physical activities that most people would not be able to contemplate let alone to complete.   I found list25.com with all the oldest people accomplishments - bungee jumping at 96, visiting the north pole at 89, sail around the world at 77, release a new music album at 92, oldest practicing pediatrician at 103, and oldest doctorate at 97, and so on.  I could not predict this one, though.  It came via a headline in December in the Toronto Star:  Notorious 86-year-old jewel thief strikes again in Atlanta, police say "Doris Payne, who was the subject of a 2013 documentary, faces another shoplifting charge, this time for slipping a $2,000 diamond necklace into her pocket. Payne told the AP she realized a simple distraction could make it easy to slip out with a fancy trinket in hand after a friendly store owner let her try on watches as a child and then forgot she had the jewelry on. Her career was born in her 20s when she got the idea that she could support herself by lifting jewelry." I wonder if she has applied to the Guinness Book of Records to be the oldest practicing thief, 86. Or does the Guinness Book 'recognize' achievers without requiring an application? I was in the Watering Can in St. Catharines this week, and took these photos of calla lilies.