{"id":7741,"date":"2024-07-30T12:49:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T16:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=7741"},"modified":"2024-07-30T12:49:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T16:49:21","slug":"could-the-key-to-successful-aging-be-yodels-and-beer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2024\/07\/could-the-key-to-successful-aging-be-yodels-and-beer\/","title":{"rendered":"Could the Key to Successful Aging Be Yodels and Beer?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you had asked my 96-year-old grandfather, \u201cWhat is the key to successful aging?\u201d he would probably have said, \u201cYodels and beer.\u201d He was never one to pass up a chocolatey dessert, and he loved a cold lager. <\/span><\/p>\n

The term \u201csuccessful aging\u201d was first popularized by American academic physician John Rowe, MD, and psychologist Robert Louis Kahn, PhD, in 1998. You\u2019re aging successfully, they said, if 1) you\u2019ve avoided illness and disability, 2) you\u2019re in good shape physically and mentally, and 3) you\u2019re living an active life. <\/span><\/p>\n

This concept challenged academics to think critically about the quality of later life and what may lead to aging well, but Rowe and Kahn\u2019s research on successful aging came under fire for several reasons: the idea that living successfully means living without disability is explicitly ableist; setting a standard of success for older people is ageist; and it completely ignores individual preferences. For example, someone who is naturally introverted and has always preferred to spend time alone might not benefit from prioritizing an active social life. <\/span><\/p>\n

Outside the field of gerontology, successful aging has become click-bait to attract attention to particular web pages or business products. A quick Google search that asks \u201cWhat is the key to successful aging?\u201d produces no less than 15 different answers. To succeed at aging, they suggest everything from making healthy food choices to botox, from having a healthy brain to volunteerism or financial security. <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s clear that none of these websites asked my grandfather what he thought.<\/span><\/p>\n

The image of my grandfather that I conjure in my memory is of a man in his 80\u2019s with aviator-style eyeglasses and a camera around his neck. I did not realize the true extent of his photography until I was helping to prepare picture boards to be displayed at his funeral in 2015. Why was it so hard to find any pictures of my grandfather? There were hundreds of photographs of my cousins and I, my aunts and uncles, my grandmother. It almost felt like my grandfather wasn\u2019t there at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

Until I realized it was just the opposite. All these pictures expressed his point of view. They were a beautiful collage of what was most important to him: his family, eating a big meal and leisure. This photo story my grandfather left for us was a glimpse of how he viewed success in his older adulthood, and I couldn\u2019t help but notice the parallels between the themes I saw represented and our Greek-American culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

Something else Rowe and Kahn missed in their original discussion of successful aging was that aging is bound up in one\u2019s cultural context. You cannot ask what it means to age successfully without asking what it means to age successfully as a Chinese woman, an Afro-Caribbean man\u2014or a Greek man living in the United States. <\/span><\/p>\n

A study<\/span><\/a> published in 2022 found that to Indigenous people, aging well was a holistic concept that included experiencing spiritual, physical and mental well-being. Some faced barriers to this because they\u2019d been disconnected from their culture and lost their language and customs, or because of ongoing grief and trauma. <\/span><\/p>\n

For many Puerto Rican older adults, embracing a feeling of gratitude about their lives was a prerequisite to aging successfully. <\/span>Japanese American men<\/span><\/a> put a high value on financial security. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for Greek Americans, of all European countries, Greece and Turkey have the lowest age of retirement. Greeks know how to relax and relentlessly protect their right to do so in later life. <\/span><\/p>\n

My grandfather\u2019s stubborn Greek nature made him rebellious in the face of rules. One day towards the end of his life, he decided to elope from the nursing care center where he lived. (When a patient leaves without telling anyone, nursing homes and other long-term care units typically say that person has \u201celoped.\u201d) <\/span><\/p>\n

He was scheduled to join an activity in the recreation room. When staff realized he was not there or anywhere else on the floor, they began to worry. They searched every inch of the nursing home to no avail. Next, they searched the grounds. They finally found him\u2014sunning himself in the courtyard.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the New York State Department of Health Regulations, when a resident is involved in an incident, they must be given a written copy of their version of the occurrence. His read: <\/span><\/p>\n

Resident stated, \u201cI went outside because it was nice out and I cheated. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He broke the rules just to relax in the sun. <\/span><\/p>\n

I do not remember my grandfather as a man who was exceptionally active or physically fit. I do remember his commitment to his family. My cousins and I would sleep over at my grandparents\u2019 apartment, snuggled into a pull-out couch next to the television. All six of us would wake up to the smell of pancakes cooking. My grandfather was a cook in World War II and took his role at the stove seriously. <\/span><\/p>\n

I also remember the joy he emanated when the family was all together at a barbeque, but most of all, I remember the way he loved my grandmother through every stage of Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/span><\/p>\n

When I think about what it means to age successfully, I don\u2019t think about research studies or click-bait websites. I think of my Greek grandfather, and of family, food and relaxation. He had all of these, and I know he felt fulfilled. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you had asked my 96-year-old grandfather, \u201cWhat is the key to successful aging?\u201d he would probably have said, \u201cYodels and beer.\u201d He was never one to pass up a chocolatey dessert, and he loved a cold lager.  The term…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Could the Key to Successful Aging Be Yodels and Beer?\u00a0<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

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