Make someone happy

My friend emailed me recently about a concept called "Blue Zones".  These are areas of the world where people live to much older ages...Okinawa; Sardinia; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, CA (7th Day Adventists).  Along with diet and exercise, the people in these cultures cultivate long-term friendships.  The scientists studying this phenomenon claim that longevity is more a factor of how you live than of the genes with which you were born.  


My friend sent me this idea for the blog because of the deep and long friendships I have enjoyed in my lifetime.  I've always assumed I'd have a pretty long life because of the longevity of my parents - Dad is 90 and Mom is 82.  Now I'm wondering if it is the genes or the factor of friendships that may influence my life and longevity.  My parents have been the most positive influence in my life, they have many friends (or did before most of them died---that's the problem with living longer--your friends die before you.)  My Dad has always reinforced the concept of friendship and treating people well.  My Mom has modeled this concept in her interactions with family, friends, and complete strangers.

There is more to it, of course, than just friendships.  The Blue Zones website lists the power 9:

1. Just move – Develop an active lifestyle, not just exercising to exercise.
2. Purposeful outlook — Have clarity about your role in life.
3. Down shift on stress — Learn to shed stress in your life.
4. Eat to 80% full — Stop your meals when you are 80% full rather than totally full.
5. Plant slant — Use meat more as a condiment than a staple.
6. Wine @ 5 — Drink Moderate drinking has positive benefits.
7. Belong to a community — Belonging to a faith-based community extends one's life in general.
8. Loved ones first — Focusing on family in life and keeping family members close to home will improve one's life.
9. Right Tribe — Having a social circle that promotes healthy lifestyles is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle yourself.  " Okinawans created ”moais”–groups of five friends that committed to each other for life.  Research from the Framingham Studies show that smoking, obesity, happiness, and  even loneliness is contagious.   Assessing who you hang out with, and then proactively surrounding yourself with the right friends, will do more to add years to your life than just about anything else."

Can't believe it, but Jimmy Durante is singing "make someone happy..."  on the radio just now:

Make someone happy,
Make just one someone happy;
Make just one heart the heart you sing to.
One smile that cheers you,
One face that lights when it nears you,
One girl you're ev'rything to.

Fame if you win it,
Comes and goes in a minute.
Where's the real stuff in life to cling to?
Love is the answer,
Someone to love is the answer.
Once you've found her, build your world around her.

Make someone happy, 
Make just one someone happy,
And you will be happy, too.

So, I'll be talking a lot about how I incorporate these concepts into my life in retirement.  Regardless of longevity, these are some pretty powerful goals.  

I'm pretty sure I have numbers 6, 8 and 9 down pat.  

I am so lucky to have my "moais."  

Physically Prepare

My friend and I ran into our Body Pump instructor on the bike trail Sunday.  Hadn't been to BP or biking  for over six weeks "because I was SOOOOO busy at work."   Sound familiar?  So, friend and I got up at 0530 and made it to a 0600 BP class today and it was HARD.  You won't believe how much you decline in six weeks.  Think about it.  Whoever designs these routines must be a little bit sadistic.  Today's routine had squats and lunges interspersed with jumps.  OMG.  I can feel my legs screaming already.  I can't imagine what they will feel like in 24 hours.  Il Divo never sounded so good (they were the cool down song.).  But I digress.

My next tip after preparing financially is to make sure you are healthy and fit.  I'm not suggesting that you run triathlons like one of our 60+ friends does, but think about what it will be like to get old and lose your mobility.  To enjoy your retirement, you've got to have the energy and strength to do things like biking, but also like getting your own groceries, going to a museum, or playing with your grandchildren (even if they are canine).  So, don't follow my lead of the last six weeks, the work will be there when you get in whether it is at 0700 or 0830.

1. Find two or three activities that you like.  For me, I love body pump (weight lifting), yoga, Zumba and biking.  Some should be cardio and others weight bearing.
2. Figure out the best time of the day for you.  For me it is early morning for BP.  Got to get it in then or I won't go.  Yoga is great in the afternoon.  There are different kinds of yoga and different kinds of teachers.  Try it out until you find what is good for you.  Don't worry if you can't do everything.  You benefit from doing the best that YOU can do. If you like to dance - ZUMBA.  Love it, but once again different instructors are better or worse.  Find one you really like.
3. If you have a friend (luckily I do), go with them.   We've found that many times one of us doesn't want to go, but we go because of the other one.
4. I personally love charting my behavior to see if I am getting any better.  So get out a calendar and mark down every day that you do something.  Get a watch that counts your steps (my best birthday present this year).  Friend and I walk pretty long distances and we are constantly looking at those watches trying to out do our previous walk.

NOTE TO SELF:  Don't wear a muscle shirt to Body Pump.  You don't have muscles, the girls in the rows in front of you are 30 years younger and the damn floor to ceiling mirrors are unforgiving.

Get out there and move.

Leader of the Pack

This isn't what I planned.  I can't help it.  My idea was to sit down and ORGANIZE this blog.  I was going to develop ideas, lay them out, tweak them.  I can't do it today.  Maybe in later posts.  Today I have to tell you about the morning, the glorious morning.  I got out early this morning for my favorite morning treat, coffee, the paper, a donut and NO DOGS staring at me to share my food.  Who the heck trained these guys anyhow?  How did they evolve into the perfect eating, pooping and staring machines.  Anyhow, I digress.

I got out early before 6:30, it was cool, beautiful and I was driving my almost brand new convertible (4,901 miles on the odometer).  I had the 60s station on the radio and was just so impressed by the quiet and beauty of the morning.  THIS is how it is going to be in retirement, I told myself.  No rush, no stress, doing just what I want to do.  That's when it happened and I had no choice but to write about it.

I am no more than two blocks from my house, driving down the Pike and on comes The Shangrilas singing The Leader of the Pack.  1964.  "I met him at the candy store/He turned around and smiled at me/You get the picture?/That's when I fell for the Leader of the Pack"  All of a sudden I was Betty!  And then, I am not making this up, a large, noisy motorcycle drove up behind me!  I wasn't pissed like I would be normally because of the noise.   I was just happy to be thinking about 1964 when I was 14 years old and the leader of the pack was right behind me!  Just like the leader of the pack though, it was over in a moment..."Look out! Look out! Look out! Look out!"

Up ahead in the intersection was the future staring my in the face.  A little old (but gaily dressed) lady was (against the light mind you) shuffling across the street.  Flashback to Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and Arte Johnson's character  the  "dirty old man" who was always bothering Ruth Buzbee the old spinster woman on the park bench.  She shufled so slowly that she probably started the walk WITH the light, but by the time I got to her the light had long ago changed.

As I was dreaming of the 60's, driving in my convertible ----the Silver Tongued Latin Lover (my husband) says lots of "older" people buy convertibles---I slammed on the breaks to avoid a great disaster as my motorcycle fantasy Leader of the Pack drove on.

Is the future really facing me this quickly?  I think not yet, but she is definitely shuffling in.