Staying active in the elderly years, opening oneself up, to experience new things, in foreign places that you go to, translated…
As I’d, hit my sixtieth “marker”, my memories started, deteriorating, I was headed into the kitchens for something, and there I was, standing, in front of the fridge, couldn’t remember what I was there to get? I can’t find my things a lot, and some things became, blurred out, what was worse was my right knee became bad, I couldn’t even, exercise regularly anymore.
I was, originally, very energetic, and traveled the world after I’d retired, enjoyed shopping and cooking, and wrote articles from time to time, shared my colorful life with my online community on FB, gotten involved in the gatherings of friends and families, and on the weekends, I’d gone to my small patch, to plant the flowers, to pull the weeds, this seemingly good plan for the rest of my life, had now, turned into a mere fantasy.
Before my father died he’d been demented for years, and it’d, kept me on high alerts, I’m normally independent, with my economical wellbeing, in order to not become like my own father, giving my loved ones a hard time, starting last year, I’d found, that there was, a good way, to force my mind to stay active, the self-help trips abroad.
In the past, I’d accompanied my husband abroad twice every year, in the springtime, to the saunas, to pick the strawberries, to see the cherry blossoms, and, I’d, devised a different theme of travel every season, I’d started getting interested in taking the cruises, because my legs can’t walk for long, I’d, followed the jam-packed schedules of the cruise ships, watched the water sports, I was, having a blast, but, I’d not gone on cruises enough times, to help me ward off of the effects of aging.
the photo of the woman, venturing to Japan, from UDN.com…
And so, I’d, asked around, and as I’d found a traveling companions, I’d, immediately booked the trips, I’d gone to Japan thirty-seven times, as I’d studied Japanese before, I’d first, brainstormed a theme, a route to tour, and selected the hotels with the good reputations, it’d, helped my mind stay active, and although I’d disliked working out, but, as I’d gone abroad, I’d, come to life it seemed, taking others to the arts museums, attended the various ceremonies, to pick the harvest of fruits, morning until night, I was, totally, taken in by the sights, and not felt the strains, and, I’d taken 16,000 steps on a certain day too, and, acted as a translator for my traveling companions, and dealt with an assortment of situations that came up, I’d not had the time, to feel bothered by those symptoms of dementia anymore.
Take the advantage, to have fun, and, you’d, gotten a great deal out of life, for me, the best measures of preventing the deteriorations of my mind, is to plan these self-help trips.
And so, this is the way this woman had found, to help her stay active in her mind, by putting herself into these situations, she’s forcing her mind to stay active, because, traveling to a different country not only gives you an enriching life experience, it also, adds to your life experiences and that, is what staying active in the elderly years is about, being open to new experiences!
Life, the Obstacle Course 