Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘hobbies’

Embrace Aging

I could have called this “Embrace Maturity,”
but that would have been pussyfooting around the issue.
Not everyone matures as they age,
but aging is not an option.

You do it or you die.

However, I embraced this meme when I saw it:

Aging is a privilege only given to the lucky ones, you know.
So, yes, I will count this year …
but at 81, I sometimes forget if it is 80 or 81
and if I try to get by with the lesser number,
I have an 82 year old husband who is quick to remind me.

Hah! Can’t fool him…
He keeps a check on me – – –
but he’s not big on donuts.
Darn!

My daughter
(most of you have met her on this blog in the past –
DeDe – lives in Switzerland)
sent me this a little while back.
She particularly liked it
because one of Bob’s nicknames for me
is “Rocky”

Most of you also know that I have a sanctuary
where I spend the first hour most every morning…
and in it I have three antique rockers.
Ah, yes, it’s the perfect image of me!

But the chair that brings us
mutual joy
is the one we put in the back of our ATV
and pull out when we stop for a break.
The best way to embrace aging
is to find a hobby that you can enjoy
with someone you love.

For Bob and me, it is joining friends
and going four-wheeling
on these wonderful Rocky Mountain trails. ..
stopping to fish the mountain lakes.
Ah, that’s livin’!!

What hobbies
make your aging process more enjoyable?
One of our mutual hobbies
(besides four-wheeling)
is teaching Sunday School.

Here are darling Ruby & Cord.

COVID got in the way
of being able to meet each Sunday morning
with these two darlings and one other…
and then these two moved away.
As they age, their mom sends us pictures.

Getting picture from family and friends
is a great way to welcome the new day
and look forward to the next time you can visit.

Aging is easier to embrace if you have dreams –
something to look forward to, right?

We dream of next October –
when COVID-19
will be controlled
and it will be safe
to travel to see our daughter,
De, and her husband, Andre’ –
and stay in one of the hotel rooms above the restaurant.

As we age,
some of the benefits
outweigh the struggles
that come with aching joints
and lowered energy levels.

One of them is,
when your grandkids act up
and get on your nerves,
you can just send ’em back to their folks!

Couldn’t do that when you were younger
and they were your own kids!

Gotta look for the perks in this aging process!

Oh my!
Take ’em home!!

Another advantage of aging
is that we have time to reminisce
about the “Good Ole Days”
and the songs we used to sing
that these youngsters with their guitars and drums
don’t seem to understand anymore.

And if those songs
and the memories they bring
aren’t enough to make you feel good
about still being on this earth,
try singing this one:

Another way to “Embrace Aging”
is to relish the extra time
you have to just find a good book,
pour yourself a hot chocolate or a glass of wine,
curl up in front of a warm fire,
and spend some uninterrupted quality time.

When you were younger, that luxury was seldom yours, right?

Now, if you are a youngster (under retirement age)
reading this blog,
you are probably thinking that I am a dreamer.
You’re right. I am!
And each day I dream up all kinds of things
to keep me exuberant about life.

Yesterday it was effervescence.
The day before it was … oh, do I have to go back that far?

Nope!
A trick to aging gracefully is to remain playful.
Keep your hobbies,
and make up ways to keep the sparkle alive.
Take those boots that were left at the front door
and get creative!

If you can’t get out because you’re snowed in –
and you’re longing for sushi,
but the nearest place is an hour away,
send money to your kids
and tell them to go out for sushi on you.
But make sure they send you a picture…
and drool all over the computer screen
when they send it!

Ask your friends to send you a picture
of the table they decorated for some recent holiday –
and then marvel at their creativity
as you sit down for the 10th night in a row at your kitchen counter…
thanking God for your life,
your food, your kids, and your kitchen counter.

A trick to embracing aging
is to always remain thankful for your blessings…
even if they aren’t at a yacht club!!

Now, here’s a couple who knows how to live it up:
My friends, the Rosens.

Embrace Aging
by feeding your mind
Hope, Truth and Love
on a daily basis.

Don’t let your mind tell you you’re OLD.
That’s a state of mind for the senile.
It’s not for you!

Tell your mind
that aging just adds to your story…
and you’re not finished telling it yet!

