Growing Old Joyfully
My mom and Zach at her 75th birthday dinner.
If you want to grow old joyfully, take a moment to learn a few key lessons from this woman, my mother, Anne Troyer. Her birthday was September 11, and most folks would be hard-pressed to guess that she turned 75 that day. This amazing woman is a life-long learning, cancer-surviving, faith-spreading bundle of joy to be around.
Below are the top 10 lessons I learned from my mother about growing old joyfully:
10. Play any game with dignity and skill. My mom has never been a trash talker like my brother and me. She is quiet and skilled—a bit of a stealth agent—but, boy, can she whip some bootie in a game of cards.
9. Don’t cover your grey. Proudly declare to everyone you meet how old you are. You’ve earned every grey hair on your head (and line on your face, for that matter) and should proudly proclaim your age to the world.
Mom at her 75th birthday lunch (we celebrate birthdays for a month in our family).
8. Start each day in a time of reading and meditation. If you are centered on that which drives your values and belief system, then you will have joy throughout the day.
7. Don’t sweat the small stuff and give your bigger concerns to your higher power. Life has too much in store for you to waste time worrying. My mom is the most faith-filled person I have ever known—a living example of the power of prayer. I am so grateful for this influence she has on my life.
6. Rest is key. Pausing for a nap on Sunday afternoon, to watch a beautiful thunderstorm, or to throw a ball for a dog are an incredibly important use of your valuable time.
5. Trials are temporary. You will be delivered from the fire, through the fire or by the fire but you will be delivered. Whatever the trial is that you are facing, it will pass. When she had cancer, I remember her telling me, “I’ll be fine, Rebecca. No matter what happens in the end, I am ready for the outcome.” And she unwaveringly lives that to this day.
4. Profound gratitude with deep humility unlock power in your life. If you saw my mom walking down the street you would have no idea of the powerhouse woman of influence she is in the community in which she lives, her city and her region of the country. She expresses gratitude every day for what she has been given.
3. Laugh uncontrollably when something tickles your funny bone. Life is meant to be enjoyed with great laughter, even if it’s laughing at your grandbabies for doing something bad while their parents weren’t watching.
2. Throw caution to the wind. Whether its trying a new food, art class, or traveling somewhere she has never been, my mom is not afraid to take a chance. For her 70th birthday mom took herself alone on a trip to Asia because she had always wanted to go. Can’t wait to see what she plans for her 80th.
1. Be still, listen, and make what you say count. Many of you who know my mother and me well will be surprise to learn that my mother is an introvert. But she is also a life-long learner who is never without a book she is reading or class she is taking to gain new skills. She is a deeply knowledgeable with undergraduate degrees in early childhood education and nursing, a masters in clinical counseling, and a certification in Christian counseling. She has made learning, silence and listening an art form and knows how to have true drop-the-mic moments when she does speak.
Mom, I am so grateful for the life lessons you have taught me and continue to teach me about living life joyfully. I look forward to being back in 2 weeks to keep celebrating the month of your birth.
Toasts at yet another 75th birthday dinner.
