Knock Knock

“I’ve been focused all my life on being engaged and working to make sure that life is better for future generations,” I can never be too tired to make a difference.” ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Thomas? Dortch ?

He’s been knocking at the door for over a year, and I consciously ignored him.? To open the door and invite him in would change everything, and I just wasn’t ready to deal with it.? But over the past few months the sound of the knock became more demanding, almost as if he was trying to tell me something, to warn me.? Why wasn’t I opening the door?? Because I knew who was on the other side.? It was time to acknowledge him.? I opened the door and he greeted me, “Took you long enough!” ? To which I responded, “It was intentional!”? He leaned forward, as if to come in, and I blocked the entrance.? “I’ve opened the door and acknowledged your presence, but there is no way in hell I’m letting you in!” ?The old man looked me in the eye and said, “Fine, but unless you do something about those knees, I’m taking control in the near future.”? I thanked him, sent him on his way,?shut the door and said to myself, 'Bullshit,?no one but me controls my life!"? We all know what came next.

I’m two weeks out.? Both knees were replaced, and I’m back on the deck reading and writing.? The out-patient PT begins tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to putting some distance between that old man and me.? Interestingly, from a purely chronological frame of reference I am?old; next May I begin my 75th orbit.? However a body composition assessment completed at the gym prior to surgery gave me a biological age of 64.? Neither of? these numbers accurately reflect how I see myself.? Perhaps the aging process is more subjective?

Subjective age is nothing more than the answer to a single question, “How old do you feel, most of the time?? According to Antonio Terracciano, a professor of geriatrics at Florida State University College of Medicine, the answer to that question best reflects the state of people’s physical and mental health.? Likewise most of the research on subjective age is based on associations between how old people feel and their health status, hence it cannot establish cause and effect.? However, by simply asking people how old they feel, Dr. Yannick Stephan, a leading researcher in the field of subjective age, says doctors might be able to identify who is most at risk for health problems.

What makes subjective age such a powerful predictor? Dr. Stephan believes that people possess intuitive information about their physical abilities, mental sharpness and emotional stability, all of which gets distilled into a single meaningful number.? That single number can then establish the parameters for their perspective on life.? Aging then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.? My outlook on life, my beliefs in what I can yet accomplish, even my health, finds a basis in my subjective age.

Whatever their stance on age, experts agree that everyone ages differently and that people do have some control.? Healthy habits, including eating well and exercising, can keep age-related deterioration at bay.? Equally if not more important is keeping a positive attitude.? Internalized aging can worsen, not just people’s perspective, but their health. In essence, we need to recognize not just the losses associated with aging, but also the gains, which are significant.

Knock Knock!? “Who’s There?”? “The old man!”? “The old man who?”? “The old man who’s here to remind you that it’s time to take those new knees for a walk!”

Have a great week and continue to

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Embrace the Challenge