Dear LPG,

I read Rudy’s recent message about the importance of age and numbers (►►►) and, I feel his sense of becoming increasingly aware of one’s age although, as a pretty old person myself I think that the whole thing is a bit more technical than that.

When thinking about the effects that older age has on us, it is worth examining many variables; most significantly the effects on our brains as well as our bodies.  

There is no doubt that physically, most of us start to feel the strains and the harsh reality surrounding the things that we used to be able to do and those which become much more of a physical challenge.  The realisation that we cannot run as fast or jump as high without pain resulting.  When we just cannot take the stairs two at a time any more or keep up with the grandchildren without them having to slow down when we decide on a walk in the park, but as those physical abilities slow up we often forget the amount of experiences we have to share with them.  We have so many stories to tell and experiences to forewarn them of and forearm them with, even if they don’t take heed all the time.

It is now more and more common for those children to be living miles away from where we do, but our last year of being kept apart has allowed us to spend so much more time getting to know them simply because, regardless of how fast you can do things, we have all been locked down and experienced the limits that being stuck at home has put on the practicalities of rushing around physically or stretching our minds.

One thing many generations have had over the past year is more time, which has given us the opportunity to really communicate.  I know that I have learned to see my children and grandchildren more often, with the help of my mobile phone and the extra time they have had to talk.  We have had time to learn so much more about the details of life that there would not normally be time to share, and I know that I have enjoyed being able to share my memories with them.  There is no doubt that thinking about times when we were younger, and sharing those stories with the younger generation has benefits for all concerned.

As we get nearer to getting on with normal life again, we need to find the time to continue to invest those relationships if possible.  I think that keeping connected, especially with the really young ones has preserved a young outlook for me.  Covid-19 has taught many of us older people to learn a lot more about video calling and computers and if you really feel that you have slowed down somewhat, there is value in remembering that with the help of a computer and their expertise, you can race cars, play football and do so much more virtually and without needing to over-tax anything but your fingers.

TN, Sydenham

TN mentioned football and racing games. We at LPG have found a few examples…

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