My La-Z-Girl did me a disservice this week. As any boomer knows, recliners are a must-have for a happy retirement. They enable and enhance the reading experience, make watching television a pleasure, relieve back pain when visiting with friends, and, most importantly, encourage spontaneous napping. Today, however, she failed to allow me to extricate myself, and I was reminded of those “Help! I can’t get up” devices we see advertised on late-night television. It seems every time I sink into my recliner, I go deeper and deeper, making it increasingly more difficult to hoist myself out without a forklift—a definite sign of aging.

Reality struck again when I realized I’m buying eye drops in bulk at Costco. Just like I need reading glasses in every room, I now need eye drops scattered around the house. Everything—and I mean everything—dries up as we age. It starts when Mother Nature turns off the tap on our supply of estrogen. It’s not only our eyes that dry up. Our skin, our hair, our nails, our lady parts—everything that was once fresh and moist is now crying out for lube.

Our joints creak and crack. Our muscles have shrivelled up and hang on our brittle bones like cobwebs. If that’s not humiliating enough, this week I realized we may need to get our weekly grocery order delivered to our house, because the blue boxes from curbside pickup are too heavy for us to carry into the kitchen from the car. That, and the addition of an extra step with grab bars at the door from the garage into the house, are sure signs that we’re past our “best before” date. Ouch!

So many things we took for granted over the years are no longer options. Whoever thought we’d forgo driving at night because of something called night blindness? Was it that long ago that our lives began and thrived at night, whether we were pubbing, “sleeping over”, or simply socializing?  When you have had cataract surgery, hip replacements, and are a regular consumer of statins and/or blood pressure meds, the signs are indisputable. Baby boomers are nearing the end of the long and winding road. It’s time, however, to turn that negative thinking into something positive.

The other day, as I was sitting reading a book, I stopped and found myself thinking about my heart, not in a romantic, metaphorical way, but from a physiological perspective. Our heart is a large muscle that keeps us motoring from before we’re born until we draw our last breath. It’s one of the first signs of life on prenatal ultrasounds. Our heart is a perpetual motion machine that we depend on for life, and one we take far too casually. As I sat there contemplating how thankful I am for my amazing heart and all the work it has done and still does, I was overtaken by a calm, a sense of peace and isolation as if I were experiencing a holy moment—extreme gratitude.

Feelings of gratitude have a particular way of uplifting our spirits and putting our lives back on track. Many years ago, boomer gals read a popular book called Simple Abundance, 365 Days To A Joyful and Balanced Life by Sarah Ban Brethnach. That book was followed by a gratitude journal that required writing down at least five things each day that I was grateful for. Back then, I was going through a particularly bleak period in my life and writing down such simple things as “Miraculously, I had a good-hair-day today,” or “My evening cup of tea and cookie were perfection”. It’s often the small, simple pleasures that make life utterly joyful.

While the signs of aging become unavoidable, we still have a lot in life to celebrate and be grateful for. We’re still here and are now the best we will ever be—unless your cataract surgery or hip replacement is scheduled for next week—in which case, after that, you will be even better. Boomers are the most affluent, healthiest, and longest-living generation in history, and that’s no small accomplishment.

While my aging derrière seems to be taking root in a deep hole that makes it difficult to extricate myself from my La-Z-Girl, I can still do so many things that previous generations could not. All I have to do is hoist myself up and make it happen through meeting friends, indulging in a hobby, starting a new book, or treating myself to some ice cream. I love working on this blog every day and sharing my musings. What recharges your batteries, my fellow travellers from the Age of Aquarius? Share your joys in the comments. It will make us all feel better.