A World Less My Own

These days I feel like I'm "living in a world that is a little less my own."

Some days I think "where have all my people gone?" Actually, I know where they've gone. If you live long enough you will find yourself without family and old friends.

Bob is one of ten children and only two remain. I'm an only child much younger than all my cousins and no one remains.

There are also losses worse than death. A family member lost in the chaos of Alzheimers.

Yet I resist moving to communities or facilities designed only for seniors. Surely there must be a way to be adopted into this newer unfamiliar world, a world full of people with hope for tomorrow, people with full lives ahead of them.

There must be a place for seniors who still have hope, who prefer looking to the future rather than reliving the past.

The task before me now is to be a senior young people want to be around. These are some things I've thought of and my hope is you will have other suggestions.

1) Stay current on news and world events.
2) Read current books, see current movies, be familiar with current TV series.
3) Relive the past in private, not in public.
4) Talk little about aches and pains.
5) Exercise, walk, gym, treadmill, something.
6) Be sensitive to the situation before giving advice gained from past experience.
7) Be computer savvy. This is the age of Internet.
8) Be sensitive to when it's appropriate to talk about memories and tell stories from long ago.

I see I have some major gaps in this list. It's not my desire to hide my age but rather to display it in good taste. Now, how do you suggest I go about updating myself?