Like a flapping fart under the bedsheet, the old windbag lying next to you is hinting at trouble in the not so distant future.

You are now 55 or older.

Though you and your spouse may or may not be considered seniors yet, you’re not racing the neighborhood kids on skateboards anymore. If you are, those troubles we mentioned might creep up to your nose faster than you expected.

Growing Old Comes With Perks And Often, Percocets.

First off, let’s not fool ourselves.

While grandchildren are often a tonic for the years of stressful child-rearing, taring open and reading that AARP application in the mail can be a little scary. You don’t know how you just now got placed on their mailing list, but you’re pretty sure this flood of senior mail is new.

Of course, you could have always been getting this postal spam and you’re simply forgetting, or you just never had the time to read it until now. But now that you do read every piece of mail, you might want to start admitting that you have entered that next phase of life, the phase where people younger than you start calling you Grandma or Grandpa, and where you start calling your doctor by his or her first name.

So, what can you do about it?

Maybe you have your grandbabies call you by some clever name that does not begin with “grand.”

Perhaps you join the Frequent Floaters Club and plan to spend the rest of your life living in luxury, eventually taking advantage of the cruise ship’s morgue.

We could make a list as long as your partner’s ever-growing nose, but here’s the point, you don’t want to spend the rest of your life feeling old.

Of course, feeling old is going to happen anyway. It’s natural to slow down as time speeds up. It’s also normal to find yourself taking at least one pill per day. But if there’s one medication you simply can’t do without, it’s that teeny colorless tonic that seems so hard to swallow.

Socializing.

You need to be active!

If you are not an active adult, you are by definition, passive. Being an active adult does not mean that you need to be chasing your neighbor’s kids on their skateboards. What it does mean, is that you need to keep your mind and body engaged.

This usually requires socializing with friends. Unfortunately, most of us take a passive approach to friendshipping. Remember, what you need to do is take an active approach. Go out there, meet people, invite them to play.

Your family is great, but do you remember how busy you were at their age? They’ll still visit, sometimes even more than you’d like, some less. But you need a network of friends too. The reporter on CNN or ESPN doesn’t count, even if you do know his or her first name.

If your neighborhood doesn’t have many people at your stage of life, don’t be afraid to move. Not only might you find a new place that’s easier to take care of, but you can find a place that has people your same age.

The main point is:

While your age will still keep creeping higher, you’re only as old as you let yourself be. Don’t LET yourself be anything, ever!

As a young married (or unmarried) person, did you ever imagine how you’d spend your life when the kids moved out?

Be the empty-nester, or the retiree that you’ve always dreamed of being. You owe it to yourself. Give your kids a few new stories to tell when they come to visit. Make those friendships that will last for years to come.

You demand quality out of everything else in your life, demand it out of your own life as well!

Leisure Villas knows how to help. See why the Leisure Lifestyle is right up your alley.