For Grandparents
…And All Who Love Children
How many times had I voiced the opinion that Grandparents greatly exaggerated their descriptions of their grandchildren? No child could be so cute or so intelligent or so clever as the one they describe.
Well, I began to eat those words nine years ago. Certainly I became more sympathetic towards those wonderful people. You see, I was also about to join that exclusive club of grandparenting. At the time friends must have been saying, “If she is like this before the child is born, what will she be like later when the baby is here?” Actually, I asked myself the same question as I chatted about the grandchild to be.
Knowing what a low tolerance level I had towards doting grandparents before knowing that I would be one, I have decided to make up for it and write a daily blog during this month of Grandparents Day. It is for Age-Esteemers who are grandparents and those who love being surrogate grandparents. Many of the blogs were written when our first grandchild was born. I will publish them as written at the time.
Bonnie Fatio
Today marks the First International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, June 19, 2016.
Sexual violence in conflict touches all ages and damages lives for ever. Yet rape and sexual violence have only recently been recognised as a war crime and a crime against humanity. Join me in recognising the importance of this day.
Bonnie Fatio
Happy Valentines Day!
May each day of your year overflow with love and age-esteem,
Bonnie Fatio
Say “Yes” to 2016!
One of the many keys to living with age-esteem is to acknowledge that you have control over the realities of your life.
When I was 12 years old and leaving for summer camp, I said to my mother, “I wonder if I will have any fun. I don’t have any friends going to this camp.” My mother stopped what she was doing, looked me straight in the eyes and asked, “Do you want to have fun?” “Oh, yes!” I replied. “Then decide right now that you are going to have a good time, and you will,” she said simply. I had a fabulous time at camp.
Does this sound too simple?
Assuring your happiness during this new year really can be as simple as deciding what kind of a life you will have in 2016 and then embracing each day as it unfolds.
People with age-esteem know that the number of years you have lived have less influence on your health and happiness than your attitude. Anticipate happy moments and they will be yours.
Say “Yes” to 2016 and bask in its joys!
Happy New Year!
Bonnie Fatio
Welcome to 2016 – A new beginning
May your new year overflow with blessings of love, joyous moments shared, meaningful successes, exciting opportunities, purposeful accomplishments, happy relationships, and bountiful age-esteem.
With love and anticipation for what we will create together in this new year,
Bonnie
Blessings Throughout the Year
In the Christian religion the star is a sign of Peace On Earth Good Will Towards All. Christmas is a time of celebrating our Lord’s love. Many traditions surround it in our family: baking and decorating cookies, making gifts to give to others, decorating a tree, family gatherings and a midnight candlelight church service on Christmas eve.
Whether your religious beliefs and traditions are similar, different, or non-existent, my wish for each of you is that you experience blessings of love, joy and peace throughout the whole year.
Bonnie Fatio
No More Masks On Halloween
If you are keen
On Halloween
And favor Treats
To tricks,
Then just be seen
With Age Esteem
And no more masks
To fix!
Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®
An Intergenerational Vacation
Why is it that so many older people book cruises for their vacations?
When my husband and I took a cruise in the Caribbean I found many answers to this question.
Despite the fact that cruises are not free, they can be relatively inexpensive if you book last minute deals, or very early. Since almost everything is included in the price, you can get by without investing in extras.
And there are bonus advantages:
- You stay in the same room and only need to unpack and repack once. – Your temporary home carries you to your multiple destinations.
- The food includes all dietary wishes.
- Multiple activities are available to play, learn and exercise.
- Ease of contact with people of all ages.
If you choose to, you can interact with little ones and teenagers as well as those closer to your own age or older than you.
I believe this last point is especially important to feel confident and competent as you age. A key to age esteem is to be in contact with people of other generations and cultures. It is an excellent way to gain a new perspective and understand what is important to younger and older people, as well as have an opportunity to share your own views.
Why is this important for your age esteem? When we interact with people of other ages, rather than isolate ourselves with adults of our own era, we become comfortable being with and dialoging with other generations. Take teenagers for instance. If we do not have regular contact with teenagers, we can easily be more critical of them simply because we do not understand how they see the world. When we take time to converse with them and listen to their interests and ideas, we begin to appreciate who they really are. We no longer categorize them as having the same traits simply because they are teenagers. Instead we get to know them as individuals. – And they see us as unique individuals as well.
My dad used to open conversation with young people easily. He was genuinely curious and interested to know what they thought. Sometimes the youth would be leery of him in the beginning, but they soon found themselves in conversation. They could tell that his interest was sincere. It may not be as simple as that for people who are more timid. However, vacation is a great time to be with, and get acquainted with others of all ages.
Bonnie Fatio
Forgetful Or Not Interested? & Your Powerful Mind
Comments on September Messages in Age EsteemNewsletter
Do you identify with either of these comments? They are two of the responses I received to the Age With Pizzazz Newsletter.
“Just wanted to tell you I have really enjoyed your last two e-letters. This last one was particularly interesting to me. Since I am frequently in other countries, live on two sides of the ocean and work with 7 different currencies I know that things are so far so good. BUT I have also (even at my tender young age ;-) walked up and down the house stairs twice trying to remember what I was going up (or down) for! I was told by someone that if I know I had to get something that the brain is ok just the file cabinet inside the head (or storage in internal smart phone) is full and needs to have some files deleted.”
“Thank you for your email and your highly interesting comments on forgetfulness!! I myself have a hard time to remember numbers and names. This might be partly due to the fact that as a simultaneous interpreter, I had to learn to forget the numbers and instead write them down, but for forgetting names I have no excuse, this has definitely something to do with age!!!”
What do you think?
Bonnie Fatio
Note: If you do not receive Age With Pizzazz each month, visit AgeEsteem.com and sign up for the free e-book and Newsletter.
Adieu Alexandra Taylor
Another page has turned as we say “Adieu” to Alexandra Taylor who has kept us entertained and uplifted with her poems for almost five years. AgeEsteem published her first poem, Celebrate Your Age on October 27th, 2010.
Ever since then she has been generously sharing her talents with the audience of AgeEsteem blog weekly. One of my many favorites is just four lines.
Rejoice!
Let your voice
Be the clue
To the you
Of your Choice.
Alexandra Taylor wrote this after reading the chapter “Rejoice” in my book
AgeEsteem: Growing A Positive Attitude Toward Aging
.
Her poems developed as a genuine pastime after she attended an AgeEsteem program. I well remember our discussion that began with her explaining to me that she had no talents to share. I recalled seeing cartoon characters that she had made into drawings for her children previously and as our conversation moved forward I learned that she had designed greeting cards with both drawings and prose. This soon led to her poems and my suggestion that she might like to write for AgeEsteem.
What few people know is that she wrote her poems while waiting for the bus, walking home from town, or sitting on a park bench. She wrote these rhymes on scraps of paper or envelopes that she found in the trash next to the bus stop or on the program from a concert she had attended. On the rare occasions that they were actually on writing paper, they were often stuck in an envelope already addressed and sent through the mail to someone else before she salvaged it to enclose her latest rhyme. She was a scavenger at heart! I hope to make a book of her many poems, handwritten and on “recycled” paper as she gave them to me.
Alexandra thwarted Google because she never wanted to be interviewed or to have her photo published. She was happy to simply share her talents with no acclaim. It was enough to know that others enjoyed her poems.
Alexandra’s latest poems remain to be published, two of which she wrote during her last days.
Alexandra Taylor left us in much the same way that she lived, quietly and with dignity. Death is, after all, a natural ending to this life as we know it. She leaves us with the precious gift of her wealth of poems and memories of moments shared, both of which are life continued.
Bonnie Fatio
