Aging Gracefully

Oh my goodness, I am old. I still have (some) color in my hair and most my teeth, but I am old. At 52, I am pretty ancient. If this was 1900, that is.

Can you imagine only living until your late forties? These days, some people are just beginning to have children at age forty. Some are returning to college to change careers, as I did. Some people are grandparents and great grandparents and possibly even great-great grandparents.  

Back in 1900, I guess you didn’t get much opportunity to see your grandkids for long. Maybe you did. Marriages happened in the teen years quite often, and childbearing began early, age fourteen or so. But child mortality was pretty high back then.  30.4% of all deaths were children under the age of 5 in the 1900s. (MMWR, 1999) Everyday counted as a bonus. I am willing to bet that nobody got bored back then. There was no time! 

What would our world be like without the changes that have improved on health and wellness? 

 

I remember using outhouses and I have to tell you, I am sinfully glad to not have to use them anymore! I remember snakes, bees, slivers, and smells. No fun! I miss the old hand pumps for water, but cannot live without my hot shower. As for getting my big rear end into one of those little metal tubs in front of the fire for bath night? Forget it! Modern bathroom facilities are a lot cleaner than the old outhouses. Water for drinking and bathing in is more readily available to most people in the United States. A simple thing like washing your hands helps stop or slow down the spread of illness and disease more than a person might guess. Back then, even doctors weren’t aware how important it was to wash hands.

When I was young, there were people who used special crutches and had leg braces, some still attending school in the 1960s, some older. Polio was still a very scary disease.

My mother, who had a congenital hip problem, was faced with fear and prejudice because people thought she had tuberculosis. Some people who were ill from tuberculosis used crutches, and she used crutches. Vaccinations are a somewhat new idea but they have proved very effective in getting rid of childhood diseases that killed or maimed.

(I know there are people who want to avoid having their children vaccinated, and there are rumors of vaccinations causing autism and other problems. Look at the evidence; see how much vaccinations have changed childhood mortality. Information about vaccines that includes the risks as well as benefits is readily available. Please do not base your decisions on hearsay, but on documented proofs. )

So many improvements for health have been implemented since 1900. Now the average lifespan is at least in the upper 80s and heading into the 100s.Life is good! We still have a lot to learn about enjoying these healthy times, though!

Here is a chart that shows what causes of death were then and are now. 

I found this chart at http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2012/07/dramatic-change-death.html

Speaking personally, I need to take more time to do things I enjoy like walking, painting, visiting friends and family. I need to lose weight, because heart disease, diabetes, and vascular problems are in our family. I need to be able to grieve losses and rejoice and gifts each day brings. 

Going camping in the Upper Peninsula would be fun too.

  

What will you do with the extra time these days give you?

Early motor car trip to the Upper Peninsula for a camping trip. 

Willard and Effie Maginity, Ralph, Virgil, Marguerite