Share your smile
All the while
A gloom-cloud is covering your heart.
Face your fears
With your peers
And let bloom each flowering day’s start.

Written by Alexandra Taylor
for AgeEsteem

Bonnie Fatio and Hendrica Okondo, World YWCA

Women’s issues are also the issues facing aging.  As I arrived at the United Nations in New York today to register for the Commission on the Status of Women, I was struck by how strongly these same concerns are pertinent to all of us.

This year the Commission on the Status of Women (22 Feb. – 4 March 2011) is focusing on the issues of access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology, and access to full employment and decent work.  All of these concern older people as well.  People of all ages are touched by these issues.  As we work to enhance the gender equality, we also work to enhance the lives of older people. – All people.

Women’s issues are aging issues.

Bonnie Fatio

Age Esteem is participating at the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York with the World YWCA.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), established in 1946, influences the lives of people of all ages, including children and men.  It is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) dedicated to gender equality and advancement of women. Each year it draws women from around the globe to the United Nations in New York to evaluate progress, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.

This is also important for you men!  It has been shown time and again that when women are empowered the family and the whole community also improve.

Age Esteem will present an Intergenerational Dialogue on February 28.

Bonnie Fatio

Sometimes our love for ourselves becomes so faded in our minds that we forget how wonderful we are.  It is like the tide rising so water laps over our age esteem, self esteem and confidence and washes away our positive image of ourselves.

Keep your age esteem, self love and confidence alive.

• When you first look into the mirror in the morning say to your image, “I love you.  I love you and accept you just the way you are.”  Do this even though you want to develop and improve in many ways.
• Make a list of your qualities.  What do people praise you for?  You may have beautiful eyes, brilliant smile, knack at putting people at ease, taking big ideas and making them simple to understand, whizzing down ski slopes, describing events, working through mathematical formulas…  No quality is too small or too great.
• Begin a daily diary of your accomplishments.  Something I learned from working with the intellectually challenged is that even the smallest accomplishments are important building blocks in our lives.  Be generous with yourself.  It isn’t because the result was part of a team effort that you can’t take credit for it.  You played a role in the success.  Without you it would not have happened.  Write your accomplishments each day.

Who cares if the tide rises and washes over your self image.  You can love yourself and keep your age esteem and confidence strong.

Bonnie Fatio

What came first – the chicken or the egg?  This question can be debated again and again but one thing is for certain.

According to the most recent research, eggs are very good for you.  Yes, eggs are healthy for you and more can be eaten than previously recommended as they are not linked to bad cholesterol.   There is no danger for most people to eat even two per day, according to one study, but even three or four per week would be beneficial.  This amount will not increase cholesterol levels or the risk of heart disease.

It is shown in several studies that eggs protect against the health risks which come with aging.

Eggs are rich in vitamin D, so needed for strong bones.  Two other substances, lutein and zeaxanthin, are found in them which help prevent macular degeneration and loss of eyesight as one ages, and control the development of cataracts.

Being very rich in protein with few calories, eggs are a valuable substitute for meat.  Memory is enhanced by eating eggs as well.  Finally, when you do eat eggs, you will feel full and thus eat less and thus lose weight!  Of course, they are beneficial when incorporated with other ingredients as well such as quiches or soufflés.

So, have eggs on hand all the time.  Eat eggs for healthy aging!

Grandma Nature

Who is most present in your life?  Who is always there for you?  Who is your best friend?

The heart drawn in the sand has no name in it.  It is waiting for the name of your best friend.  You probably have answered the questions with the name of someone near and dear to you.  Most of us have.

I challenge you to look at the heart differently though, and answer the questions with your own name.  –  Because you are the most important person in your life.  And before others can fully appreciate and love you, and before you can truly love someone else, you need to love yourself.

You are the one constant in your life, the one person who is always with you.  No matter where you go, there you are!

Make this Valentine month a time of reconnecting with yourself, enhancing your age esteem, appreciating your qualities, and lighting your life with love that begins within you, for you!

Bonnie Fatio

My wish to you on this Valentine’s Day is that you be your own Valentine and love yourself as much as you love others.  Be your own Valentine this year!

Bonnie Fatio

People of all ages enjoy receiving Valentines. In order of popularity, Valentine’s Day cards are given to teachers, children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.

In Medieval times people who couldn’t write their names, signed with an X in front of a witness.   The person then kissed the X to show they were sincere.   This is why many think that the X has been associated with the kiss when people write X and O for kisses and hugs.

The city of Verona, Italy, which is where Shakespear’s lovers Romeo and Juliet lived,  receives 1000 letters addressed to Juliet each Valentine’s Day.  This inspired the movie, Letters to Juliet.

The oldest existing love poem is written on a clay tablet and dates from the time of the Sumarians who invented writing around 3500 B.C.

Candies were among the earliest Valentine gifts, the most common being chocolates in heart-shaped boxes.  More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold this year.

About 3% of pet owners will give a Valentine’s Day gift to their pet.

Who are your Valentines?  Who do you love?  Who is important to you?

Valentine’s Day offers a unique occasion to take stock of who matters to you. –  And what a joyous opportunity to express your feelings.

Whether you purchase cards or create your own personalized messages specific to each of your Valentines, they are certain to be appreciated.

• Make a list of the people who matter to you and perhaps some who you may know less well but who need a lift.  Include people of all ages.  Many are lonely.
• Select your Valentine cards or simply cut out a heart in colored paper and write a message on it, or make a collage like the one above.
• Add your own special message expressing why the person is special to you.
• If you don’t have enough time to prepare Valentines, why not phone each person and let them hear the message directly from you.

It may surprise you to discover what a boost it can be to your own age esteem and positive attitude as you do this to make others feel good.

Bonnie Fatio

Beans, beans, the magical food; the more you eat the better your mood…

…. for your body will profit in many ways and you will feel great.  There are various types of beans – red kidney beans, white navy beans, green lima beans, brown lentils – and all are available in all parts of the world.  The beans, as opposed to string beans, are dried and have to be soaked before cooking, usually overnight.

They contain many nutrients and they have very little fat and thus no cholesterol.  Dried beans contain a lot of protein and can be substituted for meat or other high protein foods.  They regulate sugar in the blood and are important in controlling cardio-vascular conditions such as high blood pressure.   As they are very inexpensive, they can be eaten often and can be prepared in many different ways to vary meals.

Grandma Nature