Have fun, my friend.
Make room for sunsets.

Photo by Trung Nguyen on Pexels.com

Look forward to sunrises.


And believe in miracles…
Because you are one!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
See ya tomorrow.

Antelope and Attitudes!

Antelope are adorable in the field…

… but they need to stay out there!
No, Annie, don’t come down our driveway!

Yesterday we had a beautiful bed of red petunias in our wheelbarrow…

This morning the blossoms were gone!
See that chewed off stem there?
Darn those antelope!
My attitude toward them today is not very loving.

Fortunately, they left the geraniums alone.

And they don’t seem interested in the columbine…

…or these sweet yellow ones ( I think they’re lilies).

So, while I may be dismayed
over the loss of our petunia blossoms,
I still have reason to be happy, right?

I found a new book yesterday.
It’s a type of journal.
I’m going to have fun with it:

I don’t have much to stress over,
besides stray, hungry antelope,
but life always throws us curves, right?
It’s always a challenge to stay calm when trouble strikes,
and achieving balance is a constant pursuit for me.

So the topics in this little book
caught my eye…
especially the “Stay Positive”
and
“Dream.”

Set your plans for the year ahead,
And then make them happen.

Yes!
One way to be happy and find joy in life is to dream.
Live in the NOW, but
never stop dreaming about a better tomorrow.


I signed up for Bob Goff’s “Dream Big” Workshop.
Do you have big dreams?
You’re never too old to dream big, you know.
At age 80 and 81, Bob & I find that
our dreams keep life moving forward!

I am dreaming
of a trip in the spring of 2021
to Switzerland
to visit our daughter and her family.

I took this picture on one of our previous trips,
high in the Alps at a restaurant overlooking their valley.

I dream of the day
when it will be safe to travel,
to freely socialize,
and to gather with friends again
to enjoy our pastimes.

Enhance your life with a pastime that lifts your soul.

What pastime lifts your soul?
I love writing (can’t you tell?)
and your responses to my daily posts
lift my soul.

I also love music 🎶 –
both listening to it –
as well as playing my accordion
and playing in the bell choir.

I enjoy playing for friends at our Madison Valley Nursing Home,
however with this pandemic, they are off-limits now.
But they are safe… no cases of COVID-19 there.
Keep looking at the bright side.
Thank God for their health and ours!

We can’t gather as a group to practice our bells right now.
But, think positively!
This pandemic can’t last forever!
I pray daily for a vaccine or an effective treatment.

Think Can’s – Not Can’ts

Don’t dwell on the “can’ts”…
Concentrate on the “cans!”

I CAN enjoy this beautiful day
and go for a walk with TazE
in Lion’s Club Park
along the gorgeous Madison River.

I CAN meet new friends,
chat with this adorable little girl,
get acquainted with her mom,
and keep social distance at the same time.

I’m not standing as close as the picture looks!
I edited it so you’d get a good look at that little cutie.

Lion’s Club Park has this great little lake
where kids can fish and keep ’em.
Our Madison River is a “Catch and Release” only.
Today the fish were jumping.
I CAN enjoy this beautiful day!!

I CAN visit with my family in Switzerland via social media.
Thank God for the internet!
We got to share Andre’s birthday with him via the computer.
Doesn’t his smile make you smile?

Andre’ Solioz, my son-in-law

Happy Birthday, Andre’

Heck, when Bob and I were dating back in the 50’s,
and he was stationed in Germany,
it took two weeks to get a letter to him…
and another two weeks to get a response.
No such thing as computers –
and phone calls were too expensive!

Think of how blessed we are today!
Instant communication!

Back home, the lawn is mowed.
The grass is going to green up again
because the automatic sprinklers will water it
and the sun is shining to encourage it.
Thank you, Bob, for your work on the mower yesterday.
(Don’t you love his creative designs?)

This is livin’

Today Bob is out fishin’ …
Summertime, and the livin’ is easy!
Fish are bitin’ and the …

How does that song go?
Let me leave you singing it.

Guard your flowers…
and watch your attitude!

Every day is so full of blessings.
Count them!

See you tomorrow.
Love, JanBeek